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1. Dulche de Leche

This one is my go to. Dulche de Leche is perfect for when you want something sweet. Although they have some sandwiches and juices, their main focus is cakes and pastries. They have a few location throughout Valencia, one in Rusafa (my go to), one in the center and a third one close to the Arts & Science center. Laptops are allowed from Monday through Thursday – and they are strict on that.

2. Café ArtySana

A very popular spot for coworking, and for a good reason. They have two locations in Valencia, one in Rusafa and another one in Cabanyal. In my opinion it’s the perfect spot to have breakfast or lunch – they have stuff like salmon bagels and a whole lot of sandwiches. Then of course the typical juices, coffees and pastries – including some vegetarian options. Café ArtySana is very popular among digital nomads, and it’s often packed with mostly people working or studying from their laptops.

3. Brunch Corner – La Virgen

Brunch Corner is an aesthetic café located in El Carmen. As the name suggests, they focus on brunches. They have a variety of bagels, pancakes, sandwiches, cakes and whatnot. Using laptops is allowed during weekdays only.

4. Jungle Por Favor

This one opened quite recently in the Arrancapins neighbourhood. It’s a small cozy space with a lot of flowers, offering salads, sandwiches as well as coffees and juices. For those that are vegan – they do have some vegan options!

5. Starbucks

You can always count on Starbucks when it comes to laptop friendly cafés. They have two locations in Valencia, both in the center, one on Passeig de Rusafa and one on Calle Sant Vicent Mártir.

6. Fornelino Russafa

A perfect option if you aren’t looking to have a full meal. Fornelino’s main focus is croissants – the Nutella ones are my favourite! They have other types of pastries as well as coffee. Fornelino is located in the middle of Rusafa as well as on Peris y Valero, which I’d say is usually the more quiet of the two.

7. Flying Bean Coffee

This one is one of my favourites – it’s located here, just a short walk from Rusafa. The avocado toast and the cinnamon rolls are my go-to’s, and the coffee is great. It’s a really cozy place and in my experience it’s usually pretty quiet.

If you are planning a trip to Spain, you might also want to check out:

• Best coffee shops in Madrid
• How to get around Spain
• Best hostels in Spain
• 8 Amazing day trips from Valencia
• Most Instagrammable places in Valencia
• Best things to do in Granada
• How to find apartments to rent in Valencia

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1. Spotahome

Spotahome is similar to Airbnb, but is geared more towards longer stays where Spotahome acts as an agent between the landlord and the tenant. It’s very user friendly and allows you to filter out accommodations based on availability, your budget, property and a number of other factors. On Spotahome you’ll find both apartments and rooms in shared apartments, for anywhere from a month to 12+ months. What I like about Spotahome is that before booking you’ll see an exact overview of how much you’ll pay each month. You can even search for apartments that don’t require a deposit! A

So how does it work? When you find an accommodation you’re interested in, you’ll send a booking request, and the landlord then has up to 24 hours to respond. You will only be charged if and when the landlord accepts your request. The landlord doesn’t receive any payments until 48 hours after you check in, so in case the room/apartment isn’t as described, you’ll be able to report it to Spotahome before the landlord has received any payments. Spotahome charge a one time fee for each booking. By booking through this link or using the code SOLD-3e2q-T you can get a 30€ discount off your booking.

2. Badi

Badi is a platform similar to Spotahome, but mainly features rooms in shared apartments. It offers a variety of filters that will help you find exactly the type of place you’re looking for. On Badi you can find accommodations for anywhere from a month to 12+ months. When you find an accommodation you’re interested in, you’ll message the landlord and arrange a viewing date and then eventually sign a contract directly with the landlord.

3. Idealista

Idealista is a website where you can find rooms and apartments to rent, as well as apartments for sale. It’s important to know that landlords will normally not respond to messages on Idealista or even text messages, which may sound old fashioned, but that’s just how it works in Spain. So, when you find a room/apartment you like – you should pick up the phone and call the phone number listed in the ad. Unless the listing states otherwise, don’t expect the landlord to speak English as this is rare in Spain. So if you don’t speak Spanish, you will most likely need to find someone that does to translate for you.

Unlike Spotahome, Idealista does not act as an agent between the landlord and the tenant, it’s only a website where owners can advertise their rooms/apartments. You’ll sign a contract directly with the landlord after viewing the room/apartment.

4. Facebook groups

Facebook groups are another way to find rooms or apartments to rent in Valencia. While perhaps not the most efficient way to find accommodation, you might get lucky! If you choose to go with this option, just remember to watch out for scammers and never send any money before having seen the room/apartment in person. I’d even recommend google searching the photos to see if they have possibly be stolen from an Airbnb listing, for example.

Here are some of the Facebook groups you can use to find long and short term accommodation in Valencia:

Valencia Apartments and Houses

Alquiler de Habitaciones Valencia (only for rooms!)

