Valencia is one of the biggest cities in Spain, even though it’s not even a fourth the size of the capital, Madrid. You can perfectly explore the old city centre of Valencia on foot, and the larger area by bike. Public transport is also very well organised, so plenty of options to easily get around in Valencia!
TIP: The locations in this article are clickable and will take you to the corresponding marker on the map. You can find the map on the right of your screen, or by clicking the map icon on the bottom if you’re on mobile.
Wander around Valencia on foot
In less than half an hour you can cross the old city of Valencia, Ciutat Vella, on foot. It’s the perfect sized city centre to wander around on foot, getting lost in narrow streets, discovering all kinds of impressive buildings and cute restaurants. It’s also the cheapest way to get around in Valencia, and will contribute to getting your daily step goal!
Explore Valencia by bike
Not all sights in Valencia are located within the old city though, so we suggest renting a bike for at least 1 day to explore the rest of Valencia.
The 9 km long Turia Park bending around the city is lovely for a bike ride, but there are well-maintained bike lanes throughout the (mainly flat) city as well.
We rented our bikes from our accommodation for €11 (~ $12.30) per bike for 24 hours. This included a lock and a wooden “basket” at the back of the bike. If we’d rented those bikes for more than a day, the price would have dropped to €9 (~ $10) per bike per day.
You can ask if your accommodation offers a bike rental service as well, or just walk into one of the many bike rental shops throughout Valencia.
TIP: The Valencia Tourist Card gets you a discount at selected bike rental shops in Valencia.
Make sure to lock your bike when parking it, preferably attaching it to the bike racks you can find along the streets. If you want to be sure, you can pay extra for insurance, but we didn’t.
Use the Public Transport in Valencia
As mentioned before, public transportation in Valencia is very well organised. There are several metro lines running along the southern border of the old city, but we mainly used the extensive bus network to get around in Valencia.
Click here to skip to the overview of all public transport travel cards in Valencia.
Taking the metro in Valencia
The metro in Valencia is operated by Metrovalencia. As you can see on the map of Metrovalencia below, the metro (or subway) is useful to get to the outer edges of the city quickly, but doesn’t serve as many stops as the bus.
A single Valencia metro ticket will cost you €1.50 (~ $1.70) within one zone. Zone A is the biggest zone, enclosing most of Valencia. Outer districts of Valencia and destinations like the airport are in different zones. If your trip is through 2 zones or more, prices for a single ticket can rise up to €3.90 (~ $4.40).
A return fare is slightly cheaper than 2 single tickets, and after you validate the first trip, you have 24 hours before the return trip expires. However, if you plan on taking the metro more often, or with a group of people, you should consider buying a metro card.
There are 2 metro travel cards you can chose from. The TuiN Card has a minimum charge of €10, with single trips (within 1 zone) costing €0.72 (~ $0.81). The 1 zone Bonometro Card allows for 10 trips at €0.76 (~ $0.85) per trip.
Neither of these cards are personal, so they can be used for travelling with a group as well. Note that you have to pay an extra €2 (~ $2.20) for the physical card, which is rechargeable.
You can buy and top up these metro tickets and cards at the automatic vending machines in the subway stations and tram platforms, or in newspaper kiosks and tobacconist shops, like the franchise Tabacos. Validate it upon entering and exiting the metro.
The metro in Valencia operates between 4:00 and 23:30 on weekdays and between 5:00 and 00:30 on weekends.
You can find the entire map of all metro lines, the timetable and more information on the fares on the Metrovalencia website.
Taking the bus in Valencia
Buses in Valencia are operated by EMT (Emprasa Municipal de Transports). Their extensive network of bus routes efficiently services the entire city (and beyond). Each bus stop has information on the lines that stop there, and you can scan the QR code to see how far out the next bus is.
TIP: When you’re waiting for the bus, it’s custom to signal the bus driver to stop.
A standard Valencia bus ticket (one way) will cost you €1.50 (~ $1.70) and can only be bought with the bus driver upon entering the bus. However, if you’re planning on taking the bus more often, or with a group of people, you should consider buying a bus card.
There’s just 1 bus travel card available: the Bonobus Card. It costs €8.50 (~ $9.50) and includes 10 trips. You can change buses as many times as you want within the hour. That hour starts when you validate your card by putting it on the card reader in the bus. You still have to validate your card upon boarding the bus, but it won’t be charged.
This Bonobus Card isn’t personal, so it can be used for travelling with a group as well. Note that you have to pay an extra €2 (~ $2.20) for the physical card, which is rechargeable.
You can buy and top up the Bonobus Card in newspaper kiosks and tobacconist shops, like the franchise Tabacos. Once bought, you can also top it up via the EMT app, see below. Validate your card upon boarding the bus.
The buses in Valencia operate between 7:00 and 22:30. After that, there are night buses (blue N lines) taking over until 1:30 on weekdays and 3:30 on weekends.
If you plan on taking the bus to get around in Valencia, we recommend downloading the EMT app, as the EMT website isn’t mobile friendly. You can search the app for buses based on bus stop or bus number, look for points of sale for travel cards, and connect your travel card to the app. You can then use it to check the number of trips available on the bus card, and recharge it. Take note that this won’t be available instantly after linking the card.
During our visit we often took the bus to get around in Valencia. We bought 1 Bonobus Card for a group of 6 friends, topping it up as needed. We were very pleased with the public transport in Valencia. The bus network is extensive, reliable, and buses run frequently.
