Las Fallas - apt. and activities
 

We are trying to decide on several apt. during Las Fallas and would appreciate any comments or advice. The apts. are on Santo Tomas, Marcelino Giner and Calle del Vesturario. They are all in the old city centre and hopefully, close to the main festival activities. We are 2 couples in our 50's and wanting to be in the midst of all the activities and not planning on too much sleep from the 16th to the 20th. Would it be reasonable to expect to be able to see regular Valencia sights during the earlier parts of the day and then join in the festivities for the evening and nights? Is there a problem in staying too close to the city centre? Thanks for your help and expertise !

depending on what day you arrive, you will not be able to access your apt. with a taxi, so keep that in mind. all center roads are totally blocked off. maybe very very late at night it would be possible.. but probably only part way to those streets.

luggage lockers at the train station fill up fast and i believe are not 24 hrs.

glad to hear you aren´t concerned about not sleeping.
certainly will be noisy enough during your stay!

when you come you can buy a booklet with all the activities listed, and enjoy www.fallasfromvalencia.com in the meantime.

if you need a personal tourguide for one of your mornings..you can write me.

forgot to add that you will be able to walk to many of the sites, and of course, the fallas activities are just on all the time..

some parades, and tons of kids throwing cherry bombs and smaller noisy fireworks prohibited in most countries.

people basically mull around looking at the fallas, themselves, being built,.. or if they are already finished, strolling in huge groups, stopping for chocolate and churros or buñuelos.. really quite fun, as long as it doesn´t rain!!

there are some secret ways to beat the crowds.. try not to criss-cross the town.. so you can visit as many of the top monuments as possible. also, do secure lunch reservations most days as it is VERY difficult to find a spare chair anywhere after the 2 pm mascletá.

it can be a very exciting time.. although some people get turned off by some of the street scene..

Greetings to Lincasanova ! Thank you for your kind and helpful response. We are getting excited about our upcoming adventure and will certainly take your advice. Would you consider that all 3 apt. locations are about equal as far as being central and convenient ? We would like to be able to wander through the city and be able to go back to our apt. for short rests - not necessarily a nap, I think ! Regarding access to the apt. on our arrival; we are hoping to be able to travel by metro and then walk - we travel light and are used to walking. Is this reasonable ?

Not reasonable during Fallas time, metro is overcrowded as it is the only transport in the city centre so you won't be able to go inside with suitcases when barely there's place for breathing !! Maybe your lugagge won't arrive with you... Maybe if you could arrive on the 15th in the morning would make things easier.
About the locations, Santo Tomas and Vestuario are both in the city centre. I think you would like better the Vestuario street one. It's nearer to the main fallas focus. Marcelino Giner is in a non central neighbourhood called Benimaclet. It could be useful because you would probably could arrive there by taxi and it's well communicated (bus, metro) but no walking distance to the main sites.

map out your favorite apts. i don´t have time to do this although i see kenderina has informed you of their approximate location.

your best bet may NOT be taking metro all the way to valencia nord train station, but alighting elsewhere and avoiding walking through the dense main plaza, which may also be the furthest from the really old town.

look at valencia city map and you will see there is a road that changes its name several times but basically rings around the entire downtown..

it is called colon, xativa ( or jativa) guillem de castro, paseo de la pechina, etc.

it may be closest to get to your apt. in the center through the torres de serrano..

the street closures should be posted on that website closer to the date.. but they are wicked. very late at night taxis squeeze in and out a bit.. but no way during the day. that ring road is always open.. and taxis CAN be found from other metro stops coming from the airport, but you need to know where to get off, so let us know and we will try to get you the best info.