Valencia in three days: more than just tourist stuff

Hi to all you travel-lovers! During my third and final day in Valencia, my friend decided to take me to all the coolest places in the city that, although they are well known and quite touristy, we were going through a bit of the itinerary that we had made the first day, visiting every single Valencian historic monument. Doing so with the intention that in this blog I could talk to you about some activities to do or places that you can visit if you have already visited the main tourist attractions.

University of Valencia's Botanical Garden

If there's something that I like almost as much as city cathedrals, it is botanical gardens. I particularly loved that of the University of Valencia, because they have a multitude of greenhouses and I love to visit those. Also, as they are separated from each other, when going from one to the next you have to go outside, and you can really notice the change in humidity and temperate from each greenhouses climate. If it appeals to you to look at lots of different plants and pass a few hours a bit out of the city, this is the perfect place to pass the afternoon by.

The Botanical Garden changes their opening hours almost every month, so I recommend checking their website before visiting. If you go during the summer months, as I did, you will be able to go between 10 am and 9 pm. To get there you can take the metro (lines 1, 3 and 5) or the bus (lots of routes go this way, but I believe that I took line number 5). The entrance costs 1. 50 euros for students, but you can get in for free if you study at the University of Valencia, so if that applies to you, don't forget to take your student card with you.

Centre del Carme

The Centre del Carme is a cultural area situated right in the middle of Valencia. You can find it on Museo Street (I don't know if that was by chance or if it would have been built here on purpose but hey it's helpful) and although it is not for exhibitions, it's worth going just to see the building's patio which is full of plants. Although seeing as it is free to enter, I recommend that you go and see some of the exhibitions as I found the ones that I saw really interesting. When I went there was one called "Los Algoritmos Suaves", with lots of technology-based art that played with lights and sound which was honestly really entertaining. But the exhibitions will change after a certain amount of time, and are seasonal, so you will need to look at their website if you want to know which ones you can go and visit during your trip to Valencia.

Cycling through the Turia Gardens

Valencia is bigger than it initially seems, and as I didn't want to leave without seeing the City of Arts and Sciences (even though I could only go and see them from the outside) my friend and I decided to take bikes so we could explore the city and take less time getting there from here, given that it is a bit further from the centre. If you decide to explore Valencia via bike, I recommend you start at the top of the Cabecera Park because from here there are green spaces which pass through the Quart Towers and goes to Gulliver Park, a children's park. If you follow the whole park ride, which is actually known as the Turia Gardens, you will arrive at the City of Arts and Sciences in little less than half an hour. Seeing the architecture of the buildings is worthwile because they are very eye-catching, and it is something that you have to see no matter what. If you want to see inside them, you need to dedicate a whole day to it because there's a lot to see (the entrance price isn't cheap either).

These are a few of my recommendations for things to do during your trip to Valencia, especially if it is summer because you will have a brilliant time; and when you get on a bike you can escape the Valencian heat because it can end up being horrible, take it from me...).