You can find the entire map of all Valencia bus routes, the timetable and more information on the fares on the EMT website. Note that it’s not mobile friendly. If you’re on mobile, better download the EMT app.
Overview of all public transport cards in Valencia
Apart from the metro and bus cards we mentioned above, there are also travel cards that are valid on both the metro and bus network.
The Bono Travel Card is valid on the bus and metro zone A, which encloses the bigger part of Valencia. (Most tourists won’t need tickets for other metro zones.) It includes 10 trips and costs €9 (~ $10). You can make as many connections as you want within 50 minutes after validating your card.
Should you want to visit the outer areas of Valencia, you can buy the Bono Travel Card Zone AB, which is valid on the bus, metro and Metrobus, which is the intercity bus. It includes 10 trips and costs €15.50 (~ $17.40). You can transfer between buses and the metro without extra charge for 90 minutes after validating your card.
The above 2 travel cards aren’t personal, so can be used for travelling with a group as well. The T1, T2, and T3 travel cards on the other hand are personal cards, valid for unlimited travel for 1 person over respectively 1, 2 or 3 days. These cards are valid on the bus and metro zone A, and cost respectively €4 (~ $4.50), €6.70 (~ $7.50), €9.70 (~ $10.90). Take note that it’s 1 day, not 24 hours.
To keep things clear, we made this overview of all public transport cards in Valencia:
| Card | Network | Price | Single trip price |
| TuiN Card | Metro (all zones) | €10 | €0.72 (1 zone) |
| Bonometro Card | Metro (1 zone) | €7.60 | €0.76 |
| Bonobus Card | Bus (EMT) | €8.50 | €0.85 |
| Bono Travel Card | Bus (EMT) + Metro (zone A) | €9 | €0.90 |
| Bono Travel Card Zone AB | Bus (EMT) + Metro + Metrobus | €15.50 | €1.55 |
| T1 T2 T3 | Bus (EMT) + Metro (zone A) | €4 €6.70 €9.70 | Depends on # of trips you take in 1, 2 or 3 days. |
Note that the price for the physical card, called the Mobilis Card, isn’t included here. It costs another €2 and is rechargeable. You can buy these public transport cards at automatic vending machines in metro stations, and in newspaper kiosks and tobacconist shops, like the franchise Tobacos.
Now, which card to choose? In our experience, the Bonobus Travel Card is the best option. First of all, the bus network services way more stops than the metro lines.
Secondly, it’s still cheaper than the T1, T2, or T3 travel card, even though unlimited travel is a tempting offer. You’ll have to do 4 trips (5 with T1) per person per day for it to be cheaper, but that’ll barely save you 5 cents a trip. To save up to 20 cents a trip, you’ll have to do 5 trips a day, which is highly unlikely if you plan your visit right.
Depending on where you are planning to go and what you’re planning to visit, the Valencia Tourist Card can be a great option too, as it includes unlimited travel over 24, 48, or 72 hours, combined with free entrance to certain attractions and discounts on things like museums, shops and restaurants. The Valencia Tourist Card is valid on the bus and metro, including the airport line.
Taking a taxi in Valencia
If you’re not that into public transport, or need to be somewhere no bus drives, you can always take a taxi. Just hail one, get in, and have the address of your destination ready on your phone or a piece of paper, as not all taxi drivers speak English. All taxis in Valencia are white, available 24/7 and use meters, so no need to haggle.
Hop on (and off) the Valencia Tourist Bus
Nearly every (big) city has an open-top hop-on hop-off tourist bus, and Valencia does too. The Valencia Tourist Bus is actually a city tour on wheels, taking you along all major tourist attractions in Valencia. There’s an audio guide on the bus (available in different languages) and you can hop on and off as you want.
The Valencia Tourist Bus drives 2 different routes: the Maritime Route and the Historic Route. Both of these tourist bus routes take 90 minutes, if you don’t hop off, and pass Plaza de la Reina and the Museum of Fine Arts, so you can change routes there.
The Maritime Route starts from Plaza de la Reina and drives via City of Arts and Sciences to La Marina, the port of Valencia.
The Historic Route starts from Plaza de la Reina as well, but drives in the other direction, via the IVAM, the Centre for Modern Art, to the convention centre of Valencia.
Note that each last Sunday of the month, when Plaza del Ayuntamiento becomes a pedestrian zone, the routes slightly differ, with a drop in prices as well. Check out the official Valencia Bus Turistic website for more information.
The Valencia Tourist Bus drives between 9:30 and 21:00 all year round. Except in July in August, when service hours are extended another hour, ’til 22:00. Find the exact timetables on the official Valencia Bus Turistic website.
There are 2 types of tickets for the Valencia Tourist Bus: a 24 hour and a 48 hour ticket. Both of these bus tickets include an audio guide in different languages, but not the entrance fee to the tourist attractions you’ll pass. You can however buy a combination ticket for the Valencia City Bus Tour and Oceanogràfic for example.
A ticket allows you to hop on and off as much as you like, changing between the 2 Valencia Tourist Bus routes. You can choose between a 24 hour ticket and an 48 hour ticket.
TIP: The Valencia Tourist Card gets you a discount on these Valencia city bus tour tickets.
Our conclusion: Valencia is a great city to explore on foot or by bike, but if you’re staying a bit out of the city centre for example, you can easily take the bus as well.
We often took the bus to the city centre, before continuing on foot, but renting a bike for a day or two was a lot of fun as well. How will you be getting around in Valencia?
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