City guides Spain
Valencia
A big Spanish city with a beach, real coworking and a EUR 13 set lunch, tied with Las Palmas as the cheapest of any provincial capital. Winter highs run at 16 to 17 degrees. The catch is housing: asking rents hit a record in 2026, at EUR 16.40 to 16.60 per square metre. And autumn is storm season. The flood of 29 October 2024 killed 232 people in Valencia province.
Every figure checked 14 Oct 2026
- EUR 16.60 per square metre a month Asking rent, whole city
- EUR 13 Menu del dia
- EUR 205 plus VAT Coworking monthly
- Country Spain
- Time zone UTC+2 07:23 there now
- Language Spanish and Valencian
- Currency Euro (EUR)
- Plugs Type C and F, 230V
How far English gets you Fine in coworking spaces, Russafa cafes and the old-town tourist trade. Not in everyday bars, with most landlords, or anywhere official. The padron (town-hall registration), the foreigners' office, the tax office and EMT's discounted bus passes all work in Spanish or Valencian, and Valencian is often first on street signs and town-hall pages.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
Remote workers who want a big city with a beach, mild winters and a working coworking scene at around EUR 205 a month plus VAT. It suits people who eat out at lunch, because the menu del dia averages EUR 13. Under-30s do best of all: the EMT Jove pass gives unlimited city buses for EUR 12.50 a month. The visa is Spain's international telework visa, at EUR 2,442 a month gross in 2026.
It does not suit you if
Anyone expecting cheap Spain or easy housing. Asking rents are at records, district averages run from about EUR 1,400 to EUR 2,000 a month across all flat sizes, and in 2024 short lets of 1 to 11 months made up 15 per cent of the rental supply. July and August bring 30 degree days and 21 to 22 degree nights. September and October are the wettest months and the storm season. If you need English at the town hall, a central flat under EUR 1,000 or a cool summer, look elsewhere.
Money
What everything else costs
| Asking rent, Ciutat Vella | EUR 19.30 per square metre a month | Brains RE, Q2 2026, the dearest district |
|---|---|---|
| Asking rent, Benimaclet | EUR 14.70 per square metre a month | Brains RE, Q2 2026. Patraix is lower still, at EUR 13.60 |
| Average rent, all flat sizes | EUR 1,674 a month | UPV Housing Observatory, October 2025. From EUR 1,278 in Patraix to EUR 2,019 in L'Eixample |
| Single bus ticket | EUR 2.00 | EMT, since 1 January 2025, up from EUR 1.50 |
| Monthly travel pass | EUR 35 | SUMA Mensual, zone A: unlimited EMT buses, metro, tram, MetroBus and Cercanias. From an aggregator |
| EMT Jove | EUR 12.50 a month | Unlimited city buses, under-30s only. Confirmed only to June 2026 |
| Coworking day pass | EUR 15 to 25 | Wayco EUR 15, Vortex Centro EUR 25, plus VAT, from a booking platform |
| Cafe con leche | Price not checked | No sourced price was found |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| Dependants | EUR 916 a month more for the first, EUR 305 for each one after that |
|---|---|
| A stricter reading | Some advisers use EUR 2,849 a month: the same SMI spread over 14 payments instead of 12 |
| The threshold moves | It is pinned to the SMI, which is reset every year |
| Official name | International telework visa, under Law 28/2022 |
| Who qualifies | Employees and freelancers. Freelancers can take no more than 20 per cent of their work from Spanish clients. Consulates do not say whether owning the company abroad counts |
| Experience | A degree or three years of experience, at least three months with your employer or clients, and an employer that has been operating for at least a year |
| Evidence | Gross income. Each consulate sets its own evidence period, and some ask for six months |
| How long | Up to one year as a consular visa, or three years if you apply from inside Spain. Renewals run two years |
| Tax | Employees can opt into a flat 24 per cent rate |
| Permanent residence | After five years |
| Citizenship | After ten years |
| Without a visa | British and American passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen |
| Tax residency | More than 183 days in a calendar year, or your main economic interests in Spain |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
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Russafa (L'Eixample)
About EUR 18.20 per square metre asking; EUR 2,019 a month district average, all sizesThe cafe-and-bar barrio, with Wayco Ruzafa and Cowork Ruzafa in the neighbourhood itself
The catch L'Eixample has the highest average monthly rent of any district in the city
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El Carmen (Ciutat Vella)
About EUR 19.30 per square metre asking; EUR 1,893 a month district average, all sizesThe medieval old town, walkable to the Mercado Central and the Turia gardens
The catch The most expensive district in Valencia per square metre
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El Cabanyal (Poblats Maritims)
About EUR 17.40 per square metre asking; EUR 1,523 a month district average, all sizesThe old fishermen's quarter by Malvarrosa beach, with Wayco Cabanyal and its EUR 205 desk
The catch No longer cheap: above the city average of EUR 16.60 per square metre
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Benimaclet
About EUR 14.70 per square metre asking; EUR 1,402 a month district average, all sizesThe cheapest of the four, described locally as bohemian, with the university campuses nearby
