What to Do in Valencia: The Best Activities for Las Fallas and Year-Round
Updated: 4 days ago
Las Fallas runs from March 1st through 19th — nineteen days of street parties, mascletàs (daytime firework displays so loud they're measured by concussion rather than decibel), giant sculptural monuments that take a year to build and burn in one night, and the smell of gunpowder over Valencia from before dawn until after midnight. It's a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. It's one of Spain's biggest festivals. And it's genuinely hard to explain until you've been inside it.
But Valencia earns a visit any time of year. The City of Arts and Sciences, the Mercado Central, the paella, the beach at La Malvarrosa. Here's what to book.
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Best for First-Timers: Las Fallas Walking Tour — Ninots, Mascletà & Street Culture
During Las Fallas (March 1–19), a guided walking tour of the monuments and the festival culture is the right first experience. The fallas are enormous sculptural installations — some as tall as a four-story building — built over the previous year by neighbourhood commissions and positioned on street corners throughout the city. The guided tour explains which ones are technically and artistically significant (the satirical ones, the topical ones, the ones that will be talked about for years), the history of the tradition, and the best timing for the mascletà in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento at 2pm daily.
Outside Las Fallas, Valencia's old city walking tour covers the Gothic quarter, the Mercado Central (one of the great covered markets in Europe), and the Silk Exchange — a UNESCO World Heritage Gothic building that is less visited than it should be.
Tours: Valencia: Las Fallas guided walking tour — monuments & festival culture · Valencia: old city, Mercado Central & Silk Exchange walking tour · Browse all Valencia tours on GetYourGuide → · Search Viator →
Best for Families & Kids: City of Arts & Sciences — Science Museum & Oceanogràfic
The City of Arts and Sciences is Valencia's Santiago Calatrava-designed complex on the old Turia riverbed — an interactive science museum (the Príncipe Felipe), Europe's largest aquarium (the Oceanogràfic), an IMAX cinema (the Hemisfèric), and an opera house (the Palau de les Arts) in a landscape of reflecting pools and white concrete that has been photographed approximately a million times. For families: the science museum and the aquarium are the right combination for a full day.
The Oceanogràfic has a underwater tunnel through a shark tank, beluga whales, and marine ecosystems from all over the world — genuinely one of the better aquariums in Europe. The science museum is hands-on and well designed for children from about 6 upward.
Tours: Valencia: City of Arts & Sciences — skip-the-line guided tour · Valencia: Oceanogràfic & science museum combo ticket · Browse all Valencia family tours → · Search Viator →
Best if You Only Have a Few Hours: Mercado Central Food Tour & Paella Class
The Mercado Central de Valencia is the largest covered fresh-food market in Europe by vendor count — 1,200 stalls under a Modernista iron-and-glass dome built in 1928. A guided food tour of the market is the fastest and most efficient way to understand what Valencia actually eats: the horchata, the fresh chufa (tiger nut), the enormous variety of citrus, the fish from the Mediterranean. Then the paella class, because Valencia invented it and the version you've had everywhere else is probably wrong.
Valencian paella is rice-based, cooked over a wood fire, and made with chicken, rabbit, and green beans — not seafood, not saffron-yellow, not stirred. The cooking class format that includes the market visit and the meal is the most complete version.
Tours: Valencia: Mercado Central food tour & traditional paella cooking class · Valencia: old city food tour & local tapas · Browse all Valencia food tours → · Search Viator →
Most Unique: Las Fallas La Cremà — Watching the Monuments Burn
On the night of March 19th, every falla in Valencia burns. Every single one, in every neighbourhood, simultaneously at midnight. The largest go first. The fires are attended by the falleras in traditional dress, by the bands, by the neighbourhood commissions. The heat from the larger monuments is felt across the street. The ash settles on the city through the early hours.
Getting into position for the right monument at the right time is the logistical challenge — the city is full, the streets are packed, and the fire brigade controls access. A guided La Cremà experience with a local guide who knows which monument is burning when and how to navigate between them is worth the booking. One of the most specific and unrepeatable nights in Spain.
