If you’re in the planning stages of your Spain vacation and are wondering if you should visit Valencia or Seville, you’ve come to the right place. I’m a huuuuuge fan of both cities and I am excited & ready to help you figure out which of these two Spanish cities is more aligned with your vacation desires. 

Both Valencia and Seville have their own distinct rich history and culture. Valencia is generally seen as a coastal city, while Seville is more about the historical sights but this doesn’t mean Valencia isn’t full of history or that you can’t spend a day a the beach when in Seville. 

Both are great for a long weekend, a city-break or even as a base while exploring the area. 

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Valencia or Seville: An Overview

Valencia

Valencia, Spain’s third largest city, is known for its great location on the Mediterranean Coast and for the modern architectural wonder that is the City of Arts and Sciences.

Seville

Seville, although located in the far south of Spain is often considered to be the heart of Spain. Seville, with its rich history, its famous Alcazar (one of the many Moorish palaces in Andalucía) is not, what I would call a large city.

Valencia or Seville: Location

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Valencia or Seville: Accommodation

Both cities are well set up to welcome visitors of all budgets and accommodation requirements. If you are driving in to either city, do always confirm parking arrangements with your host as roads are narrow and parking can be hard to come by.

​Valencia or Seville: Culture and Festivals

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​Both cities, obviously will give you a good opportunity to explore Spanish culture but their festivals are very different.

​Festivals in Seville

The primary festivals in Seville both fall in spring: they are Semana Santa (Holy week – the week before Easter), and Féria, which is celebrated two weeks after Semana Santa.

Note that these enormously important festivals, while truly local and important to locals, have also become extremely popular with visitors to Seville. This means hotel prices rise and tickets for regular tourist spots should be purchased in advance.

Semana Santa: religious processions of pasos (lifelike wooden sculptures of religious scenes) through the city of Seville. There are always big crowds for each paso.

Féria: this is the big one, in fact it was declared as a “Festival of International Tourist Interest” by the Spanish Government and it’s one of the most eagerly anticipated events in Spain.

People attending féria tend to get dressed up – men in suits and women in flamenco dresses and everyone heads to the feria ground to dance, drink and enjoy the atmosphere.

➡️ Read more about why Seville is so famous

Festivals in Valencia

Las Fallas: Held in March, Las Fallas commemorates Saint Joseph, as well as the coming of spring. The 5 main days of celebration are 15 – 19 March but there is fun to be had in the run up too – the Mascletà (firework display) takes place every day of March until 19th.

During the festival, ninots (giant puppets or sculptures) are taken out in parades and then mounted on a falla (monument) that is filled with firecrackers – these are joyfully set on fire! Some are saved and displayed in the Fallas Museum in Valencia. Las Fallas has been declared a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Festival.

Great Valencia Fair: In July Valencia hosts a month long fair that includes concerts, fireworks, museums open all night and a Flower Battle.

Valencia or Seville: What are the main sites

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Seville – the main sites

Seville is an absolutely beautiful city with a long and fascinating history. It’s easy enough to see the main sites in just a few days but the longer you have in Seville, the better. Wandering through the narrow streets of Seville’s old city is an absolute pleasure

The main sites include: the Royal Alcazar of Seville, Maria Luisa Park, Barrio Santa Cruz (the Jewish quarter) Plaza de España, Cathedral, Archivos de India (the Alcazar, Cathedral and Archives make the UNESCO World Heritage Site).

💲 You will always be better off booking tickets to the Alcazar and Cathedral in advance – this will assure you can visit at your chosen time and that you don’t have to stand in line for hours.

⭐️ My recommendation is to book onto the Exclusive Walks Early Access tour. Every day they allow just two groups of up to 20 people into the Alcazar before it opens to the general public.

I have been part of the “general public”, one of the 7000 people that visit the Alcazar every. single. day. And I have been one of the “exclusive tour members”. I can tell you that there is simply nothing like exploring the Alcazar when it’s still peaceful and quiet.

Valencia – the main sites

The city of Valencia may not be quite as beautiful as Seville and it certainly feels more hectic, but the historic center of Valencia (ciutat vella) is really extremely beautiful.

The main sites include: the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of fine arts), Lonja de la Seda, Cathedral (where you’ll apparently see the Holy Grail), Torre des Serrans, City of Arts and Sciences (a modern and gorgeous museum complex that includes a science museum, aquarium, IMAX and an opera house).

