Valencia has a great offer for shopping lovers and is especially pleasant because the city's dimensions are moderate and also ideal for walking, especially if you decide to do your shopping with one of our bikes that will allow you to get anywhere very easily.
Although the city has grown a lot in recent years and shopping areas have spread everywhere (especially because of the emergence of large shopping centres in the suburbs), the heart of trade is still, with small exceptions, in the same places as in recent centuries.
WHERE TO BUY
The historic centre, in the vicinity of the Cathedral, Calle del Mar, Calle de Cuart, Plaza Redonda and Mercado Central is full of small shops of almost everything. From signature fashion to the most alternative, avant-garde jewelry stores and craft shops, Valencian gastronomy products and bookshops, antique shops or collectors. Little by little the commercial scene of the historic centre has been renewed and the new shops have found their place next to centenary establishments. It is a very attractive ride, full of surprises, which we certainly recommend.
If you like avant-garde jewelry, stop by JOYERÍA VICENTE GRACIA. Are you a nougat lover? Well, TURRONES GALIANA is your store. The center is like this. You've got it all and you've got it all together.
The Plaza Redonda is a very peculiar place where handicrafts and some souvenirs are sold. Until a few years ago, on Sundays it hosted a pet market and other hobbies such as exchanging cards, which delighted the youngest ones.
The shopping street par excellence today is Calle Colón, where you can find all kinds of shops, especially fashionable, which make it a popular place to shop. All the adjacent streets are also very commercial and some of them are even more selective, such as Calle Sorní or Calle Conde Salvatierra. You can find shoes in NICHI SEIJO, clothes in ITACA, SANDRO, CHOÉ or ALEJANDRA MONTANER, clothes for children in NICOLI or funny slippers in SATORISAN.
Very close to Calle Colón, accessed from Calle Jorge Juan, is the Mercado de Colón, which was once one of Valencia's municipal markets and is now much more of a meeting place and restaurant, although it still maintains market activity. The surrounding shops, including the Jorge Juan Galleries, are very interesting for shopping for all kinds of clothing and accessories, but not only that.
The area of Calle de la Paz, Plaza del Patriarca and Poeta Querol, above all, have become the most elitist area of the city, hosting the leading international luxury brands such as the Spanish LOEWE or the Valencian Lladró. The area is also very pleasant to walk around in.
The Ruzafa neighborhood has evolved a lot in recent years and has become a puzzle of cultures and trends. In addition to its almost infinite number of restaurants of all kinds, you can find the most picturesque shops on any street. Some have been there for many years, but many have come to give the neighbourhood a new life. The tremendous attractiveness of the new, the alternative and the freshness of many of its shops, invite you to take a walk, whether you want to shop or not. In KAUF VINTAGE they have very curious and second hand clothes and in GNOMO original gifts. You may enter the SLAUGHTERHOUSE bookshop and enjoy its wines or end up taking the works exhibited in COLOR ELEFANTE or SPORTING CLUB RUSSAFA. And I don't know if you can resist UTOPIK's chocolate temptations.
THE VALENCIA MARKETS
For some reason, the markets have always been very attractive to us. Surely growing up in Valencia and just a few metres from the Central Market has influenced this, but in any case, we are sure we are not exaggerating if we say that Valencia has some of the most attractive markets that travellers can dream of.
The Central Market is a relatively recent work (it is only about 100 years old), but in the same place a daily market has been held for at least the last 1000 years, no more. There are many literary references about this overwhelming market, but the one that Vicente Blasco Ibáñez made in his novel "Arroz y Tartana" just before the current building was built is very descriptive.
The Central Market is a temple for the senses, whether you are a gastronomic enthusiast or not. Products of extraordinary quality and freshness, very well organized and presented, are displayed at the "stops" or stalls. It is a lively, modern market, where Valencians, and many travellers, buy daily. We invite you to take a leisurely stroll, browse each stall, understand what is being sold and, of course, buy everything you need or even want to give away. Around the market there are also stalls and in some of them you can buy everything you need to cook a paella or a "arrós al forn".
Each neighborhood had its own market and managed to build a permanent building to house it. We can therefore find other markets that are also very interesting and with wonderful products, although they do not have the dimensions of the Central Market, but they do have a special charm. The Colón Market, the Cabanyal Market, the Ruzafa Market, the Mosén Sorell Market (in El Carmen) or the Rojas Clemente Market are the most representative.
WHAT TO BUY
Valencia offers everything in a very affordable way. Of course, you can buy fashion from Spanish and international brands, from small craftsmen or large brands. Also Spanish footwear (mostly from Valencia, world leader in the field.
Valencian handicrafts can be very interesting. Silk related products are still very attractive, reminiscent of the city's role as Europe's leading silk power for centuries. Traditional or artistic ceramics are also well represented, as are wicker and braids.
Valencian wines are very present in the wineries of the historical centre and are highly recommended in the different denominations that we have in the Valencian Community, being one of the most powerful exporting sectors.
Antiques and books can be exciting for amateurs, especially considering that Valencia was a pioneer in book printing and for many centuries led the publishing industry in Spain and beyond. For old books you can visit some bookstore accounts near the Central and Lonja Markets, in the Plaza de la Merced, Plaza del Collado and Calle San Fernando. You can visit the RAFAEL SOLAZ bookshop and do your own research from there.
The world of comics is also legendary in Valencia and you can find real jewels for collectors. Many of the shops are very close to our shop, as well as the MUVIM (Museo Valenciano de la Ilustración y la Modernidad) which is dedicated to it in large part. They are very representative shops FUTURAMA,PEPITA LUMIÉRE, MANHATTAN COMICS, or METROPOLITAN COMICS. Following the local tradition, one of the great cartoonists and illustrators worldwide is the Valencian Paco Roca, whom you can see on his website.
There are also many art galleries that offer work by the magnificent local artists that can be fascinating for lovers of painting or sculpture. Even the world of music has a treasure in Valencia because it produces many of the best Spanish guitars in the world and many other musical instruments. You can buy extraordinary musical instruments around our shop, where almost all the luthiers in Valencia and some of the best shops like UNION MUSICAL are located. You can also visit the world's leading guitar manufacturing workshops such as HERMANOS SANCHIS LÓPEZ's, where the guitars of the world's greatest guitarists such as Paco de Lucía have come from.
Gastronomy will delight all travellers, but it can also be a good target for shopping, even for some fresh products that can be vacuum-packed and transported with some ease.
And, as everywhere, there are also many souvenirs, probably with the particular stamp of the Valencian. Souvenirs with the most exquisite design and others of an exaggerated baroque style. Valencia is like that.