Valencia Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour 24 or 48 Hours

Pintor Sorolla, the Bullring and the Old Town

The route begins on Pintor Sorolla street, a few steps from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento in the heart of Valencia. From here the old town, the Ciutat Vella, is within easy walking distance, with the Cathedral, the Central Market and the Gothic Silk Exchange, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Getting off here is the best way to start a Valencia sightseeing bus day if you plan to explore on foot.

The next stop is the Plaza de Toros, the city's neoclassical bullring completed in 1859, whose arches recall a Roman amphitheatre. It stands beside the Estació del Nord, the modernist railway station from 1917, decorated with oranges and ceramic mosaics. Both make a striking first photo before the bus heads south-east towards the modern city.

The Fallas Museum

Valencia's Fallas festival, inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2016, fills the city every March with giant satirical sculptures of wood, cardboard and paint that are set alight on the final night. Each year the public saves one figure from the flames, and since 1934 these pardoned figures, the ninots indultats, have been kept in the Fallas Museum.

The museum is a colourful, light-hearted stop that shows the humour and craftsmanship behind the festival, and a visit takes about 45 minutes. If you are visiting Valencia outside March, this is the closest you will get to the spirit of the Fallas. Admission is paid separately at the door.

City of Arts and Sciences and the Oceanogràfic

The City of Arts and Sciences is Valencia's most famous landmark: a complex of futuristic white buildings and turquoise pools set in the old bed of the Turia River. It includes the eye-shaped Hemisfèric cinema and planetarium, the Science Museum, the opera house of the Palau de les Arts and the Umbracle garden walkway. Walking around the outside is free, and the reflections at sunset are spectacular.

Next door, the Oceanogràfic is the largest aquarium in Europe, with underwater tunnels, Arctic and tropical zones, beluga whales, sharks and a dolphin show. Plan at least three to four hours if you go in. The bus stops at both, which makes the hop-on hop-off ticket the simplest way to reach them from the centre; tickets for the attractions are bought separately.

Royal Marina, the Port and Las Arenas Beach

The route then reaches the sea at the Marina Real, the Royal Marina, rebuilt for an international sailing regatta in 2007. Its landmark is the Veles e Vents building, a white, layered pavilion whose terraces look over the yachts and the old harbour sheds. The marina area is pleasant for a stroll, with seafront restaurants and wide promenades.

A little further north lies Las Arenas beach, the start of the long sandy shore that continues to the Malvarrosa, with the historic seaside spa of Las Arenas and the old fishing quarter of El Cabanyal, famous for its houses covered in colourful tiles. On a 48-hour ticket many travellers spend a whole afternoon here, swimming or eating a paella by the sea in its birthplace region.

Mestalla, the Military Museum and the Fine Arts Museum

Returning towards the centre, the bus passes Mestalla, the city's historic football stadium opened in 1923, and the Military History Museum, set in old barracks with collections of uniforms, models and weapons. Close by are the Jardines del Real, also called Viveros, a shady park with fountains and a rose garden on the site of a former royal palace.

The San Pío V stop serves the Museu de Belles Arts, Valencia's Fine Arts Museum, housed in a grand baroque building with a blue-tiled dome. Its collection runs from medieval Valencian altarpieces to Spanish painting of the 19th and 20th centuries, and entry is free. From here a bridge leads straight to the Torres de Serranos, the 14th-century gate of the old city walls.

Bioparc, the Valencia History Museum and IVAM

In the west of the city, Bioparc is a modern zoo that recreates African habitats without visible fences, so giraffes, elephants and lemurs seem to share the same landscape as visitors. Nearby, the Valencia History Museum is housed in a 19th-century underground water reservoir, a beautiful brick hall that now tells the city's story from its Roman founding in 138 BC to the present.

The last stop, the IVAM, is the Valencian Institute of Modern Art, opened in 1989 as the first modern art museum in Spain. From here the bus returns to Pintor Sorolla through the Turia Gardens area. With the 24-hour ticket you can pick two or three of these sights; with 48 hours you can include Bioparc or a long museum visit comfortably.