At midnight in Spain you eat twelve grapes, one on each stroke of the clock, and in Valencia the clock that counts is the one on the town hall. The Plaza del Ayuntamiento party is Valencia’s free public New Year’s Eve celebration, held from 22:30 to 01:45 with DJs, the town hall chimes and fireworks at 23:59. The catch most visitors do not expect is that the square is emptied at 20:30 and only reopens at 22:00.
Where should you spend New Year’s Eve in Valencia? For the party, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento: free, open from 22:00 through five controlled entrances, with DJs until 01:45 in the last edition. For fireworks, the City of Arts and Sciences, where the 9-minute display fires at 23:59. Bring your own twelve grapes, and leave glass at home.
Should you pick the square or the riverbed fireworks?
The square and the fireworks are two different evenings. The town hall display lasts 90 seconds and is fired from the building’s roof terrace during the chimes. The long show is 2.7 kilometres away, at the City of Arts and Sciences, on the far end of the Turia Gardens. No booking is needed for either, and the square party itself lasts three and a quarter hours.
For the 2025 edition the city fired three displays at 23:59, all by Pirotecnia Vulcano. The long one, called Resplandor, used 1,773.70 kilos of charge and 46,042 pyrotechnic units on eight 15-metre platforms, with 2,590 thunderclaps and 600 kilos of powder packed into the final minute. The Montolivet bridge fired the quarter chimes and the twelve strokes. If you would rather watch from a table, the guide to New Year’s Eve dinners in Valencia lists two rooftops overlooking the square.
When the square closes and reopens
Valencia runs the square on a strict clock on 31 December. In the last edition the Plaza del Ayuntamiento was cleared at 20:30, the security cordon went up, and the five entrances opened at 22:00. Music started at 22:30 with Boccachico on the balcony, Pepino Marino took over after midnight and Ele DJ closed at 01:45.
The entrances were Avenida del Marqués de Sotelo, Passeig de Russafa, the Correos post office building, Calle de las Barcas and Avenida de María Cristina. Arriving at 22:00 gets you in comfortably; arriving at 23:30 is a gamble on space. Before 20:00 the square still hosts the Christmas ice rink, which shortens its hours that day.
What to bring, and what stays outside
The rule that catches people out is glass. From 22:00 the city hands out reusable cups at the five entrances, 10,000 of them last year, so that no bottles or glass containers make it into the square, which means a bottle of cava stays outside. The square does not supply grapes either: buy them before 31 December rather than hunting for an open shop that evening.
Thousands of LED light sticks are handed out too, more than 10,000 in 2025, and the stage set-up runs to 150 technicians, six sound towers and more than 70 spotlights. Local and national police, firefighters, civil protection and ambulances work the night, and the city asks everyone to come by public transport.
How do the twelve grapes work at midnight?
Twelve grapes, twelve strokes, one minute after the 23:59 countdown starts. At midnight the town hall clock strikes twelve times and you eat one grape per stroke. The quarter chimes come first, and they are not the signal: people who start on the quarters run out of grapes before the year changes. In the square the countdown begins at 23:59.
How to get home on the metro after midnight
Valencia’s metro does not close on New Year’s Eve. Last year Metrovalencia ran continuously from before midnight until the morning of 1 January, with trains out to Picassent, Bétera, Llíria, Rafelbunyol and Riba-roja de Túria, and tram lines 4, 6, 8 and 10 running through the night. In earlier editions, after the small hours, trains ran on shorter routes every 40 minutes.
Xàtiva, on lines 3, 5 and 9, is the station for the square, 337 metres from its centre and right beside the Estació del Nord, whose layout is covered in the North Station guide. Line 3 also reaches the airport without changing, as explained in the airport-to-centre guide. Coming back from the fireworks, the Ciutat Arts i Ciències-Justícia tram stop on line 10 is 234 metres from the Science Museum. EMT runs its night bus network of 23 lines and announces any changes for the 31st in December. A single ticket for zone A costs €1.50, so buying the return on the way in saves a stop at the machines after 01:45. At Casino Cirsa, dinner starts at 20:30 going by its 2025 offer, which still leaves time to walk to the square for 22:00.
Where to take children for a midday countdown
Families with small children get their own New Year at noon, with no ticket.
On 31 December 2025 the square hosted children’s chimes from 10:30 to 13:00, with the town hall clock striking twelve at 12:00, singer Gisela on stage, circus acts, face painting and balloon modelling, all free. It suits a holiday morning far better than the late-night crowd, and the Christmas with kids guide has the rest of the school holidays.
What might put you off the square
The square is a standing party with no seating, and at 01:45 everyone leaves through the same five streets. The fireworks over the square are short.
The 2026 programme, with artists, entrances and display sites, is only announced in late December; the 2025 version came out on the 30th. New Year’s Day is a holiday with much of the city shut, so check what is open over Christmas in Valencia before planning 1 January.
Valencia New Year’s Eve in the town hall square, questions answered
Is New Year’s Eve in Valencia’s Plaza del Ayuntamiento free?
Yes. The Plaza del Ayuntamiento party is free and needs no ticket. In the last edition it ran from 22:30 to 01:45 with three DJs, a countdown at 23:59 and fireworks from the town hall roof. Entry is controlled at five streets, where glass is swapped for reusable cups.
What time should I get to the town hall square on New Year’s Eve 2026?
The 2026 times come out in late December. For the 2025 party the square was cleared at 20:30 and reopened at 22:00, so 22:00 is the time to aim for. Turning up at 21:00 means waiting outside the cordon for an hour.
Where are the best fireworks in Valencia on New Year’s Eve?
At the City of Arts and Sciences, where Valencia fires its longest display of the night, a 9-minute show with 1,773.70 kilos of charge along a 300-metre front. The square’s own display lasts 90 seconds, so anyone mainly after fireworks should head to the Turia riverbed instead.
Does the Valencia metro run all night on New Year’s Eve?
Yes. Last New Year’s Eve Metrovalencia ran without a break from before midnight until the morning of 1 January, with trains out to Picassent, Bétera, Llíria, Rafelbunyol and Riba-roja de Túria and tram lines 4, 6, 8 and 10 in service. The exact 2026 timetable is published the week before.
Do you have to bring your own grapes in Valencia on New Year’s Eve?
Yes. The square does not hand out grapes, so locals bring a small bag of twelve, one for each stroke of the town hall clock at midnight. Supermarkets sell small tins of ready-peeled grapes in the days before 31 December.
The town hall gives Valencia its clock at midnight; the riverbed gives it its fireworks.