Hola chicas y chicos!
Welcome to another Spanish instalment of Kaptain Kenny.
This time, I’m going to try and convince you to choose VALENCIA over Barcelona.
What!? Yes, I went there. Barcelona is big and old and grand and yadda yadda yadda but it’s also overrun with tourists, overpriced and it doesn’t warrant much time spent there if you ask me. (But hey if the Barcelona tourist board would like to invite me back for a second chance, you know where to find me 😉 )
Last year I was desperate for a new adventure. So I packed my things and moved to Valencia for one and half months and enrolled myself in Taronja Language School  for an intensive beginners course in Spanish.
Before going, I began to get cold feet. “Why am I going? I don’t actually need to learn Spanish…. I already speak German and English. What if something happens when I’m alone?” Plus I had read some dodgy things about Valencia online which only added to my mistrust of the initial idea.
Let me tell you what I would have missed out on if I hadn’t gone…..
- Every single day we had blue skies. (See below.) The weather (in July/August) was brilliant and very, very hot! If you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Valencia is also really safe. As a solo female, you can easily walk around day/night and be relaxed!
- The language school (Taronja) was epic. They organised daily cultural and social activities for the students. The activities ranged from salsa lessons, to paella and sangria parties and weekend trips to surrounding beaches etc.

With my amigos in class at Taronja. That’s Victor – the best Spanish teach ever!
- The food was really nice. Valencia is the birthplace of PAELLA and they also offer a damn good jug of sangria too so for those who want to experience the local food, this is a great option. My other tip is to try gazpacho soup (picture on the right) because it’s healthy and very refreshing. (Click here to see my favourite list of restaurants in Valencia – your ultimate food guide!)
- There are many nearby beaches and day trip locations which are worth the trip. One for example was a trip to a nearby hot spring buried within some mountains called Montanejos. (See below or click here to read a previous blog about it.)
- The local dialect varies between Valenciano and Catalan BUT a lot of people speak regular Spanish too. It was never a problem to try and talk to people, the main hinderance was my lack of Spanish vocabulary and inability to form sentences in the past tense. “Yesterday I buy bananas!”
- Valencia has a huge street art scene and many of the streets are laden with graffiti, spray paint and really beautiful artwork which just adds to the charm. This post is going to give you a more ‘neighbourhood street art feel’ and the next few posts will be more about the food and drinks in the best areas.
- IF you are dying to get to Barcelona, you can still do it from Valencia by train in three hours. It’s something you *could* technically do in a day if you have the energy. (You can read more about my crazy penchant for day trips by clicking here.) Or make it a long weekend trip.
- If you are going to stay for a while, book on Airbnb and stay with a local. I had a lovely time staying with Silvia, a lady from Mexico who had been living in Valencia for the past 10 years. She had a cute sausage dog called Max and walking him twice a day was the BEST way to practise my Spanish with people on the street.

The other major to upside to life in the centre of town – living above a cafe!!!
So I’ll stop yapping on now – the following photos were all taken on my iPhone from the barrio (area) I lived in called El Carmen. If you’re coming to Valencia, I’d highly recommend this area. The other up and coming hipster area is Russafa and it’s filled with incredible restaurants, bars and cafes which seem to only open at 9PM…. damn you Spaniards and your late eating times!
If you have any questions about life in Valencia, please email me or leave a comment. Happy to help.
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Valencia is also really safe. As a solo female, you can easily walk around day/night and be relaxed!

This was my dog’s favourite place to stop and do a wee so one day I took the liberty of taking a photo.

Political messages.

These back alleyways lead to the BEST places. Around the corner from here, there’s an amazing place called Almalibre where you get acai bowls.

Nothing but clear, blue skies here!

Yipee my Belgian friend Lien is happy to be in Espana!

More street art.

Probably El Carmen’s most famously photographed spot. Cute huh?

More artwork.

See that cheesecake shaped building? I lived next door to that!

The entrance to a cute little boutique.

Follow the yellow brick road.
9 Comments
Megan (@MeganCStarr)
June 5, 2016 at 6:45 pmhey now, the skies here are blue as can be (because the storm is rolling in!)
but i want to live in that house in valencia with flowers on it. it is now my life goal <3
kaptainkennytravel
June 5, 2016 at 7:08 pmHahah! That was a classic summer storm wasn’t it? Yeah Valencia was a great choice – there’s a post coming next all about food in Valencia too so stay tuned!
malinquintern
June 8, 2016 at 8:38 amHow is living in Valencia with a (big) dog?
kaptainkennytravel
June 8, 2016 at 9:33 amHey there!
Hmm – what sort of dog? And how big? Actually there’s a beautiful, long park which stretches through the ring of the city so even if the dog is going to be in a small apartment, there are plenty of options for walks. The only downside would be that the weather is extremely hot and if it’s a dog with very thick fur, it may not enjoy that.
Malin
June 8, 2016 at 7:04 pmHi – Thanks! No, she is a Rhodesian Ridgeback an looooves the heat, but needs to run a lot. I saw only dogs on leash in the park when I was there and that they weren’t allowed on the beach. I really like Valencia and would like to stay there for a while, but I may have to find another solution for the dog….
kaptainkennytravel
June 8, 2016 at 7:15 pmHmmm – I think ridgebacks need lots of free roam and especially a garden so unless you get majorly lucky with a house and garden….? The poor little thing, I’m sure she would love to come! Let me know what you decide – for you it’s exciting either way!
Valencian neighbourhood food guide – kaptain kenny travel
June 22, 2016 at 7:35 pm[…] (If you’d like to see a post on Valencian street art, then click here.) […]
spainuncharted
April 18, 2017 at 2:00 pmI live in Valencia, basically for all the reasons above. I love the food, the weather, and the pace of life. Barcelona is COMPLETELY overrun with tourists and I hate it. Valencia has the perfect balance of anything you could ever hope for!
I also attended Taronja my first visit to Valencia. I can confirm is it an awesome school!
kaptainkennytravel
April 18, 2017 at 2:21 pmThat’s exactly what I thought about Barca, in fact, I was quite underwhelmed by it 🙂 So glad you loved Taronja! That place is incredible – so full of life, atmosphere and so social! Great for a newbie in town.