Que faire en Europe · Valence
Valencia's 9 October week: what to book, and the holiday programme around it
The Oceanogràfic, two flamenco shows, a five-star wine-and-tapas tour and a day at the Montanejos hot springs, with the mascletà, the parade and the circus.
- Pour les Européens
- Pour les visiteurs des États-Unis
- Pour les visiteurs d'Asie de l'Est
October 9 is the Day of the Valencian Community, and in 2026 it falls on a Friday, with Spain's national holiday the following Monday, which makes the second week of October a four-day weekend and the city's busiest of the autumn. The bookings below come from our partner's Valencia catalogue, 210 experiences as read on October 1, ranked by how many people booked and how they rated them. Prices are "from" prices in euros. Book the Friday ones first: it is the holiday, and the queues are the holiday's.
Pendant votre séjour à Valence
Quelques idées d'activités à Valence proposées par notre partenaire GetYourGuide. La réservation se fait sur leur site.
Glentio touche une petite commission lorsque vous réservez via ces liens, sans surcoût pour vous. Prix relevés sur GetYourGuide le 1 oct. 2026 ; le prix et les disponibilités du jour sont sur leur site. Plus d'activités à Valence
The tickets
- Oceanogràfic entry, from €37. Rated 4.7 by 11,500 visitors, the most-booked thing in the city, and the one to have in hand for Friday October 9, when the holiday crowd arrives at the City of Arts and Sciences.
- Oceanogràfic, Hemisfèric and Science Museum combo, from €46, 4.5 from 3,500, if the whole complex is the day.
- Bioparc Valencia, from €30, 4.8 from 3,000. The better-rated of the two animal tickets, at the other end of the Turia park, and the quieter one on the holiday.
Two flamenco shows
- Palosanto flamenco show, from €21, 4.8 from 4,500. The most-booked show in the catalogue.
- Authentic flamenco show, from €21, 4.9 from 1,800, rated a notch higher by fewer people. Either is a good Friday night after the parade; book the later one, since the Entrada runs long.
Food and wine, taught or walked
- Old town tour with wine and tapas in an 11th-century monument, from €80, four hours, rated 5.0 by 2,100. The best-rated experience in the Valencia catalogue with more than a thousand reviews.
- Paella cooking class with a Central Market tour, from €70, 5.0 from 1,200. The restaurant version of the dish; the neighbourhood version is free on Friday, below.
- Tapas and drinks evening tour, from €69, 4.8 from 680.
A day out, and an hour on the water
- Montanejos thermal pools with rafting, kayak and hiking, from €33, eight and a half hours, 4.7 from 3,600. The Saturday of the long weekend, if the city is too full.
- City highlights guided bike tour, from €29, three hours, 4.7 from 2,500. Valencia is flat and the Turia park is the route.
- Complete tuk-tuk tour of the city, from €40, 4.8 from 840.
- Sailing catamaran with a sunset option, from €15, an hour to ninety minutes, 4.1 from 5,000. The cheapest hour on the water in the catalogue and rated accordingly; take it for the sunset, not the sailing.
Booking happens on the partner's site; Glentio earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The holiday programme around them
The city's own programme for the week is published by Visit València and every item below is on Glentio's Valencia page today with the time as listed. The neighbourhood doing most of the work is Patraix, south-west of the centre.
Thursday October 8, the eve: the Orquesta de València with pianist Carlos Apellániz at the Palau de la Música at 19:00, Valencian composers alongside Falla and Ravel; at La Rambleta the Bucles dance festival's Within a Thousand Suns at 20:00 and a roller party at 21:00. Patraix had opened on Tuesday with cant d'albaes, improvised verse sung through the streets.
Friday October 9, the holiday, in order: the paella encounter on Carrer Juan Bautista Coratjan from noon, paellas over wood with tasting as you go; the neighbourhood mascletà in Plaça de Patraix at 14:30, five minutes of ground-level explosions you feel in the chest; the XXI Entrada de Moros y Cristianos at 17:00, the big parade from the Glorieta through carrer de la Pau to carrer de Xàtiva; and ValenCirc's opening night in the Jardins del Palau with Circonvivents, six companies in one show, passes at 18:00 and 20:00. The circus runs in the gardens through the Monday holiday.
For Europeans
Valencia is a short flight from most of the continent and the holiday weekend is the city's own, not a tourist event. Book the Oceanogràfic and the Friday flamenco now, the Montanejos day for Saturday, and the wine-and-tapas tour for the Sunday evening when the parade crowd has gone. Palma has its circus weekend the same two days.
For visitors from the US
Dates on posters are day first: 9/10 is October 9. Prices above are in euros; the Oceanogràfic is about an aquarium ticket at home, the wine-and-tapas tour about a dinner out. The two holidays mean Sunday hours at most museums, which is why the bookings above are tours and shows rather than galleries.
For visitors from East Asia
October is after Golden Week and after the Spanish summer, so fares and hotels are at their calmest and the sea is still warm enough for the beach most years. Spain sets no minimum purchase for a VAT refund; ask for the tax-free form at the till. The partner tours run in English; the paella class needs none.
Sources
- The partner catalogue for Valencia, as read on October 1, 2026, for every price, rating and review count.
- Visit València, the city tourism foundation's agenda, checked October 5, 2026, for the holiday programme.