Three venues in Valencia share one combined pass, and this is the one that finally makes its arithmetic work. Part of what the ticket shows burned down on 19 July 1936, and what fills the gap today is a projection rather than paint.
What is inside the church of Santos Juanes? Santos Juanes holds 350 square metres of restored Antonio Palomino fresco on its vault; the apse frescoes were lost in the 1936 fire. The Immersive General ticket costs 15 euros and the reduced rate 12, with a multimedia audioguide in 7 languages.
The pass that finally adds up
The €32 combined ticket covers the Iglesia de los Santos Juanes, San Nicolás and the Centro de Arte Hortensia Herrero, valid for 5 days. Until this price was known the sum could not be closed.
It closes now. Bought singly the three come to €43 — €15 here, €16 at San Nicolás and €12 at the Hortensia Herrero — so the pass saves €11 across the full set.
Any pair still loses. Santos Juanes with San Nicolás is €31, Santos Juanes with the Hortensia Herrero €27, San Nicolás with the Hortensia Herrero €28: every combination of two sits below the €32 pass. The threshold is the third door, with nothing in between.
What the ticket buys
Nothing on sale here is plain admission. The general immersive ticket is €15 and the reduced €12, both carrying a multimedia audioguide in seven languages and a route through eight centuries of the building’s history.
Above that the church sells a guided visit at €18, daily at 12:30 with a specialist guide, and a panoramic tour at €22 lasting 90 minutes, on Fridays at 19:30 in Spanish and English. Reduced rates reach students, pensioners, large families, disabled visitors, unemployed people and Valencia Tourist Card holders.
Hours split by season. From October to June it runs Monday to Friday 9:30 to 18:30, with Wednesday and Sunday 13:00 to 19:00 and Saturday 9:30 to 18:00. From July to September the weekday block shifts to 10:00 to 19:00 while the rest holds.
Half the ceiling is a projection
What hangs over the nave is not all of one kind. The vault carries 350 m² of restored fresco by Antonio Palomino, with iconography of the Saints John. The apse and other areas carry a videomapping recreation of painting that no longer exists.
| Element | What happened to it | What a visitor sees |
|---|---|---|
| The vault | restored over five years | 350 m² of original Palomino fresco |
| The apse | lost in the 1936 fire | a digital recreation, projected |
| The main altarpiece | destroyed | not replaced |
| The parish archive | destroyed | n/a |
| The murals that survived | damaged by heat, smoke and water | cleaned and consolidated |
The two halves run into each other without a label between them, so a photograph of the ceiling can capture eighteenth-century pigment and a light projection in the same frame.
The fire of 19 July 1936
The damage has a date. On 19 July 1936, in the opening days of the Civil War, fire destroyed the main altarpiece, the images, the parish archive and an essential part of Palomino’s painted decoration.
What the flames spared was harmed indirectly. The murals were altered by heat, smoke and the water used to put the fire out, to the point of becoming practically unrecognisable, so the loss went well beyond what actually burned.
Recovery took five years and was paid for by the Fundación Hortensia Herrero, using biocleaning, laser and carbon-fibre supports on a building Visit València describes as Gothic from the 13th century, a National Historic-Artistic Monument and one of the most important Baroque ensembles in Spain.
The church stands on the Plaza del Mercado, facing the Lonja de la Seda and beside the Central Market, which puts three of the city’s set pieces within one square. The cathedral and its chalice, at €12, sits ten minutes further on.
Frequently asked questions about Santos Juanes
Are the frescoes at Santos Juanes original?
Those on the vault are: 350 m² of restored Antonio Palomino. The apse and other areas were lost in the 1936 fire, and what appears there now is a digital recreation projected onto the surface by videomapping.
Does the three-venue pass save money?
Yes, but only across all three. Santos Juanes is €15, San Nicolás €16 and the Centro de Arte Hortensia Herrero €12, which comes to €43 separately against a €32 pass. Any two of them bought singly still undercut it.
How much does Santos Juanes cost to visit?
Fifteen euros for the general immersive ticket and €12 reduced, on the church’s own booking page, with a multimedia audioguide in seven languages included. A guided visit runs daily at 12:30 for €18 and a 90-minute panoramic tour on Fridays for €22.
A restored vault and a projected apse share one roof, and the ticket makes no distinction between what survived and what was rebuilt in light.