Welcome to Valencia!

We are excited to share our Spanish life with you. Which includes helping assure your stay is comfortable and enjoyable. To do this, it helps to know what you want to do during your stay, your expectations and travel style. Now that we have hosted several house guests, we are learning what does and doesn’t work.

This page attempts to get you oriented to Valencia and spur ideas for your visit.

Finally, it is best to have a phone or Zoom call before you book your flight so we can discuss your plans.

Contact Info

Phil‭

(312) 437-0807 WhatsApp

(312) 834-4752‬ Google Voice
+34 ‭624 66 08 71‬ Mobile

philamonjaro@gmail.com

Before You Arrive - Research

Once you get some ideas of what you’d like to do while you are here, let us know beforehand and we can share with you what we do know.

Day trips, tours, etc need to be planned in advance. This is a travel destination and things get booked fast.

Importantly, do some research and plan things out. We are still discovering Valencia ourselves and often have as many questions as you.

https://www.visitvalencia.com/en

https://www.spain.info/en

The history of Valencia

https://www.valencia-tourist-guide.com/en/general/valencia-spain-history.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencia

Climate

Seaside Sunset - El Cabanyal beach, Valencia.

Valencia has a mild temperate Mediterranean climate. The average annual temperature is 17ºC/62ºF with hot summers and mild winters. The temperature in Valencia rarely falls below 10ºC/50ºF. Much like San Diego in the late spring and fall. Winter and early spring can be pretty grey and rainy.

https://weather.com/es-ES/tiempo/hoy/l/SPXX0050:1:SP

Summer temperatures can be brutally hot. The city largely shuts down during August for summer holiday.

Currency

You can order Euros from your bank to have on hand before you arrive.

You can use ATMs at the airport to withdraw Euros.

We mostly use credit cards with no foreign transaction fees. There are a some places that only take cash.

transportation

You can book direct from O’Hare/Chicago to Madrid. Once in Madrid, you can take a train or a connecting flight to Valencia. Check out layover times as your best choice may be to book an overnight stay in Madrid.

Local Valencia Metra https://www.metrovalencia.es/es/

In general there are plenty of cabs.

Rideshare - https://www.free-now.com/es/

You can sign up for bike rentals at https://www.valenbisi.es/en/home. For €13.30 enjoy the Valenbisi service for one week, an unlimited number of journeys and the first half hour of every ride is free. You can get most places within 30 minutes or you can stop at a station and reset your timer during a longer journey.

Staying over

Carrer del Serpis, 64, pta (apt) 1303, 46022, Valencia

We are in the Universidad neighborhood about a 15/20 minute walk to the beach and a 20/25 minute bike ride to the city center.

We have a guest room and can set up for up to two guests with two twin sized fold-out beds.

There is a guest bathroom with a shower, no tub. We have a hairdryer.

We have two cats in case you need to address any allergenic considerations.

Doing laundry European-style at home means smaller loads and drying on a clothesline weather permitting, or an indoor drying rack.

Dining out

La comida (lunch) is a hardy meal served between 13:00 and 17:00. It is best to try el menú del día. This is a fixed price meal (between €10 and €16) where you choose from a short list of items for primero (first course) and segundo (second course). It usually includes a beverage (beer or wine) and either coffee or dessert.

Paella is only served at lunch. If you want paella please find a place you’d like to try and make reservations. We have had paella at El Balcó del Micalet in city center and El Trompo on the beach. Both were good.