Tours: Valencia: Las Fallas La Cremà guided experience — monument burning night · Browse all Valencia Las Fallas experiences → · Search Viator →
Best Guided Experience: Day Trip to Albufera Natural Park & Paella at the Lake
The Albufera — a freshwater lagoon 10 kilometres south of Valencia — is where Valencian paella was born. The rice paddies around the lagoon have been cultivated since Moorish times and the specific variety of rice used for authentic paella (J. Sendra or Bomba) still comes from here. A day trip to the Albufera covers a boat trip on the lagoon, the rice paddies, the village of El Palmar (the paella village), and lunch. The sunsets over the lagoon are famously good.
March is good: the migrating waterbirds are still present, the rice paddies are being prepared for the season, and the tourist pressure is well below summer. A genuinely peaceful half-day outside the Las Fallas noise.
Tours: Valencia: Albufera Natural Park boat trip & paella lunch · Valencia: Albufera lagoon, El Palmar village & rice paddies tour · Browse all Valencia tours → · Search Viator →
Looking for Somewhere to Stay?
The Ruzafa neighbourhood or the old city centre are the right bases for Las Fallas — walkable to the mascletà, close to the main monuments. During the festival (March 15–19 especially), book 6 months in advance — the city fills to capacity. Outside Las Fallas, Valencia is easy to book year-round. Browse hotels in Valencia →
More on Valencia and March in Spain
What to Wear in Valencia for Las Fallas
Las Fallas falls in March, which in Valencia means mild days and cool evenings. Layers are your best friend. During the day you might be comfortable in a light jacket, but once the sun drops and the crowds pack in around the bonfires, you'll want a proper coat nearby.
This is a city festival, not a nature hike. People dress for a night out. Valencia has style, and during Las Fallas it turns up a notch. Think smart casual: a good jacket, jeans or trousers that aren't falling apart, and shoes you can walk in for hours on uneven streets.
Comfortable shoes are non-negotiable. You'll be standing and walking for hours, sometimes on cobblestones, always in crowds. Stylish but broken-in is the goal. Leave the brand-new shoes at home or you'll pay for it.
Bring ear protection if you're sensitive to noise. The mascletà fireworks are famously loud, like physically rattling loud. Earplugs fit in any pocket and you'll be glad you have them.
A scarf is still useful in early March in Valencia, especially in the evenings. Not a heavy wool one, but a light scarf gives you that extra layer when the night air comes in off the coast.
Practical Tips for Las Fallas
When Exactly Is Las Fallas?
Las Fallas runs March 1 to March 19. The festival builds across the month, but the peak days are the 15th through the 19th. The grand finale, La Cremà, happens the night of March 19, when hundreds of enormous papier-mâché statues (the fallas) are set on fire. It is one of the most extraordinary things you can witness in Spain.
The Mascletà
Every day at 2pm from March 1 to March 19, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento hosts the mascletà, a ritual daytime fireworks display focused entirely on sound rather than light. Arrive early for a good spot. The crowd response and the physical percussion of the fireworks are genuinely something else.
Book Everything Early
Valencia gets packed during Las Fallas. Hotels can fill up months in advance for the peak week (March 15-19). If you're flexible on dates, arriving March 14 or 15 and leaving March 19 catches the best of it. Book accommodations as soon as you know your travel dates.
The Falleras and the Offering
On March 17 and 18, thousands of falleras (women in traditional dress) walk through the city in the Ofrenda de Flores, offering flowers to the Virgin. The flowers are arranged into a giant floral cloak on a huge statue in the square. If you see nothing else, see this.
What to Eat
Valencia is the home of paella. Eat it here. The real thing is made with rabbit and chicken, not shrimp, but the city makes all kinds. Orxata (horchata) and fartons are the local snack. Street food during the festival is abundant, and the outdoor buñuelos (fritters with chocolate) are mandatory.
In a Rush? Where to Stay
Looking for a hotel in Valencia during Las Fallas? Compare options across the city on Stay22. Book well in advance for peak dates.
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