Gratis gids 10 verborgen natuurplekken in Europa. Meld je aan voor onze nieuwsbrief en ontvang inspirerende reistips en routes voor je volgende groene reis.
Valencia is perfect for exploring by bike. The 2024 European Green Capital has more than 150 km of bike paths and relatively few hills. It’s the ideal way to get around the city and its surroundings. What’s more, in addition to the city center, you can easily explore the areas surrounding Valencia by bike. Discover the highlights by bike in and around Valencia.
Cycling in Valencia Tip 1: Bioparc Valencia
Bioparc is one of the most beautiful zoos in Europe, focusing primarily on African wildlife. The park is home to approximately 1,000 animals, including 150 species from Africa. The zoo is located in Parque de Cabecera, where the old course of the Turia River begins, and coversan area of more than 100,000m ². The park strives to allow the animals to live as closely as possible to their natural habitats and to raise visitors’ awareness of the importance of environmental protection. One of Spain’s largest herds of elephants, numbering dozens of individuals, lives in the perfectly recreated baobab forest. From April through September, the park is open until 8:00 p.m.
Cycling in Valencia Tip 2: City of Arts and Sciences
“The City of Arts and Sciences” is a cultural and scientific center located in Turia Park. Here, spread across seven unique buildings, you’ll find, among other things, Europe’s largest aquarium, the Oceanogràfic; the Museo de las Ciencias, which offers plenty of interactive exhibits on technology, the environment, and science; and the Hemisfèric, a planetarium and IMAX 3D theater. It’s also home to the magnificent opera house. The modern architecture is truly remarkable and beautifully surrounded by water features.
Cycling in Valencia Tip 3: Turia Park
The natural surroundings in and around Valencia are beautiful. Turia Park is one of the largest natural urban parks in Spain. It’s a diverse park and a wonderful place for walking or biking. The enormous park, stretching 9 km, was built along the old bed of the Turia River, which was rerouted to prevent recurring floods. After the major flood of 1957, the Turia River’s course was diverted to the south of Valencia, freeing up a substantial strip of land that runs through the city from east to west and surrounds the historic center. The river’s former landscape has been recreated with a path lined with palm and orange trees, fountains and pine trees, aromatic plants and ponds, sports fields, and rose gardens.
Cycling in Valencia Tip 4: Albufera Nature Park
The Albufera Nature Park is located about 15 km south of Valencia and features rice paddies and forests. There are six marked trails in the park, and it serves as a temporary habitat for as many as 250 species of migratory birds. You can take a boat tour here and enjoy delicious paella made with eel.
Cycling in Valencia Tip 5: Vía Verdes to Northern Valencia
You’ll cycle north from Valencia along the Vías Verdes—bike paths that follow old railroad lines throughout Spain. These bike paths are car-free and generally fairly flat. The Via Verde de los Ojos Negros is one of the most beautiful Vias Verdes in Spain, running from Valencia along the coast and inland toward Teruel. You can easily do part of this route as a day trip, but you can also ride the entire 160-km route. Tip: From inland, the route is mostly downhill.
Cycling in Valencia Tip 6: The Most Beautiful Beaches in and Around Valencia
It’s very easy to bike to the beach in Valencia. Valencia has three city beaches. The closest beach to the city is Playa de las Arenas, which is also the busiest one. Playa de la Malva-Rosa and Playa de la Patacona are the other two city beaches. If you don’t mind cycling a little further, you can head north to Playa de Port Saplaya or south to Playa de Pinedo.
Where can I rent a bike in Valencia?
Valenbisi
It’s very easy to use Valenbisi throughout the city. For example, you can get a weekly bike rental subscription for about €13 and a daily subscription for about €4. The first half hour is free; the next half hour costs about €0.60; and after that, you pay €2.10 per hour to use your bike. The nearly 3,000 bikes are spread across 275 stations throughout the city. On the Valenbisi website, you can see where the bike stations are located in the city, and with a simple app, you can also see how many bikes are still available at each station.
Bajabikes Valencia
Would you like to take a bike tour of Valencia with a Dutch-speaking guide? Then book your bike tour with Bajabikes: Tours in Valencia
With a passion for travel and photography and over 30 years of experience in the travel industry, I love to share my special nature travel tips. Travel is wonderful and important, you meet new people and cultures and it opens your view of the world.
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Peloponnese Hiking Tour
A really beautiful six-day hike from Bologna to Florence. Communication with NatureTravelLab and the local agent was excellent. The information packet was waiting for us at the hotel in Bologna, and the app with the route worked great. Luggage transport was well organized every day, and our bags were waiting for us each time we arrived at our new room! We covered more than 1,400 meters of elevation gain, but unfortunately didn’t always get the views we’d hoped for due to cloud cover and some drizzle. Most days had great hiking weather. It was wonderful to walk into Florence on foot and stay there an extra day.
