Valencia Offline
What to do near Valencia once you’ve seen the city
A Moorish castle above the Júcar, a Roman aqueduct with tunnels cut by hand, the city told by a historian, and a beach that never fills up. Trips organised from the house, not a list of places.
How it works
This isn’t a list of recommendations
These trips are organised from here: the transport, the timing, the route and the food. There’s no parking to find and no working out where the path starts.
And on the countryside ones a picnic tends to appear halfway that nobody was expecting. It’s the part people remember most and the only one we don’t announce.
They’re agreed before you arrive, because transport for a group of sixteen has to be planned.
Exploring ruins
A castle and an aqueduct, with nobody around
Two places an hour from the house that barely appear in the guidebooks, reached on foot in thirty to forty-five minutes.
The castle of Chirel
A fortress of Moorish origin on a hilltop, in Cortes de Pallás. The walls, the towers and the arches are still standing, and from the top you see the Júcar canyon with the green water below.
You walk up, thirty to forty-five minutes. And strangest of all: there’s usually nobody there.
Peña Cortada
A Roman aqueduct in the Horteta ravine, between Calles and Chelva. The stretch crossing the ravine is striking, but what gives it its name is the cut opened by hand through the rock.
The route is circular and passes through hand-dug tunnels. Another thirty or forty-five minutes of walking, with nothing technical about it.
Both are within reach of almost anyone. We’ve taken people of eighty-four and small children: they get tired, but they get there, and every group has loved it. What you need is closed shoes and water, not fitness.
Valencia with a historian
The city told by someone who has studied it
This isn’t a mixed-group walking tour with headsets. It’s a historian, for your group alone, and the route is built to order: the city of Valencia or anywhere in the region.
Five hours minimum, morning or afternoon, on whichever days the group wants. What interests you is decided beforehand: the Moorish city, the medieval one, the huerta, the modernism, or whatever comes up.
It’s the same idea as the house: understanding a place rather than skimming it.
The beach
Cullera, not the city beach
Thirty-five or forty minutes from the house. It’s a beach we know and one that doesn’t fill up: there’s room, there’s sand, and there’s a small beach bar for when you fancy something.
You set off with everything prepared from here, so the day isn’t spent looking for parking or for somewhere to eat.
The city beach is closer and it’s fine, but in August it’s another matter.
Before you write
The questions we get most
Do we need to be fit?
No. Chirel and Peña Cortada are thirty to forty-five minutes of walking with nothing technical about them. People over eighty and small children have made it up. What you need is closed shoes and water.
How do we get there?
The house has a seven-seater van. Larger groups need one more vehicle, arranged when you book depending on numbers.
Does someone come with the group?
Yes. You don’t get handed a map: someone from the house takes the group, knows the way and knows where to stop.
Is there food along the way?
On the countryside trips, yes, and it’s part of the point. We deliberately don’t say more.
Can we combine several?
Yes, and it’s the usual thing over a stay of several days: one in the countryside, one in the city and one at the beach. Agreed beforehand so they’re well spaced.
Are they included in the stay?
No. They’re add-ons and are quoted according to the group, because transport and hours change with the number of people.
R.S.V.P.
What to ask for in advance
These trips need planning: transport, timing and food. You tell us on WhatsApp and it’s organised before you arrive.
The historian has his own diary, so it’s worth telling us as early as possible.
Where they start from
A 16th-century villa, entirely yours
Every trip starts and ends at the house, five minutes from Valencia airport and fifteen from the centre. Seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, a private pool and 4,500 m² of garden.
