Visiting Valencia
In the second part of my series looking at grounds to visit in Spain I take a look at Mestalla.
Ground: Estadio Mestalla
Capacity: 49,430
Location: Avenida Suecia, Valencia
Team: Valencia CF
Closest airport: Valencia, Alicante
In recent years, Mestalla has become a pilgrimage for both Spanish football fans and international groundhoppers who want to visit the ground before Valencia move to the Nou Mestalla.
With that move pencilled in for the summer of 2027, we are heading into the final season of one of Europe’s most iconic stadiums, one that opened on 20 May 1923. The ground has seen so much over the years that every seat can tell a story.
Valencia are one of a small group of clubs who put their tickets on sale well in advance. They have a good website and it is easy to buy tickets. I chose seats at the top of Mestalla to take in the ground in all its beauty, and the ticket was €35, which was €20 cheaper than rivals Levante the following day.
Getting to Valencia by plane is easy, with two airports. One is Valencia itself and the other is Alicante, which is around two and a half hours away by RENFE train. Due to living in the north west of Wales, connections for me were easier to Alicante, which has multiple daily flights from Liverpool and Manchester. Valencia has a weekly flight from Manchester, but the times did not work for my trip, although I did fly back from Valencia.
I flew on the day of the game from Manchester into Alicante, taking a 6 am flight on Saturday morning, which got me in early for a late kick off. I could have extended my trip and ticked off Villarreal as well, but instead I chose to focus on the Valencian clubs, Valencia and Levante.
After landing in Alicante, the bus from the airport takes around 20 minutes to reach the train station. With a couple of hours to spare, I walked up to the Jose Rico Perez stadium, home of Hercules and a former World Cup host venue. The Rico Perez is in poor condition but is still iconic, and I will talk about that ground later in the series.