We experienced the Walk of the Gods as a great adventure. Our start in Bologna didn’t go quite as planned because our app wasn’t working yet and we couldn’t find a single sign for Via degli Dei in the square. Fortunately, we were quickly able to join two young hikers from Florence who were also doing the hike. After a wonderful night’s stay at the beautiful Rio Verde agritourism farm, Day 2 went much better with the help of the hiking app. Along the way, we enjoyed stunning views, met some great fellow hikers, and sampled delicious local dishes. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t always on our side, and we had a day of heavy rain, which made the trail very slippery and required us to be careful. It’s a real treat when, on the last day, you can already see Florence in the distance and walk into this beautiful city a few hours later. Thank you so much for your quick and friendly responses to all our questions.
We enjoyed the trip. We also made some changes to our itinerary, and the email correspondence went very smoothly. We started in Mantera; the next day, our first and only hike was a really beautiful one. The taxi picked us up right on time. Unfortunately, the second day’s route was almost the same when we cycled to Ostuni. The bikes were well-maintained, including panniers and helmets (these were simply included). You could even bring your own water bottle!!! We found the route very scenic and varied. There were charming little villages where we could stop for lunch or coffee. The app worked great. All the hotels ranged from good to excellent, though we didn’t think the hotel in Leuca was worthy of 4 stars. We followed your advice for the two nights we stayed there. We found Leuca a bit underwhelming for a two-day stay. We would have preferred to stay in Gallipoli or Lecce for two days. We took this trip in April and were very lucky with the weather. It’s still a quiet time of year, but we didn’t mind that. We definitely recommend it!!!
Thanks to a great tip from Nature Travel Lab, we had a wonderful week in Italy. Fattoria di Maiano, just outside Florence, was a beautiful and peaceful place. And the suggested road trips were a great guide for exploring the region. We’ll definitely check here for tips for our next vacation, too. Highly recommended!
We spent a divine week in Italy: we walked the Path of the Gods, from Bologna to Florence—about 135 km spread over 6 days of hiking. Challenging distances and climbs, amazing views, nature, and a warm welcome every time we arrived at the agriturismo or albergo/hotel. All of this was perfectly organized by the Italian company Slow Active Tours, entirely in line with Nature Travel Lab’s itinerary proposal: upon arrival in Bologna, an information packet was waiting for us, complete with a hiking map, a booklet, and passports for the stamps. And the hiking app was very practical for along the way! Our luggage was transported every day and was always waiting for us when we arrived at the next location. Communication was smooth and clear. In short, highly recommended, well worth it, and well-organized.
In September, I walked the Cammino Materano. Communicating with Madelon about the booking was a pleasure. To be honest, I was quite nervous because it was my first time doing a multi-day hike—alone and in a region I wasn’t familiar with—but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The hike to Matera was beautiful, and I was able to complete it without any trouble thanks to the clear on-site signage and the routing and advice provided by the GPS app. The rest of the organization was top-notch as well. My luggage always arrived on time at the right destination, and the hotels and B&Bs were of high quality. In addition, the organizers were easy to reach via WhatsApp if I had any questions. Highly recommended!
Slovenia was absolutely amazing. A beautiful country, friendly people, lovely hiking trails, and truly top-notch hotels. The staff at the local organization were also very easy to reach and helpful. The hiking was manageable. As Dutch people, we’re not used to high altitudes, of course, so it was pretty tough at times. But it was also a lot of fun.
We had a wonderful trip. Everything was well organized. Due to an unfortunate fall, I ended up traveling with my luggage for a day, but that was handled well, too. We really liked all the accommodations. Only the Hotel Hebe in St. Piero a Sieve was a little less impressive, but it was still okay.
Looks fantastic! I'm definitely going to book a trip with this company... they're committed to sustainability and personalized advice. Definitely worth it.
Madelon and her team are true experts. Thanks to their years of experience and passion for travel, they manage to surprise us time and time again.
Beautiful hikes, the most picturesque spots—it’s a real treat.
I highly recommend them!
Nature Travel Lab provided us with very helpful and honest assistance!
If you’re looking for travel itineraries, the most beautiful hikes, and destinations, you can find it all here. You’ll find endless inspiration for your next trip. Beautiful cities are interspersed with nature. You’ll find everything you need to know about practical matters. Plus, there are plenty of tips for sustainable travel. That way, you’ll get the most out of your trip.
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Get inspired
Are you looking for the most beautiful hiking and biking routes? Or do you want information about traveling by train or advice for the most beautiful road trips through nature. Get inspired for your next trip in green; ideas for planning your own trip or opting for an organized trip.
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