💲 It is recommended to book tickets in advance when visiting any of the City of the Arts & Sciences attractions. Sites within the old city are visitable without pre-booking.

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Valencia or Seville: food and drink

Both Valencia and Seville are great destinations for foodie travellers. In both cities you’ll find fabulous restaurants, tapas bars and fast food options.

Did you know that the verb ‘tapear‘ exists in Spanish? It means to eat tapas, unsurprisingly.

Dining in Seville

In Seville you must try: salmorejo (a local take on gazpacho), espinacas con garbanzo (an absolute classic Sevilla dish of spinach and chickpeas), montadito de pringá (a [mostly] pork sandwich), rabo de toro (oxtail) and all the million different ways they serve pork products.

But where?

Really, anywhere! If you enjoy markets then wander over to the market in Triana for breakfast. I’ve rarely had a bad tapa experience in Seville. And because the joy of tapas is ordering one or two plates with a caña (small glass of beer), if you don’t love a place, just pay up and move on to the next one.

There are 4 restaurants in Seville with Michelin Stars.

⭐️ MexicoCassie’s favourite tapas tour: Enjoy a Seville Tapas Crawl (in English) exploring 5 authentic tapas bars and trying regional delights (including tapas, dessert and drinks).

Dining in Valencia

Valencia is the home of paella so the most important thing to try when in Valencia is obviously paella, maybe even multiple times. It’s important to remember that paella is a lunch time dish because it’s considered to be too heavy to eat in the evening.

The other two particular specialities of Valencia are horchata de chufa, a delicious soft drink made from tigernuts, and Agua de Valencia, a strong cocktail made with cava, vodka, gin and orange juice.

But where?

You absolutely have to visit the Mercat Central (central market), Europe’s biggest fresh market – and there are a few great spots for enjoying tapas within the market.

There are nine restaurants in the Valencia area with either 1 or 2 Michelin Stars.

⭐️ MexicoCassie’s favourite tapas tour: Old town tour followed by wine and tapas in an 11th century building.

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Valencia or Seville: day trip opportunities

Both Valencia and Seville, despite their incredibly different locations, offer fabulous opportunities for day trips.

Seville day trip opportunities

People visiting Seville generally want to take day trips to: Ronda, Cádiz, Córdoba, Malaga and the beach.

There are, of course, numerous other wonderful day trip options such as Huelva, Aracena, Antequera, walking in the hills, natural parks (Grazalema, Arconocales, Doñana, Estrecho and more) and riversides.

Valencia day trip opportunities

Of course, Valencia has the added bonus of being on the ocean. It’s easy to get to the city beaches when you’re in here but it’s worth looking a little further afield and considering some of the bigger beach towns along this glorious stretch of Mediterranean. Indeed, just one hour south of Valencia is the Costa Blanca and to the north is the fabulous city of Barcelona.

The best day trips include nearby Albufera Natural Park, Altea, Alicante, Barcelona, Tarragona, Madrid and even Ibiza (just a 3.5 hour ferry away).

➡️ Read more about day trips from Valencia

Valencia or Seville: for the kids

​Both Valencia and Seville have plenty to offer vacationing families: from traditional tourist sites, and tours that will engage the kids to museums and parks specifically for the kids.

Spain in general is incredibly kid friendly and you can take your children everywhere with you without worry. You’ll see kids running happily around the city plazas, in the parks and even in restaurants and bars with their parents late at night. We regularly find ourselves going for midnight ice cream after a night out with the kids – totally normal in Spain.

Seville with kids

Although the kids, if they’re like mine, won’t care much about the Alcazar or the Cathedral (two of the biggest and most important sites in Seville), they will enjoy Las Setas and the Plaza de España greatly. The aquarium and the science museum are both great options when visiting Seville with kids too.

You’ll find everything you need to know about exploring Seville with your kids in my detailed article.

➡️ Seville with kids

Valencia with kids 

Valencia is also a great place for kids, particularly around the Turia Gardens and the City of Arts and Sciences where you’ll find the IMAX cinema, the science museum and Europe’s biggest aquarium.

You’ll find everything you need to know about visiting Valencia with the kids in my detailed article (below).

➡️ Valencia with kids