Valencia Long Term Rentals

Rooms and Flats for Rent Valencia

I hope this post helped you understand how to find short and long term accommodation in Valencia. If you want to get notified when I publish new blog posts, just click the red bell in the bottom right corner or follow me on Instagram where I usually announce new posts :))

If you are planning to stay in Valencia, you might also want to check out:

• 8 Amazing day trips from Valencia
• Best coffee shops in Madrid
• How to get around Spain
• Best hostels in Spain
• Most Instagrammable places in Valencia
• Best things to do in Granada
• Best cafés to work from in Valencia

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The post How to Find Apartments to Rent in Valencia appeared first on Sóldís Alda.

What a normal day looks like

Although no two days are the same, a typical day for me in Valencia looks something like this. I usually wake up around 9 by the sun shining into my room. Getting up fast is really not my thing. It takes me at least 15 minutes to actually get up haha. Which feels so much better than waking up to an alarm and having to jump out of bed and rush to work :)) By that time my roommate is already off to work so I have the apartment to myself. I don’t really like to talk to people before I’ve had my coffee and had a moment to properly wake up so this works out just fine lol. So obviously I start by making some coffee & usually have some kind of rice cracker thing with hummus/avocado & dates. Then I spend about an hour having breakfast and just chilling, reading up on news related to the stock market, watching Friends, pinning to my new Pinterest account that I made for my presets. I’ve never been very active on Pinterest so I’m not quite sure what I’m doing, but at least I’m doing something haha.

Around 10.30, when I have managed to properly wake up, I usually head to the gym. It takes me about 5 minutes to bike there, love how easy it is to get around here. The program I have at the gym takes me about 1,5 hours, although it often takes me longer if I stay on my phone too much, or if there is something “happening” on the stock marketing and I need to be watching it closely and buying/selling. When I get back home I make a smoothie bowl (so goood)- well except for the month or so my blender was being repaired. It broke down sometime in May, and just like pretty much everything in Spain, it took a ridiculously long time for no apparent reason, but eventually it got done :)))

Then it really just depends on what I feel like and what day is what I do after getting back from the gym. Sometimes I meet up with someone at a café, either to “work” or just to chill. Other days I go the beach or to the centre. Always watching the stock market from my phone though haha. It’s not uncommon that I’ll be walking somewhere with someone and then I’ll be like ah we need to stop for a moment I need to buy/sell this one stock the price just went up/down. Then other days I just stay home and maybe work on this blog or procrastinate or whatever. I’m not gonna make this sound like I’m always super productive and using my time wisely – some days it’s 6pm and I’m just like wow where did this day go?! What happened to 2 o’clock and 3 o’clock and all the other o’clocks :)))

A lot of my friends here work during the day so often we’ll meet up in the afternoon for a drink or dinner or something. Going out for drinks here is sooo cheap it’s almost ridiculous haha, especially when compared to Iceland where you pay about 8-10 euros for a beer lol. A beer or a cider here is about 2 euros and cocktails around 5-8 euros. Then I go to the supermarket around 3 times a day for no good reason haha. I don’t know why I just always forget something or I get a random craving and/or I can’t decide what I wanna eat until the moment I’m gonna eat. I’m a mess. I try to go to sleep no later than midnight but well, doesn’t always happen. Sometimes I stay on my phone until I start dropping it on my face repeatedly. Luckily I’ve never happened to be two years deep into someone’s instagram feed and accidentally liked a family christmas photo from years ago :))) But yeah that point it’s really time to go to sleep lol.

The not normal days

So that was pretty much what an average day has been like. But other days I’ve been out exploring – doing day trips, weekend trips, beach days and stuff like that. And I gotta say that Spain really keeps surprising me. Even though I’ve been to Spain probably about 20 times and have visited all the major cities as well as some smaller ones, there is so much I haven’t seen. Montanejos was probably the one that surprised me the most, it reminded me of Switzerland at time while other parts looked a lot like Asia!

Montanejos

So in June I went on a day trip to Montanejos with a few other people & lots of dogs!! A dream :)) It’s about 1,5 hour drive from Valencia, however there are no buses or trains that go there – but luckily one of my friend has a car so off we went! It’s a pretty big area, with lots of hiking trails and a hot spring where you can go for a swim. We followed one of the hiking trails, or well we did our best to Like many other things in Spain, it was not very clearly marked and we ended up getting lost several times. It wasn’t all bad though cause the views where so worth it. But we walked a looot and I ended up having to rest throughout the next day haha.

Enjoying some beach time

I’ve probably had a few people’s share of beach time this summer. It’s one of the privileges of spending a summer in Valencia. We usually just go to the beach here in Valencia, which is actually a pretty nice one. Surprisingly, it’s a lot better than the beach in Barcelona, in my opinion. It does get pretty crowded, especially on weekends, but you can still manage to find a pretty quiet spot. During the middle of the day it gets very very hot, so we normally try to go around 3pm, stay for a few hours and then grab a drink or two before heading back.

