Zona Blasco Ibanez : Overview (Nightlife in Valencia)

The area around the University holds Valencian student nightlife - pubs, rock bars, clubs and live music. It is young, cheap and vibrant.

In many ways, the Pz Cedro / Honduras is a mini-version of Carmen - an area with a more alternative, underground feel. The difference is that it is more compact, more narrow in its choice - with the majority of music being indie / rock, wit a younger crowd (many students), much cheaper and a more relaxed, unpretentios mood.

This area is the ultimate student nightlie of Valencia. If you have affection for student bars (or are a student yourself), you will enjoy it here.

For those who like pubbing this area is a real find, offering a great diversity of pubs.

We have named this area "Blasco Ibanez" for the ease of reference for those not familiar with Valencia thoroughly. In reality, the Avenida Blasco Ibanez is the longest in this city and the nightlife concentrates in two areas - near Avenida Aragon (one third down the Av. blasco Ibanez) and around Pz Cedro and Pz Honduras (two thirds down). The Aragon area is more of a mainstrean hub, while the Pz Cedro / Honduras has an alternative feel.

Layout

The area is split into two clusters by avenida Blasco Ibanez below the crossing Calle Doctor Manuel Candela. The Northern part concentrates around Pz Honduras, and the Southern - around Pz Cedro. It is generally easy to navigate, since those two clusters are quite compact. However, you might want to look at our map to make sure you don't miss a few good places which are not that obvious to find. Both clusters are fairly balanced in terms of type, number and quality of places.

The area is about 30-40 min walk from the centre, with good bus links and a metro station (Amistad, green line north) that will take you very close. A taxi from the centre will cost 7-8€.

Venues

The main staple here is pubs, more precisely - student pubs with an alternative subcultre feel to them. There is a variety to suit all tastes - mainstream pubs, bohemian cafes, rock bars, hippy smoking dens, etc. It is a colourful landscape, with each venue throwing their own graffitti on the outside walls, and sometimes onto the interior as well.

There is also half a dozen potent disco-bars with a full-on party and dancing till 4am.

To finish the night there are 4 night-clubs, from alternative to commercial.

Music

Zona Blasco Ibanez is generally known in Valencia as the indie / rock scene. Most places will be playing that - from background music in pubs to full-on parties in disco-bars. You will hear a wide selection of rock - from soft to hard, local to foreign, recent to classics.

Some places (Flow, Velvet Underground, Murrayclub, Kraken, Rumbo 144) will make a night of it - full with people going crazy to the indie tunes on the dance floor. El Tornillo is particularly famous for being passionate and innovative in its selection of indie tracks.

The area also has a high proportion of live music - Murrayclub, El Asesino, Natura Dub, Velvet Underground and El Tornillo will all throw an occasional rock concert, while Matisse has a dense regular programme of various live acrs and Wah Wah is dedicated totally to live music, being one of the most well-known place in Valencia for rock music.

There is also some commercial / pop stuff, of course, although much less than in other areas. For a mainstream party the most suitable places are Studio, Rumba 144 and Zenit.

Flow also puts on some electronic music, including drum'n'bass (a rare thing in Valencia) and a few places (Murrayclub, Rumbo 144, Flow) will do an R&B night on Wednesday for Erasmus.

People

Being the university area, it is full of students who bring all the vibrance and energy into it. As such, the average age is quite young. Mostly, the students who come here are of the alternative types - subcultures that is, although not excessively. The two squares turn into a student mayhem at night, with many hanging out on the streets - congregating on the squares or simply taking their drinks out of the doors of the bars.

This is also where most of Erasmus (international students) live and drink, making this area truly cosmopolitan. They also have their own night in various venues on Wednesdays - the R&B.

There are also quite a few older regulars, also of the alternative types, who appreciate the vibe in the pubs.

On Friday and Saturday a fair few venues get diluted by mainstream weekenders of mixed age.

Hours

Since the students are the main customers, this area is alive pretty much every day of the week, so much that Studio is known as the place to find a party on Monday. Most of the week, however, it is in a low key.

Thursdays is a traditional University night with most venues putting on more rock.

Wednesday is the Erasmus night in a few venues - R&N and hip-hop.

Be aware that the nightlife here is fairly seasonal. It fluctuates with the students. In July and August it is less busy, as well as in January / beginning of February and May / beginning of June, when the students are preparing for exams.

Prices

This area is the cheapest in town, since the students are poor. Most places will serve a beer at 2€ and a spirit / mixer at 5€, sometimes even cheaper. In addition there are various promotions that make prices even more attractive.