Most visitors in Valencia over the holidays are surprised to learn that Spanish children do not open presents on 25 December but on 6 January, when the Three Kings arrive. The cake that goes with that morning is the roscón de Reyes. Roscón de Reyes is a ring of orange-scented sweet bread topped with candied fruit, eaten across Spain on 6 January, and in Valencia the best ones are made to order.
Where can you buy roscón de Reyes in Valencia? Pastelería Monplá, Calle Pizarro 32, won Spain’s best classic roscón at the first national contest in December 2025, and Sukar Pastry, Calle de la Paz 16 near Plaza de la Reina, came second. Both work to order: book in December and collect on 5 January. Prices are given when you order.
What a roscón is, and what is hidden inside
The dough is enriched with butter and eggs and flavoured with orange zest and orange blossom water. On top go candied fruit, sliced almonds and sugar. Many come split and filled with whipped cream, custard or chocolate truffle. Inside, two surprises: a small figure, which makes the finder king of the table, and a dried bean, whose finder is supposed to pay for the cake.
The scale is serious. For the 2024 season, the Gremio de Panaderos y Pasteleros de Valencia counted more than 900,000 roscones baked in the Valencia region, nearly all of them eaten over two days. Spanish meal times shape when: families slice it at breakfast on the 6th or with an afternoon coffee on the 5th.
Which bakery to choose as a visitor
You are probably not ordering a kilo for twelve. So the deciding factor is where you are staying and how much planning you want to do.
- Staying in the old town: Sukar Pastry, Calle de la Paz 16, a few steps from Plaza de la Reina and Valencia Cathedral, came second in the classic category. Sukar is a high-end pastry shop with its own panettone and filled croissants, so even without a roscón it is worth the stop. Phone 960 81 28 73. The shop has announced a new location coming soon, so check the address when you call.
- Want the winner: Pastelería Monplá, Calle Pizarro 32 in the Pla del Remei area, about 420 metres from Colón metro station, where a single ticket for zone A costs €1.50. The shop opens Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to 8pm and closes on Sundays. Orders on 96 351 71 51.
- Want something different: Pana David, in Meliana, north of the city, won the innovative prize with a filling of cacau del collaret, the local Valencian peanut. Pana David sells to order, and collecting means a trip out of town.
How much it costs
None of the three award-winning bakeries lists a roscón price: you get it when you order, along with the size and the filling.
Monplá does price the rest of its 2026-27 Christmas menu, which gives a sense of the range. Its galette des rois, the French Kings’ cake, costs €26 in two versions, peach with pistachio frangipane or pear with chocolate pearls. Panettone made with the house sourdough runs from €35 to €39.50, and the Christmas log from €34.50 for four or five people to €54.90 for eight.
When to order, and when to collect
Order in December. Monplá published its Christmas menu in October and asks for bookings “as soon as possible”: it describes itself as a very small business with a cap on what it can bake, serving orders in sequence. The prize-winning roscón from Pana David was sold only to order in December 2025.
In 2027, 5 January falls on a Tuesday and 6 January on a Wednesday. The eve is an ordinary working day for a bakery open Monday to Saturday, while the 6th is a public holiday. The safe plan is to collect on the afternoon of the 5th, before or after the Three Kings parade, and to ask whether the shop opens on the morning of the 6th rather than assume it.
That evening is also when the Valencia Christmas markets stay open latest: in the 2025-26 season the Centro market ran until 5am. For what else is open on 6 January, see what’s open in Valencia over Christmas, and for the whole season, day by day, Christmas in Valencia.
The Valencian alternative, casca
Before roscón spread across Spain, Valencia ate casca on Kings’ Day. Casca is a ring of marzipan made from almonds and sugar, filled with candied sweet potato, egg yolk or pumpkin. Few bakeries in the city still make it, so it has to be ordered.
Neighbourhood bakeries with their own ovens are the place to ask, such as Horno Moreno Ponce, Calle Doctor Gil i Morte 10, which the Gremio de Panaderos awarded its first prize for traditional bread in September 2026. It is 158 metres from Bailén metro, on line 7.
For the rest of the season’s sweets, from turrón to sweet-potato pastries, see Valencian Christmas sweets and where to buy them.
What may disappoint
Prices you only learn by phone, which is awkward if you do not speak Spanish: a short message in writing works better than a call at a busy counter. An empty counter on the 5th if you did not order. And the innovative winner is in Meliana, which means a trip out of the city to collect it.
Frequently asked questions about roscón de Reyes in Valencia
What is roscón de Reyes?
Roscón de Reyes is the ring-shaped sweet bread Spaniards eat on 6 January, Three Kings Day, when children open their presents. It is flavoured with orange zest and orange blossom water, topped with candied fruit and almonds, and hides a small figure and a dried bean. Whoever finds the bean traditionally pays for the cake.
Where is the best roscón in Valencia?
The first national artisan roscón contest, held at the Mercat del Grau in December 2025, named Pastelería Monplá on Calle Pizarro 32 the best classic roscón in Spain, with Sukar Pastry on Calle de la Paz 16 in second place. Pana David, in the town of Meliana, won the innovative category.
Do I need to pre-order a roscón in Valencia?
At the award-winning bakeries, yes. Monplá’s 2026-27 Christmas menu asks customers to book as early as possible because it makes a limited number of pieces and serves orders in sequence. The busiest pick-up day is 5 January, which falls on a Tuesday in 2027.
Are Valencia bakeries open on 6 January?
6 January is a public holiday in Spain, so each bakery decides. Monplá opens Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to 8pm and notes that holidays may change that, so confirm the pick-up time when you order rather than counting on the morning of the 6th.
In Valencia the roscón is a December decision; by 5 January the best ones are already spoken for.