Eating (tacos) & drinking (mostly Aperol)

I would say wine & dine, except I don’t really drink wine. And also it just sounds a little fancier than what I’ve been doing. I’m not really a fan of fancy food. The portions are usually tiny, and more importantly, I don’t know what half the stuff on the menu is Anyway. I’ve been going out for food and/or drinks pretty frequently. Aperol being my number one choice for a drink. I will also never say no to tacos

Visiting Málaga

At the end of June I went to Málaga with one of my friends. Originally we were only planning to go to Granada, but as it turned out, our only realistic option to get to Granada was to fly to Málaga, we figured we might as well spend a day or two there. And I’m so glad we did.

We only had one and a half day in Málaga, but I feel like we managed to do quite a lot. Málaga is not to big and it’s easy to explore by foot. It’s a “typical” Spanish city, with a bit of Mediterranean vibes mixed with some Andalucian/Moroccan style architecture.

I also loved roaming around the historical centre. Just like other cities in Spain, it’s very cute & colourful – with plenty of cafés and terraces to sit down and enjoy the views.

Granada

After spending two nights in Málaga, we jumped on a bus and headed to our next stop, Granada! A city that has been on my bucket list for far too long! Granada is mostly famous for the Alhambra – a palace constructed a very long time ago, between 1238-1538 to be exact The Alhambra was the main reason I wanted to visit Granada, which I think you’ll understand once you see what it looks like!

A part from visiting the Alhambra, we walked around the city a whole lot, admiring the Alhambra from different angles In the Albaicin neighbourhood, there are a variety of cafés and restaurants with terraces that offer views of the Alhambra. I literally could have spent days just hanging out at all of them and taking in the views!

Day trips to Pinedo

One of the best things about spending a summer in Valencia is Pinedo! A very cute and pretty quiet beach town not too far from Valencia. Although it’s only a 10 minute drive there, it actually takes about 45 minutes by public transport. I have close to no experience with public transport within Valencia as I bike or walk everywhere, but this bus never arrives on time. It can be up to 30 minute late for no clear reason, so that’s kinda the only drawback about visiting Pinedo But it’s such a pretty beach, and doesn’t even get crowded on weekends. I will add that this isn’t the main beach in Pinedo, that one is indeed very touristy, this one is called Playa Autocine and is much prettier! Actually one of the best beach I’ve been to in Spain. Usually we bring picnic and just chill on the beach, but there are also a few restaurant in Pinedo.

Museums

I’m honestly really pushing by using the plural. I have visited two, that it is if you count both the one we visited mostly for the pretty pink court yard and another one that wasn’t really a museum, but the ruins of the “old Valencia”. So yeah I guess museums is kinda stretching it, but I think I’ll just go with it

Day trip to Port Saplaya “little Venice”

So the actual Venice is of course in Italy, but there is a “little Venice” just outside of Valencia. It’s called Port Saplaya, but due to its similarity to Venice, it’s often referred to as little Venice. We went on a day trip there at the end of May, it was quite a struggle to get there by public transport, but eventually we made it haha. Someone asked me afterwards why we didn’t just take a taxi, and honestly we didn’t even think about it, I’m just not used to taking taxis so often I forget they exist haha I wasn’t really expecting it to look a whole lot like Venice, but you can definitely see why it’s called little Venice. It sure managed to make me feel like I was in Italy for a day

Chilling in the park

So in Valencia we have this giant park, that runs throughout the city. It’s huge – 9km long to be exact. Clearly it has lots of greeneries, palm trees, with views of the city, bike paths, cafés, all of it. A lot of people go there for running.I do not. I go there all the time to sunbath, chill, have a picnic, go for drinks, meeting doggos and whatnot. Usually I try to sit close to someone with a cute dog, not so close that it’s very obvious, but close enough so the dog can come over to me so I can pet him

Benicassim & water park – a must when spending a summer in Valencia

Spending a summer in Valencia wouldn’t be complete without going to a water park! When my friend told me that there was a water park about an hour away from Valencia, I knew I had to visit. I hadn’t been to one in years so I was already way too excited about it haha. Then we finally found a day to go there, and boiii was it fun. After spending the day there I came to the conclusion that I should spend more time in water parks and less time not in water parks :)))

So this is pretty much what my summer has been like! It’s been one of the best summer I’ve had, filled with lots of summer-y things I’m writing this in past tense because I’m actually headed to Iceland in the first week of August, so who knows if it will be summer there haha. You really can’t count on it. But I hope so! As for the rest of the year, I have no concrete plans and have no idea where I will be. My life is kind of an uncertain mess haha. But I feel like that’s what makes it exciting. People keep telling me things like “oh I can’t wait to see where you end up next” and I’m like “yeah me too” cause I honestly don’t know. Since Asia and Australia are still out of the picture, I figure I’ll be somewhere in Europe. Portugal, Croatia, Italy, Greece and Malta are some of the countries that are on my list. Although I’ve been to all of them except Greece, I feel like there is so much I haven’t seen. As an Icelandic passport holder, traveling in Europe is very easy and I don’t need a visa or anything like that. Then I might just as well visit Mexico or Colombia, I’ve been dying to go back there. Who knows.

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