In Valencia most children write their letters to three kings rather than to Father Christmas, and the presents turn up on the morning of 6 January. The night before, Valencia stages the arrival of those kings through its city centre, with floats, marching bands and tonnes of sweets thrown into the crowd. The Valencia Three Kings parade is a free evening procession on 5 January that sets off at 17:30 from Avenida de Navarro Reverter and ends in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
What time is the Three Kings parade in Valencia? Valencia’s Three Kings parade starts at 17:30 on 5 January from Avenida de Navarro Reverter, near Alameda metro, and finishes in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. In 2026 the Kings first landed by boat at La Marina at 16:30. Watching is free; a kerbside chair costs €4 from 12:30.
Is the parade worth seeing if you are only visiting?
Yes, because for a Valencian family 5 January is the big night of the season. The parade is the last public event before the Kings “deliver” the presents, so children bring their letters and the royal mailbox travelling with the procession collects the ones still unposted.
On 6 January most shops close and the city stays home, which is worth knowing before you plan a sightseeing day; the list of what is open over Christmas in Valencia covers it.
The procession itself carries more than 1,300 performers. For the last edition the city announced four tonnes of gluten-free sweets, 3,000 soft toys and light sticks handed out along the way, plus a sign-language version of the live broadcast on the giant screens in the main square.
Where to watch the Kings arrive by sea
The arrival is a separate show that most visitors miss. Last January the Kings sailed in to Plaza de la Sal, on the northern quay of La Marina, at 16:30, with stands set up for the public. It works well if you are staying near the beach or in the Cabanyal, and it leaves an hour to get back into town.
The nearest tram stop to Plaza de la Sal is Neptú, on line 8, about 520 metres away. Grau-La Marina, on lines 6 and 8, is the other option. The landing site is roughly 4 kilometres from the parade start, so seeing both means leaving La Marina straight after the Kings come ashore. For the seafront itself, the guide to the Cabanyal neighbourhood fills the rest of the afternoon.
Where to stand along the route
The route runs from Navarro Reverter through Porta de la Mar, General Palanca, General Tovar, Calle de la Paz, Plaza de la Reina and San Vicente Mártir into the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, then breaks up on Avenida del Marqués de Sotelo. It is a little under 2 kilometres, and no stretch has a published passing time.
With young children, Navarro Reverter and the Porta de la Mar are the sensible choice: the floats pass straight after the 17:30 start, the avenue is wide, and Alameda metro is 215 metres away. Calle de la Paz is narrow, so you are within arm’s reach of the floats and the sweets, but a pushchair struggles there. The Plaza del Ayuntamiento is for those who want the finale, and it means arriving early and leaving last.
Crossing the route during the parade is possible at only three points: Calle de la Paz at Plaza de Alfonso el Magnánimo, Calle de la Paz at Plaza de la Reina, and San Vicente at the town hall square. Pick your side of the street before the floats arrive.
Is a €4 chair worth it?
A chair is worth it for older relatives or small children, and only if you are willing to claim it early. The city lays out 2,500 chairs between Navarro Reverter and the entrance to the town hall square, each at €4, rented from accredited staff on the spot from 12:30. There is no online sale, so a chair at the kerb means turning up at lunchtime.
For a family of four that is €16 and a five-hour wait before the 17:30 start. There are no rental chairs inside the main square, where stands go up from 4 January and access to the façade area is restricted.
Where wheelchair users can watch the parade
Valencia keeps three areas for people with reduced mobility. At Porta de la Mar, access is from Calle Grabador Esteve or Calle Colón. In the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, zone 1 is reached from Calle de la Sangre and zone 2, facing the main façade, from Calle de las Barcas or the Correos side of the square. The city also publishes an easy-read version of the parade information.
Getting there and back by metro
Driving is a mistake that evening. The city shuts the Paseo de la Alameda from the morning of 4 January and closes the approaches through Plaza de Tetuán, Paseo de la Ciudadela, Navarro Reverter and Marqués de Sotelo on the day, with the stretch between the Flores and Real bridges closed from 15:15. The car park under Plaza de la Reina shuts from 18:00 to 20:00 while the procession fills the square.
Alameda and Colón, on Metrovalencia lines 3, 5 and 9, cover the first half of the route; Xàtiva, under the Marqués de Sotelo end, serves the finale and connects with the Estació del Nord, the main railway station. Plaza de la Reina is the outlier at about 8 minutes from Colón, some 630 metres. In 2026 Metrovalencia ran extra trains before and after the parade, linked to its night service. EMT buses 6, 11, 32, 70, 71 and 81 serve the area but take diversions that evening. From the airport, the airport-to-centre guide explains which metro lines reach Xàtiva and Colón.
What happens at the end in the town hall square
Once the floats reach the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, the Kings stop at the life-size nativity scene by fallas artist José Puche and perform the Adoration on a stage in front of the town hall door, with music and fireworks fired from the roof.
A fire engine then lifts them to the main balcony, the same one that overlooks the mascletà in March, where they speak to the children. Afterwards they receive small children in the Salón de Cristal and hand out a keepsake.
Which villages saw the Kings arrive by boat in 2026
The villages that belong to Valencia hold their own parades the same evening, and two of them are unusual. The Kings reached El Palmar at 18:00 by boat at the municipal jetty, then performed the Adoration at the church of the Niño Jesús del Huerto in Plaza de la Sequiota. El Saler welcomed them at its own jetty at the same hour and handed out presents to every child.
Both villages sit inside the Albufera natural park, south of the city, so the trip pairs naturally with an Albufera boat trip at sunset. The catch is timing: they clash with the main parade, so it is one or the other. Other villages, such as Benimàmet with fireworks from 18:00 and Massarrojos at 19:00, follow programmes published each December.
What you might not enjoy about the parade
The main parade has no published timetable by stretch, so waiting is open-ended. The finale in the square draws the densest crowd and empties all at once towards Xàtiva and Colón.
The narrow streets around Calle de la Paz are hard work with a pushchair. And because 6 January is a holiday, the Christmas in Valencia guide is the place to plan what comes next, including the round roscón cake eaten that morning.
Three Kings parade in Valencia, frequently asked questions
What day is the Three Kings parade in Valencia in 2027?
Valencia holds its Three Kings parade on 5 January, the eve of Epiphany, and the city has set the next one for Tuesday 5 January 2027 at 17:30. Children open their presents the following morning, 6 January, which is a public holiday across Spain.
Where do the Three Kings arrive in Valencia?
In 2026 the Three Kings reached Valencia by sea, landing at Plaza de la Sal in La Marina, the old port, at 16:30. From there they travelled to Avenida de Navarro Reverter, about 4 kilometres inland, where the parade set off an hour later.
Is the Valencia Three Kings parade free?
Yes. Standing anywhere along the route costs nothing and needs no ticket. The only paid option is one of 2,500 kerbside chairs at €4 each, rented on the spot from 12:30 on 5 January, with no advance booking.
How do I get to the Valencia Three Kings parade by metro?
Alameda and Colón stations, on Metrovalencia lines 3, 5 and 9, sit a few minutes’ walk from the first half of the route, and Xàtiva serves the town hall square and Marqués de Sotelo. Roads into the centre close from mid-afternoon, so driving is the worst option.
In Valencia the Kings are a night-before event: choose the stretch for the children, not for the photograph.