See a hippo swimming underwater, stand next to a lemur, climb onto Gulliver's shoulder and spot animals on old façades — in Valencia it is easy to plan days your children will remember. And the adults will not have to spend the whole holiday at playgrounds: many of these places are interesting for the whole family.
Bioparc: hippos underwater and lunch next to giraffes
Bioparc (BIOPARC Valencia) is a zoo built on the idea of immersion in the animals' natural surroundings. The space is laid out as several African landscapes: savannah, equatorial forest, wetlands and the island of Madagascar. Rocks, water and plants hide the barriers, so as you walk you feel as though you have stepped into the animals' own habitat.
One of the most fascinating spots is the hippo pool. A large glass wall lets you see it from the side, below the waterline: you can watch the hippos dive, push off the bottom and swim. It is a completely different experience from looking at backs and ears sticking out of a pond.
In the Madagascar area the path runs through the lemurs' space. Sometimes they are literally within arm's reach: sitting beside you, crossing the path or settling on branches. You may not touch or feed them, but watching them this close is wonderful.
Even a lunch break becomes part of the visit. Picture yourself in a café while giraffes and other animals wander past. The terraces of the Samburu restaurant and the Kidepo café are good for this.
Bioparc runs public feedings and bird-of-prey shows. Times and locations are in its handy app.
I would allow three to four hours for Bioparc, with a meal break. This is not a place to rush through: sometimes the best part starts when you linger at one enclosure. Recently my family and I spent about half an hour just watching a family of drill monkeys with their baby.
The aquarium, Science Museum and CaixaForum at the City of Arts and Sciences
Valencia is home to the largest aquarium in Europe, the Oceanogràfic. Its highlight is the underwater tunnel, with sharks and rays gliding overhead. There are other pavilions with marine life too, so allow about four hours, or half a day with lunch. Note that you walk outdoors between the pavilions.
The Science Museum (Museu de les Ciències) suits children who want to try things, test them and work out how everything works. There are many hands-on exhibits; school-age children will get more out of the explanations, while adults can help younger ones choose activities that suit their age. I would allow two to three hours for a first visit.
The CaixaForum València cultural centre, in the blue Àgora building, hosts temporary exhibitions. Many of them appeal to children, and there are family activities and workshops as well.
A good example was the interactive exhibition "Music and Mathematics", which showed how sound, rhythm and mathematical patterns are connected, letting you explore the subject through your own senses. It closed in August 2026, but it shows the kind of programme that makes this centre worth following.
Before you go, check the CaixaForum València programme: pick a specific subject and look at the age recommendations and the language of family events. Booking a workshop may be separate from the exhibition ticket.
I explain how to plan your time there in my article The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia: what to see and how to plan your visit.
The Palaeontology Museum in the Viveros gardens
If your child loves dinosaurs, visit the Palaeontology Museum in the Viveros gardens — El Paleontològic (Museu de Col·leccions Naturals), Jardines del Real / Viveros.
Here you can see dinosaur skeletons and meet other prehistoric animals. One of the stars of the collection is the megatherium, a giant ground sloth — a good chance to work out with your child why not every huge extinct animal is a dinosaur.
Children especially love being able to touch real fossilised bones and dinosaur eggs, exhibits put out specifically to be explored by hand. The museum also has an augmented-reality app.
For a family visit I would allow about an hour, then stay for a walk in the Viveros gardens — a large park with two cafés.
The Turia park and Gulliver
The Turia park (Jardín del Turia) runs along the old riverbed. For families it is a handy space between museums and walks in the centre, with playgrounds, cycle paths and places to rest.
The Turia's main attraction for children is the giant Gulliver playground (Parque Gulliver). A huge reclining giant has been turned into a playground: the folds of his clothes, his hair and parts of his body form slides, ladders and tunnels. Children clamber over him like the Lilliputians in Swift's book. Entry is free.
My main tip is to come in the morning, close to opening time: on hot sunny days the slides get very warm.
Check the opening hours in Google Maps before you set out. Gulliver has its own timetable, which changes with the seasons, and it sometimes closes for maintenance.
Bombas Gens exhibition centre
The Bombas Gens cultural centre (Bombas Gens Centre d’Arts Digitals) hosts interactive exhibitions with 360-degree projections and virtual reality. Visitors have already taken a journey on the Titanic here, and from October 2026 the exhibition "The Last Days of Pompeii" introduces everyday life in the ancient Roman city and recreates the eruption of Vesuvius. Images surround you on all sides, and virtual reality puts you inside the events. It is a great way to introduce children to history and culture through entertainment. Check the exhibition dates on the centre's website.
The old town: looking for little heroes
Walking around the old town with children can be a pleasure too. A lot depends on the task you give them. Seeing several monuments in a row is a fairly abstract plan. Finding a lion, spotting a bird over a doorway or tracking down a bat on a coat of arms is a concrete job a child can take part in.
Start with a simple question: "What animals can you see on this building?" Then look at the find more closely, guess why it was put there and compare your ideas with the story of the house. That way architecture becomes a reason to observe and ask questions.
My family tour Little heroes of a big city is built on this idea. We look for animals on façades, follow a story line and get to know Valencia through small discoveries. The programme is designed mainly for children aged seven to twelve and their parents.
If you are exploring on your own, choose a short route, alternate detail-hunting with breaks and leave time for ice cream. A few buildings your child has looked at carefully will give them more than a long walk by the end of which nobody notices anything.
