Valencia is a really great place for a family holiday or short city break. This beautiful Spanish city has activities to keep everyone, of all ages, happy. In this article we’ll take a look at the best things to do and the best places to go in Valencia with kids. 

Please note: this is not a rehashing of all the regular “What to do in Valencia” articles with the words “with kids” tagged on. If you are looking for the regular “cultural Valencia” articles, I have them and they’ll be extremely useful to you when planning your trip to Valencia. This article, though is about the kids, what’s in Valencia for them.

If your kids are anything like my kids, they don’t particularly want to see cathedrals or art galleries, they’d rather eat ice cream and talk about Pokemon. That doesn’t mean, of course, that they don’ have to visit the cultural places, of course they do. This article is about finding the Valencia fun for kids, emphasis on the fun.

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Best time to visit Valencia City

🔆 There’s really no bad time to visit Valencia. The region receives 300 days of sun a year so even when it’s chilly, it’s generally still perfectly fine to walk around and explore. 

🌼 In March, Valencia celebrates Las Fallas – a local festival with processions, fireworks, parties and more. The Fallas are held to celebrate the arrival of spring (originally with the burning of old furniture) and to commemorate Saint Joseph of Valencia.

🏖 If your kids are excited by playing on the gorgeous beaches then you’re probably considering a summer vacation in Valencia (although I’m a bit partial to wintery beach fun)

What to do in Valencia with kids

There are plenty of great activities for young children and older kids in Valencia. Whether you’re looking for open spaces to run, museums to learn, or good old beach fun, Valencia has so much fun to offer families. Let’s dive right in!

City of Arts and Sciences

In this fabulous part of Valencia (at one end of the Turia Gardens) you’ll find: 

🔬 Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe – Science Museum

🐠 Oceanogràfic de València – the largest aquarium in Europe

🎞 Hemisferic – IMAX on  a giant screen

➕ concert hall (Palau de la Musica) and the Caixa Forum which hosts events and exhibitions. 

The area is absolutely beautiful and well worth your time even if you don’t feel like experiencing any of the activities here. I took my kids to the City of Arts and Sciences and will share their views and experiences of each activity. 

This area of Valencia is one of the reasons people wondering about whether to visit Valencia or Seville might choose Valencia.

Science Museum

​This is a fairly interactive science museum spread over 2 floors. There are classes and activities you can sign up for (cost extra) although these are all in Spanish. 

Important to know

🔓 There are very few lockers available. They are located upstairs after you’ve shown your ticket to enter. 

☕️ The cafe (when we were there) was extremely slow moving – to the point that we gave up trying to even get a coffee. Instead we walked out to the mall across the road where there are plenty of restaurant and coffee options.

🚾 There are good toilet facilities available.

✅ Definitely a good idea to buy tickets in advance, especially during school holidays.

​My kids’ view

They enjoyed their day at the museum but were clear that it is by no means their favourite science museum (Papalote in Mexico City holds that title). They told me they’d be happy enough to go again and that the area with experiments is better than the exhibitions about the body, health or space.

Over all, they were more excited about whacking buttons than actually learning from most of the activities because the text or scientific point wasn’t made in an interesting enough way to actually get them to stop whacking for long enough to learn anything.

They loved the robotics class they took (the highlight of their day) and they enjoyed the anti-gravity simulator we did.

Aquarium

The aquarium is large but no so big that you can’t see it in one day (even if you’re going to the IMAX as well). The shark tunnel here is apparently the longest in Europe.

Important to know

❌ There are dolphins and beluga whales in captivity in this aquarium. The whales don’t have a very happy looking space and the dolphins perform for crowds of people multiple times a day. 

💦 Snacks are extremely expensive at the aquarium but there are water fountains available.

🚾 There are decent bathroom facilities.

🔓 There are paid locker facilities here.

My kids’ view

They absolutely loved the aquarium (more than the science museum) and said they’d love to return any time we would take them. They did understand my problem with keeping whales and dolphins in captivity and we used this an an opportunity to discuss the ethics of zoos and aquariums. They still chose to go and see the dolphins but understood why I didn’t go with them. 

Hemisferic

This is the Imax screen. The show will most likely be in Spanish but you’ll be given headphones for your language of choice should you require them. 3D glasses are also provided. 

Important to know

✅ It’s a good plan to get a combo ticket that includes the hemisferic and aquarium on the same day. I don’t recommend trying to do the aquarium, science museum and Imax all on the same day.

My kids’ view

They enjoyed the show very much but told me they’d rather have seen one of the shows we saw advertised that wasn’t playing (😉), of course. 

