Weather in Valencia

It may be the weather that draws people to Valencia in May!

The city of Valencia is a great place to visit, or to live, no matter what time of the year, but as we have said many times before, it is important to recognise that Spain is not always hot and sunny and it has seasons too!

Valencia experiences some quite extremes of temperatures, and the month of May is probably a fine example of this. As I write this, it is raining, with an ambient temperature of around 18 degrees, which is the mean average for May, and it has rained on and off now for the past week. The previous week saw the thermometer soar to 35 degrees, so it just goes to show you can’t always rely on statistics!

Luckily, Valencia is a cool, vibrant and interesting city, fusing the modern, the antique and the ancient, in one big melting pot of Spanish life. The good thing about Valencia is that, unlike say, Benidorm, for example, it’s not a resort, it’s a working city, although of course being next to the sea, it means that you have your pick of unspoilt and undeveloped beaches.

Speaking of beaches, the sea temperature in May, around the coast of Valencia is a nice 18 degrees or 64 farenheight, meaning that it is just right for a quick dip without freezing your toes off, and the main beach of the city, Malvarosa, is wide and spacious and can be reached by tram on Line 5, heading for Neptú station at the end of the line. Buses and taxi’s also serve the route from the city, so you can have the best of both world’s when you visit Valencia in May, or in fact at any time of the year.

Other beaches nearby are El Saler, right next to a golf course and nature reserve and very popular with locals having picnics on a Sunday. North of the city we find Port Saplaya which is a holiday development around a harbour, with a beach and shopping centre nearby, perfectly placed to try the Valencian drink Horchata, which is made from tiger nuts grown near the port.

Heading back into the city, and into the centre, there are loads of things to see and do, the only bad thing being the average visitor never has time to see it all during their holiday!

Despite the slight risk of rain, Valencia in the month of May is an ideal time to come and visit because the temperatures mean it certainly isn’t cold, and it lacks the scorching city heat of August when the mercury can easily hit 100 degrees and the lack of a breeze makes it feel even hotter.

Head for the Plaza del Reina in the centre, a lovely large central square bordered by baroque architecture and amazing old buildings such as cathedrals and churches. In fact if you venture around the corner to Valencia’s impressive cathedral, you can see the Holy grail, which they say is the original one, although there are other places around the world that also claim this, so with a dose of healthy scepticism, go and see it anyway!

You can also catch your breath and sit down at one of the areas many pavement bars and enjoy a cold beer and a tapas while watching the world go by. This is also a great time of year to catch the famous Valencia tourist bus, a modern London-style double Decker bus which winds its way around the main city attractions and offers a running commentary in English, and several other languages too.

The city has several impressive shopping malls and miles and miles of streets full of stores selling more or less everything, from cheap and cheerful pound shops, to some of the worlds most famous brands in the cities swankier neighbourhoods.

If city life isn’t for you, then head down to the Turia gardens, Europe’s largest urban park, which at the end that is nearer to the ocean, hosts the world famous City of Arts and sciences, a collection of futuristic buildings, parks and gardens that is essential on anyone’s itinerary when they visit the city, whether it is May or November, this is somewhere you must visit.

And for the country lovers, the outskirts of Valencia has several areas of outstanding natural beauty, such as the area of the Camp de Turia, where camping opportunities abound, under the stars, and with nature, in some of the most spectacular scenery, backed by the calderona mountain range which envelopes the entire area in a huge horseshoe pattern.

As the average amount of sunshine during May in Valencia tends to be around 12 hours with only 32mm of expected rain per month, camping out under the stars could be the trip you always dreamed about but never knew where to go! Well, now you do! Valencia.