Useful information

How to get to Valencia from the UK

From the Midlands
Monarch used to fly direct from BHX to VLC from May to September – there are rumours another airline will take over the route but so far, nothing’s been announced. Instead, you can fly from BHX with KLM via Skipol or with Air France via Paris. RyanAir operate cheap flights to VLC from East Midlands airport from May to October.

From the South East
There are direct (and cheap) flights to VLC from Stansted, Gatwick and Luton with RyanAir and EasyJet. From Heathrow, there are flights to VLC but many go via Madrid.

From other places in the UK
Check Google Flights

Other ways to get there
A cheap but longer alternative is to fly direct to Alicante or Barcelona and take the Renfe (EuroMed) train. Or to Madrid and take the high-speed train.

Useful information

How to translate Spanish addresses

Here’s a quick guide to how to understand and translate Spanish addresses.

Unlike in English, the number of the property comes after the street name.
‘c/’ in an address means calle, street.
‘Av’ means avenida, avenue.
‘bajo’ means low, so it means the unit at street level
Another number after the main number means the door number in that building.
‘Esc’ means escalier, staircase. And you might get the floor number too.

So you might see:
c/ Harry Weston 3, esc A, 3°, 4
which would mean
Harry Weston Street, building number 3, stairwell A, 3rd floor, door number 4

After that you just get the postcode, which covers a much bigger area in Spain, and the city name. And then the province, if relevant.
In Valencia, many street signs show the street name in the local language, Valenciano. Just as in Barcelona, the street names are in Catalan. It’s easy enough to work out you’re in right place though. Carrer in Valenciano means street.

Useful information

Valencia meal-times and some vocab

You’ve got to love a place that has so many defined mealtimes. Here’s some info to help explain the words you’ll see when you’re eating out in Valencia.

Desayuno [‘deh-say-ooh-no’]
06:00 – 12:00
Breakfast. On menu boards, look for desayuno popular – this will be a very good value option, usually a coffee and pastry or tostada. Add a fresh orange juice for a few extra cents.

Almuerzo [‘al-moo-air-zoh’]
11:00 – 13:00
A sort of early lunch but more than elevenses. Could be a bocadillo (sandwich) or tortilla (potato omelette). Some people even have a slice of tortilla in a sandwich!

Comida [‘ko-mee-dah’]
13:00 – 15:00
Proper lunch. On menu boards, look for menu del dia, always a good value option for eating out.

Merienda [‘meh-ree-en-dah’]
16:00 – 19:00
Afternoon tea. A hot or cold drink and something sweet.

Cena [‘say-nah’]
21:00 – 00:00
Proper dinner. Often not eaten until 10pm by locals. And often you won’t need cena if you’ve had a big almuerzo or comida.

Para picar [‘para pi-kar’]
Nibbles – this means ‘to pick’.

Para llevar [‘para yay-var”]
Take away – literally ‘to carry’

A compartir [‘a kom-par-teer’]
To share. This appears on a menu where you order one dish to share, for example paella or a starter.