Valencia train station
 

We're staying in an apartment near the Alhambra - and will be traveling by train to Barcelona. What station should we leave from in Valencia?

Depends on which station you wish to go to in Barcelona. If Barcelona Sants (the main station), then leave from Valencia JSO. If Barcelona E-Fran, then
Valencia JSO. More details can be found on the Spain Rail site, renfe.spainrail.com

Sorry, please disregard my earlier message. The Renfe website, Renfe.com, shows trains to Barcelona Sants from both Valencia Estacio del Nord or Valencia Joaquin Sorolla. I am not familiar with the Alhambra area of Valencia, but in November we stayed in El Carmen, Valencia centro. We took a train from Valencia JS and it was no more than a 15 minute taxi ride. We actually drove by Valencia Nord, which was closer to the center.

I was just in Valencia.
the 2 stations are connected by a free shuttle that uses a dedicated road and leaves every 10 minutes, so which station doesn't really matter that much.

Wondering if you really meant Alhambra, which is in Granada.

Just been there and took the train from Barcelona. Train departs from Joaquin Sorolla to Barcelona Sants. If you are located closer to Nord, there is a bus that brings you from the front of that station to Sorolla. taxis are very cheap.

Of course - you are correct - I can't believe I said that we were near the Alhambra in Valencia! :p (We actually are staying near the Alhambra in Grenada earlier in the trip).
In Valencia we are staying near the Nord Station. I'll figure out if I should use the free shuttle to the Joaquin Sorolla station.

;)
i used the shuttle on arrival and departure. Easy even with luggage.

Got tickets from Nord in Valencia to Sants in Barcelona. Price is very good, too.

Having used quite a few Spanish stations on my trip which co-incided for part of the time with Elberko and Ger [hi gang] do leave time for putting your cases through security which is in operation at most if not all Spanish stations now.

Where are you staying in Valencia?

Thanks for that info - we'll be sure to leave extra time for any security checks. We're staying in an apartment at Carrer d'Alacant 11 in València; this will be our first time there, and I don't know the city at all. This one sounded pretty good - description says it's near the city center and the train station - in the Ruzafa district. Do you know anything about that area?

I'm in Valencia right now. That area is right next to the Valencia Nord Station. As others have said there is a shuttle bus to the Joaquin Sorolla station but the two stations are only a ten minute walk. I'm leaving from the Joaquin Sorolla station so walked there yesterday to buy my ticket to Madrid. I don't mind walking and by the time you wait for the bus it's almost as fast to walk.

I walked through the area you are staying in a couple of times, big shopping area. Everything in central Valencia is pretty close together.

scdreamer - as Isabel says, where you are staying is right next to the Valencia Nord station - in fact so far as I can see from google maps, it overlooks it! so it's right in the centre. TBH It was pretty busy and noisy during Las Fallas but it's likely to be a lot quieter outside that time. It's just round the back of the bullring, and a very short walk to the centre by just crossing over the main road outside the station and walking north through the pedestrianised shopping area to the plaza Ayuntamiento and then further on to the Cathedral. Veer off to the left at the top of the plaza and you'll arrive at the Central market which is a real feast for the eyes and nose!

BTW, Isabel, I don't think that you needed to walk to JS station to buy your ticket - you can buy any ticket from any station. So while I was waiting for a train from JS to Madrid, I was able to buy my ticket from Madrid to Toledo for later in the day. But what you do have to look out for is that they have separate desks very often for travel on that day - when it came to getting my ticket back from Toledo to Madrid which I bought for the next day when I got there, there was one of those machines that gives you a number for your turn in the queue, and I had to press the button for "not today". And it may be quicker to walk to get your ticket but not necessarily when you've got your luggage!

I'm sure you will enjoy your trip!