The city is making its Green Routes accessible, launching the Roig Arena and celebrating the third Jubilee Year of the Holy Chalice.
In 2025, Valencia will consolidate its position as a benchmark destination in the Mediterranean, with a firm commitment to sustainability, new venues, religious celebrations and events that will make your visit an unforgettable one. If you're planning to travel to Valencia this year, here are some of the main reasons not to miss out on what the city has in store.
1. Enjoy the most environmentally sustainable Valencia through its Green Routes
The four green routes created in 2024 to spotlight Valencia's credentials as the European Green Capital are now accessible to people with hearing and cognitive disabilities thanks to audible and easy-to-read versions. You can walk through the Turia Garden, the green lung of the city; explore the old town and sustainable mobility, or discover the Valencian countryside, the Albufera Natural Park and the beaches.
Let's take a look at those routes
2. Roig Arena, the new meeting point in Valencia
In September 2025, Valencia will be opening the Roig Arena, an impressive 47,000 square metre multi-purpose venue with a capacity to hold 20,000 people. This new space will be a venue for sporting events, concerts and top-level shows, as well as the new home of the Valencia Basketball Club. Don't miss the chance to be part of a revolutionary project that promises to make its mark the city's cultural and sporting agenda and book your tickets, which are already on sale!
3. The Holy Chalice celebrates its third Jubilee Year
From October 2025, Valencia will be the epicentre of religious tourism with the celebration of the Jubilee Year of the Holy Chalice, the chalice that, according to tradition, Jesus used at the Last Supper. Valencia Cathedral, home to this venerated relic, will be a unique place of pilgrimage. Regardless of whether you are a pilgrim or not, don't miss the guided tour that every Friday will immerse you in the history of this symbol and its cultural impact on the city.
4. New venues not to be missed
The Novotel Valencia Lavant hotel, due to open in the first quarter of 2025, will offer sophisticated modern accommodation with panoramic views from its rooftop bar, ideal for relaxing after a day exploring the city.
This new establishment will join the two recently launched Estimar hotels, one in the city centre and the other on the beach at Pobla de Farnals.
5. Valencia, the birthplace of chess worldwide
Chess Valencia
In 2025, Valencia will celebrate the 550th anniversary of the introduction of the modern rules of chess, which were created in the city. During the month of July, the Valencia International Chess Open [Open Internacional Valencia Cuna del Ajedrez] will be held, attracting grandmasters to the Polytechnic University of Valencia. If you're a chess fan, this is an excellent opportunity to experience this event in the city that marked a before and after in the history of the game.
6. A journey into the splendour of the Baroque at the Church of Santos Juanes
After just over four years of restoration work, the Church of Santos Juanes (1692) will recover its splendour after the intervention financed by the Hortensia Herrero Foundation. An interdisciplinary team, some of which has already worked on the Church of San Nicolás, is working on the recovery of the fresco paintings on the vault of the church, the work of Antonio Palomino; the sculptures, stuccoes and gilding of the Baroque decoration and the conservation of the structure of the building, including the façades. Visitors can see the progress of the restoration work in real time by purchasing a ticket to tour the church while the work continues, as well as an exhibition explaining the phases of the work and the materials and techniques used.
7. Restaurants to savour a taste of the Mediterranean
The latest edition of the prestigious We're Smart Green Guide adds eight new sustainable restaurants to its list, bringing the total to 17 recommended establishments. Fierro, Lienzo, Casa Montaña, La Barraca de Toni Montoliu, Simposio, Félix Chaqués, Ma Khin Café and Dos Estaciones join already consolidated benchmarks in the guide, such as Ricard Camarena Restaurant, ranked among the best vegetable restaurants in the world, or La Salita, with chef Begoña Rodrigo as the best vegetable chef in Europe. So, what are you waiting for - try them!
8. The Oceanográfic's unique beluga whale encounter
Plombir and Miranda, the two beluga whales rescued in June 2024 from the Nemo Aquarium in Kharkov (Ukraine) in an international operation, are now fully adapted to their new home and are now good friends with the two Valencian beluga whales, Yulka and Kylu.
A visit to the Oceanogràfic offers visitors an exceptional opportunity to see four of these magnificent cetaceans in one place, an experience not to be had at any other aquarium in Europe. Enjoying the beauty of these animals won't just be an unforgettable experience, but also a milestone for the conservation of marine wildlife.
9. "Classic and Modern": Masterpieces from the BBVA Collection arrive at the Museum of Fine Art
From 13 November, works by Murillo, Van Dyck, Goya, Sorolla and Zuloaga will be on display at the Museo de Bellas Artes de València in the exhibition "Classics and Moderns". The exhibition will bring together 90 works from the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's (BBVA) extensive art collection that comprises around 9,000 pieces.
The exhibition will be organised in four sections: "Art in the Service of Power", "Portraiture", "The Triumph of Genres" and "Paths of modernity", offering a rare insight into European art, with a focus on the figurative realism that has been the basis of classical art since the 16th century.
10. New museum to discover the city's seafaring identity
The historic Casa dels Bous, built in 1880 as a corral for the oxen that pulled the fishermen's boats to the beach, will open its doors at the end of the year as the Museu de la Mar.
This new cultural space, located in the El Cabañal neighbourhood, will offer a fascinating journey through Valencia's maritime heritage, particularly the traditional trades of the sea, closely linked to the identity of the Poblados Marítimos district of the city.
Learn more about El Cabañal
Don't miss the chance to be part of this exciting year in Valencia!