Jardín del Turia (Turia Gardens /Turia Park)

The Jardín del Turia is one of Spain’s largest urban parks. It is 9km long and runs around the city in the former riverbed of the Turia River. At one end you’ll find the City of Arts and Sciences and at the other end, the Cabecera Park and the Bioparc. 

After a huge and devastating flood in 1957, the Turia River’s course was diverted south away from the city and in 1986, the park was inaugurated. 

Playgrounds

​There are playgrounds throughout the gardens although without a doubt, Gulliver Park is the best of them all. 

Gulliver Park 

This playground offers a 70m sculpture of Gulliver that includes slides, nets, bridges and more. Kids love climbing, running and playing in this safe space (photo above). 

There are toilets in this enclosed and monitored playground.

Bioparc Valencia

This is a safari-park zoo that gets great reviews all around. You can see giraffes, lions, elephants and more.

Cabecera Park (Parc de Capçalera)

A natural park that most tourists don’t visit. Here you’ll find peaceful riverside walks, a delightful artificial lake that is home to plenty of fish and even to tortoises. Take a pedalo and enjoy relaxing on the lake with the kids. They’ll also enjoy playing on the artificial beaches before stopping in the cafe for a drink or snack.

🏴‍☠️ There’s a good pirate ship playground here, too.

Ciutat Vella (City Centre)

You’ll obviously want to explore the ciutat vella, the heart of the city while you’re in Valencia. Your kids may not wish to visit the cathedral or all the museums but it’s still worth heading into the beautiful old town.

⭐️ We took our kids to the Pre-History and Ethno museums, the Lonja de la Seda and climbed the tower at Portel del Quart. This was a good compromise of culture and fun.

What are the primary cultural and historical activities in Valencia?

Valencia Cathedral – they claim that the Holy Grail (aka a cup Jesus apparently drank out of) is here in the cathedral. I know that my kids care as little about this as I do so we didn’t go to check it out. We did stop to say, “gosh, that’s the Cathedral” and to have a chat about why European churches turned their mother into a socialist when she was a teenager 😉.

Mercado Central – this is the biggest fresh food market in Europe so if your kids are interested in markets, definitely stop in (in the mornings or for lunch as later on in the day it’s closed).

Lonja de la Seda – the medieval silk exchange. We did go. My kids did not care one bit except when we lost their dad, they thought that was funny. This building is beautiful and the pillars in the main hall are gorgeous but kids don’t want to see that necessarily.

Museums – as you might expect from a city the size of Valencia, there are numerous museums and art galleries. We took our kids to the pre-history museum / Ethno museum (located in the same building and FREE). The kids found these museums fairly interesting and didn’t complain too much.

Making the Ciutat Vella fun for kids

Street art – Valencia is a vibrant city with some great street art that older kids will love to check out.

Botanical Gardens – this is a good place to relax with the kids, particularly if anyone gets overwhelmed and needs a moment of peace and quiet.

Ethno museum – again, for the older kids, this museum showing gadgets from their parents’ youth (sigh) will make them at least stop to point and laugh at you. My kids certainly did.  

Horchata and cake – horchata is a traditional drink in Valencia and you can pick up some to try as you wander around. It’s generally imbibed with an accompanying pastry.

Bike ride – if anyone enjoys riding, take a bike tour of the city.

Fun scavenger hunt – if you want to get your kids interested as you explore Valencia, why not download a scavenger hunt app?

Valencia with kids: regular fun

Trampoline parks – there are at least 4 trampoline parks around the city of Valencia, all incredibly imaginatively named: search for Super Jump, Animal Jump, Fun Jump and Jump Next Levels.

Climbing wall – there are numerous climbing wall options including Laif Climbing Gym, Climbing Bunker and Indoorwall.

Go-Karting – Karting Racing Dakart

Nature and outdoor activities around Valencia

Beautiful beaches

Sitting on the Mediterranean Sea, it’s not surprising that Valencia and the surrounding area is a popular beach destination.

The two easiest beaches to reach from Valencia are Playa de la Malvarrosa and Playa de las Arenas. Both these beaches have beachside restaurants (chiringuitos).

Of course, there are beautiful beaches to be found simply by jumping in the car and driving up or down the coast. We chose to visit the nearby beach village of Altea for our beach day.

Albufera Natural Park

Just south of Valencia is this gorgeous natural park where you can explore on foot or take a boat ride.

Tours the kids can enjoy from Valencia

🛻 4hr jeep and boat tour of Albufera (lagoon and beaches)

💦 Visit Valencia’s Bridal Veil waterfall and Blue Lagoon thermal springs (swim at both spots and marvel at the canyons)

🚤 Explore the San Jose caves by boat and enjoy the longest underground river in Europe