The catch None of the coworkings named here: Wayco is in Russafa, Abastos and Cabanyal
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan 16.4C, 171 hours sun
- Feb 17.1C, driest winter month
- Mar 19.3C, Falles 1 to 19 March
- Apr 20.8C, 234 hours sun
- May 23.4C, before the heat
- Jun 27.1C, 276 hours sun
- Jul 29.7C, 21.5C nights
- Aug Hottest, 30.2C, humid
- Sep 27.9C, storm season starts
- Oct Wettest, 77mm, flood risk
- Nov 19.8C, 47mm
- Dec 17.0C, 155 hours sun
Come now Fine Avoid
April, May and June are the months, with highs of 21 to 27 degrees and long sunny days. July and August run to 30 degrees by day and 21 to 22 at night, and August averages 68 per cent humidity. September and October are the wettest months, at 70mm and 77mm, and the season of the DANA storms: the flood of 29 October 2024 killed 232 people in Valencia province. Winters are mild, with highs of 16 to 17 degrees. No source covers tourist seasons or price swings, so this is weather only. The averages are AEMET's for 1981 to 2010.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
That is the average fixed download for Spain as a whole, 190.14 Mbps, from Ookla data for January 2025. There is no figure for Valencia. Ookla named Digi the fastest fixed provider in Spain in the first half of 2025, at 321.62 Mbps.
The same report lists Valencia among the slowest big Spanish cities for mobile speed, so do not plan to run calls off a phone hotspot. Make a flat with fibre your base, and pay for a desk on call-heavy days. Check the hours first: Wayco is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 19:00 only. There is no source on cafe wifi.
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Spain
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
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Menu del dia
EUR 13The three-course weekday set lunch. Valencia is tied with Las Palmas as the cheapest provincial capital for it
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Esmorzaret (almuerzo)
EUR 7 to 15The 9 to 11am bar ritual: a bocadillo, olives and a beer, then a cremaet. The price range is from the 33 bars in the 2026 Gastroalmuerzos trail
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Horchata
EUR 3.50 a glassTiger-nut milk, drunk with fartons. The price is at Horchateria El Siglo on Plaza de Santa Catalina; Daniel and Vida run EUR 3 to 6 a person
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Paella valenciana
EUR 9 to 11 a racionA racion was EUR 9 at Restaurante Mediterraneo and EUR 11 at El Raco de Lluis in 2023, with a whole meal at EUR 20 to 30
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Cremaet
Price not checkedFlambeed rum coffee with sugar, cinnamon and lemon peel, which closes an almuerzo
Days off
Worth a Saturday
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Almuerzo de la Huerta, Bajoqueta Bar, Campanar
EUR 25A guided, multi-course traditional almuerzo, finishing with cremaet and a porron of wine. It ran on 7 February 2026 as a one-off, so check for new dates
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Oceanografic, City of Arts and Sciences
EUR 35.90 to 43.05The aquarium at the City of Arts and Sciences. The adult price depends on the day. Children 4 to 12, pensioners and disabled visitors pay EUR 26.65 to 31.95
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Museu de les Ciencies and the other City of Arts and Sciences venues
From EUR 8.70 a venueThe science museum, the Hemisferic and the rest of the complex. Two venues in a day cost EUR 38.90, the whole complex EUR 45.20
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La Lonja de la Seda
EUR 2, free on SundaysThe silk exchange, a UNESCO site. Open 10:00 to 19:00 Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 14:00 on Sundays
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Albufera boat trip
EUR 55A 4-hour guided trip to the Albufera, with return transport from Valencia; meet at the Torres de Serranos. The October departure is 16:30
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Gastroalmuerzos
EUR 7 to 15 an almuerzoA citywide trail of almuerzo bars. In 2026 it ran from 22 September to 4 October
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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Cheap buses need a pass
A single went to EUR 2.00 in 2025 to push riders onto passes. EMT Jove, at EUR 12.50 a month, is for under-30s only, and the council funded the discounts only to June 2026
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Autumn floods
The DANA of 29 October 2024 killed 232 people in Valencia province. September and October are the storm months
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Coworking prices exclude VAT
Prices are quoted before 21 per cent IVA, so a EUR 205 desk is about EUR 248
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Swimwear stays on the beach
Some Spanish towns fine people for walking the promenade or nearby streets in only swimwear
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Long lets are thin
In 2024, 15 per cent of the city's rental supply was temporary lets of 1 to 11 months, mostly near the universities
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Signs are often in Valencian
Valencian is co-official, and street signs, town-hall pages and transport names often give it first
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 14 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.