Valencia and Madrid - Summer 2024 one week itinerary

Day 1 - Valencia

Our trip to Spain started with a very early morning (or rather night) flight to Valencia. After arrival, we reached our accommodation to leave the luggage, and as we still had a few long hours to kill and were quite exhausted, we first made a stop in a local bar for a coffee / drink. Our apartment was located near Jardines de Turia - a former riverbed turned into a park, which stretches for about 9km in the centre of Valencia - so we then went for a walk there, waiting for a lunch time to start in local restaurants. We found a simple local bar, with a lovely accommodating owner, who prepared the meals for us even though the kitchen was not open yet. Something we really needed at this moment of the day to not get totally grumpy after the almost sleepless travel night, with a tiredness peak. Our apartment service was also very accomodating, and as soon as we finished lunch, our apartment was ready to check in.

After a late afternoon siesta, we went to the old town, taking a short bus ride, which turned our to be our most convenient transportation in Valencia. We got off at the Serrans Towers (Torres dels Serrans) and walked around the old town, towards the Cathedral and the Central Market (Mercat Central). Both were closed at this time of the day, but we wanted to get the first idea of the old town and just stroll through the streets and the lovely plazas.

Valencia Old Town

Day 2 - Valencia

We started the day with a visit at Oceanografic, the largest oceanarium in Europe. It's located in the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciencies), all built in a really impressive modern style. The oceanarium is one of the main attractions of Valencia and worth the visit, although the tickets are on the expensive side. For us the biggest highlights were the dolphins show, which is organised in an educational and ethical way, and the aquarium tunnel with all the various species that you can watch there, including the sharks.

Oceanografic Valencia

Oceanografic Valencia - the dolphins show

In the evening, we decided to go to the Malvarrosa beach, the main city beach in Valencia. I think it's as good as a city beach can be - a very wide sandy beach, with very warm sea water, and a promenade with lots of restaurants. We decided to try some local paellas for dinner at El Trompo restaurant, which was recommended to us and turned out to be a very good choice.

Malvarrosa beach

Day 3 - Valencia

The next morning was for exploring the old town. We started with a visit at the Cathedral, which claims to be the home of the Holy Grail (alongside some other places which claim the same;)). We were quite lucky to accidentally see the opening of the altarpiece doors, which doesn't seem to happen very often and was probably done for some technical reasons. Our next stop was the historical Silk Exchange building (Lonja de la Seda). It's an exceptional example of a secular buidling in a late gothic style, and a proof of Valencia's prosperity in the15th century. After that, we went inside the famous Central Market, which was amazing both in terms of architecture (art nouveau) and all the (quite affordable) food choices. We had some jamon sandwiches and fruit salad for lunch there, as well as good coffee, before heading back to the apartment for a siesta. 

Holy Grail?

Lonja de la Seda

For our last afternoon we chose to visit the Science Museum (Museo de las Ciencias), but apart from the impressive architecture we found it slightly dissapointing, especially as compared to other science museums in Europe.

Museo de las Ciencias

We would have loved to spend one more day in Valencia to add a more relaxed beach time, but had to stick to three days due to a change of flights.

Day 4 - Madrid

In the morning we took a fast train (AVE) to Madrid, excitedly watching the screens showing the speed and waiting for it to reach 300km/h (it did!). Our apartment in the capital was very centrally located near the Plaza Mayor, making it possible to walk to most places of interest.

Plaza Mayor

For the first evening we booked a free visit at the Reina Sofia Museum, a home to the famous 'Guernica' by Picasso and other pieces of modern Spanish art, including works by Picasso, Salvador Dali and Joan Miró.

Museo Reina Sofia

Day 5 - Madrid

The next day we took it quite easy and after a lazy morning and lunch we headed to the Royal Palace for a pre-booked visit. It's an impressive building and also a place to learn a bit about the Spanish royal family. The visit is actually quite short, just over an hour, as only some parts of the palace are available to tourists. After a bit of culture, we treated our stomachs to churros with chocolate at Las Farolas, and spent the evening strolling around the areas of Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol and Alcala street and ended it with a nice drink in a local bar near Mercado de San Miguel.

Inside the Royal Palace

Day 6 - Toledo

This was an intensive day, started with a fast train ride to Toledo. Highly recommend going there early in the morning (early for Spain is around 9:00), as the temperatures will be more bearable than later in the day. The train takes only 35 minutes, you can then take a taxi or a bus from the station to the old town, but we decided to walk for the views of the town set on a hill. This medieval town is sometimes called a town-museum for a reason - you can rarely see so many historical landmarks in such a small area. What's more interesting, those landmarks are a product of three different cultures/religions, which used to co-live here: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Toledo

We first went to the Cathedral, unfortunately we could only see a small part inside as it was closed for a mass at that time (but what we saw was truly beautiful). We then made a short stop at Santo Tome church to see one of the masterpieces by El Greco, and headed to the Santa Maria la Blanca Synagogue from 13th century (currently a catholic church). It was quite unusual to see a synagogue built in a mudejar style. Only a stone's throw away from the synagogue, we found the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, which we would pick as our favourite monument of Toledo, truly majestic in its gothic architecture. 

Streets of Toledo old town, Cathedral tower in the background

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes

We ended our stay in Toledo with a tapas lunch at El Trebol (again a great choice) and then headed back to the train station. This walk was quite difficult as by the afternoon the temperatures raised to 43*C, so getting inside the air-conditioned train was quite a relief!

Day 7 - Madrid

On our last day in Madrid we visited the Retiro Park, a lovely (and huge!) area for a chilled morning, coffee, ice cream and walks. We especially liked the Cristal Palace (unfortunately closed for renovation) and feeding the turtles at the pond in front of it.

Crystal Palace at the Retiro Park

The afternoon was for some shopping and relaxed drinks in the city, before heading to the Spanish coast for the next part of our holiday.