When Spain began loosening its strict lockdown during the global Covid pandemic, it did so slowly. In order to keep the elderly population safe, there were time frames that various age groups were allowed to go outdoors. Ours was during the evening. After being stuck inside for so long, we made sure to take advantage of our outside time every evening. It became a habitual thing for us, and ever since, we’ve been taking regular evening walks through Valencia.
You might think that, over the years, we would get bored of the same old “walk around town”. But we never really do. Valencia isn’t huge, but it’s dense. The number of interesting neighborhoods and sights we can reach from our apartment is amazing, and whenever we need of a new route, it’s simple to find a street we haven’t yet explored.
Of course, we tend to do our favorite walks repeatedly; there’s always something new to see, even on the routes we’ve done a million times. Our most traveled path is what we call “The Old Town Walk”: down La Paz into the Plaza de la Reina, to the Plaza de la Virgen, to the Torres de Serranos, then through El Carmen to the Mercado Central, the Plaza Ayuntamiento, and back home.
Another favorite is a walk through the neighborhoods of Chinatown and El Pilar, two areas that happen to be the most fun in the evening. That’s also the case for our tours through the upscale blocks of Canovas, when its bars are just starting to fill up. We also love wandering through Benimaclet, or simply heading either way down the Turia Riverbed Park. You see, it’s kind of hard to get bored!
I almost forgot about the Botánico Walk, taking us into one of Valencia’s coolest and most local neighborhoods! That’s for when we have a lot of energy, cause it’s not the closest to home. And if we feel especially fit, we’ll end up in the opposite direction, in Ruzafa. Evening is always a great time to enjoy these walks, especially in summer, because of how beautiful the skies over Valencia becomes around sunset, not to mention the lower temperatures.
It might be a fun project to map out the various walks we’ve become so familiar with, and point out the things you can see along the way. We often reward ourselves, by ending these mini-excursions with horchata, or copas y tapas — our walks are more about enjoyment than fitness! Below you’ll find some photos that might just inspire you to start your own little tradition of taking an evening walk in Valencia!
From our Travel Blog.