Valencia and the shopping centers

Hi readers!

Today I decided to talk about something I think is useful if you are living in Valencia: the shopping centers. There are several spread surrounding the city, so I am going to explain which you can visit, how to arrive there and the location in the city.

So, here it goes the list:

• Nuevo Centro
• Aqua
• Arena
• Bonaire
• El Saler
• Gran Turia
• MN4 (Alfafar comercial zone)

For me, these are the main ones. Then, there is another one called "Mercado de Campanar" where you can find a Decathlon (Sports shop) and cinemas, but it is not a real mall, in fact.

I will start in order:

Nuevo Centro

Nuevo Centro (new center) is a mall located in Avenida Pio XII 2 next to the Turia's riverbed. It is one of the oldest malls in the city, but the offer of shops and restaurants is really big. The opening hours go from 10 to 22. There are two levels inside the mall and there is "El Corte Inglés" inside. "El Corte Inglés" are like... our Harrods, we can say. But there are not so expensive as Harrods, of course. El corte inglés collect several brands, the best as they say, because in Valencia there are not too much shops of brands as they can be in other cities as Madrid or Barcelona.

To arrive to Nuevo Centro you can take the metro, line 1 stopping in Turia. I think is really easy, actually. There are some buses as the 95 or the 29. In general, all the buses which go over the riverbed stop near the shopping center.

Moreover, in February, in the space outside the mall takes place the Ninot Exposition, related to "Las Fallas" where you can go and vote for your favourite one, the one you would like to save from the flames.

Homepage Nuevo Centro

Aqua

Aqua is the posh one. This shopping center is located in Calle de Menorca 19, next to the sea, at the end of the Turia's riverbed, in front of the City of Arts and Sciences (built by Santiago Calatrava) of Valencia. This shopping center has the shops opened outside the street, so it is not too advisable to visit it the cold days (anyway, we do not have cold days in Valencia). There is a cinema and some restaurants, too. Anyway, I do not like it too much because there are some expensive shops of well-known brands. Nowadays, this area of the city is one of the most expensive.

To arrive you can take the bus 35, 1a, 1b and 1. Or maybe, if you do not mind to walk a little bit you can take the line 5 of the metro and stop in Ayora or Marítim.

Homepage Aqua

Arena

Arena is the newest shopping center of the city located in Calle Santa Genoveva Torres 21. It is in the north of the city, next to the "Ronda norte". There are a lot of shops outside, but the covered part is more protected than the one outside. Next to this mall is located the Levante football stadium, of the Levante UD, the second football team of the city of Valencia after de Valencia CF.

To get there, you can take the metro to Machado or the tram to Levante UD. You can take also the bus number 70.

The best thing of this mall is that is usually almost empty, you can take a look or shop easily without too many people.

Homepage Arena

El Saler

El Saler is located in front of Aqua, crossing the street, in the other side of the riverbed and the City of Arts and Sciences. There are restaurants, shops and cinemas too. You can arrive there taking the bus number 95. The mall is interior and it has some balconies.

The mall is called El Saler because there is a seaside village near it and the beach with the same place. Close to this village is located the Albufera, a Natural Park, protected. I will talk you soon about it and how to go because it is beautiful.

Homepage El Saler

Gran Turia

Gran Turia is located on the suburbs of Valencia, in the Barrio de La Luz of Xirivella (a little town next to Valencia). Well, it is next to one of the main entrances of the city, the one that comes from Madrid. In fact, I do not really recommend you to go there because there are not many shops, there is a cinema, but you can find the same in El Saler and there is only one bus to arrive there, the 72.

Homepage Gran Turia

MN4

MN4 is a group of shops located on the Alfafar commercial area, Calle del Alcalde José Puertes, s/n (Alfafar). It is not in Valencia, so that's the main problem. Despite it, it is a good one because there are so many shops there... You can find clothes shop and another kind like furniture or sports. You can find restaurants too, and a cinema.

Personally I like this place because it has some opened places and others closed. To arrive there you can take the Herca bus 183, but my advice: take the car if you can. The parking is free and there are many places.

Ah, by the way, this summer it will open IKEA in this commercial area, so probably you will be more interested then... Right?

Homepage MN4

Bonaire

And the best for the last position. Bonaire. Oh Bonaire... what a place (if you have money... ). It is the biggest area, if I am not wrong, to go and shop in Valencia. It is located on a little town called Aldaia, which is not too far away from Valencia. Ok, actually is the farest one, but it is the best. I promise!

In Bonaire you can find everything: shops, restaurants, leisure, free parking, cinema... It is all outside but there is a roof, so if it is raining, there is no problem (not too much, because you will be happy just being there... ).

There is the only Primark you can find in Valencia. I talk to you about it because it is the shop you are going to ask when you arrive here, I am sure.

Then, there is an outlet part, the Factory Bonaire, where you can find several shops with big discounts during all the year. It is pretty cool.

To arrive there you can take the bus number 160 from Valencia and the number 106 from Torrente. You can also take the car.

In Bonaire there is an ice - skating rink too, which is open all year.

Homepage Bonaire

I linked you the webpages in the name of every section of this post.

Have a nice Saturday!

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