New Year's Eve in Valencia 2026: a practical guide

Two countdowns: one for children and one at midnight

The official celebration is in Plaza del Ayuntamiento. In 2025, on Wednesday 31 December (Valencia City Council):

• Children's chimes, 10:30 to 13:00: entertainment, circus acts, photocall, face painting and balloon modelling. At 12:00 the City Hall clock struck twelve, with the singer Gisela.
• The night party: DJ Boccachico opened from the City Hall balcony; at 23:59 the countdown began with music, lights and fireworks by Pirotecnia Vulcano; then Pepino Marino and Ele DJ took over. The party went on until 1:45 (Visit València).

Both were free. The children's chimes are a good option if you are travelling with young children.

The 12 grapes in two sentences: you eat one grape on each of the twelve strokes of midnight, and if you finish in time you start the year with good luck. Before the strokes come the quarter chimes, which do not count, so wait for the first stroke.

Times and entry points for Plaza del Ayuntamiento

The 2026 times have not been published. In 2025 (Valencia City Council):

• 20:30: the square was closed to the public.
• 22:00: entry opened through five points: Marqués de Sotelo, Passeig de Russafa, Correus, Barques and Maria Cristina.
• Glass: 10,000 recyclable cups were handed out at the entry points so that nobody brought in glass containers.
• Local police, national police, firefighters, civil protection and ambulances were on duty, and the council recommended public transport.

The council gave no capacity figure. If you want to be in the square, be at an entry point before 22:00.

Fireworks at the City of Arts and Sciences

In 2025 there was a second fireworks spot: on the Monteolivete bridge, next to the City of Arts and Sciences, fireworks were fired during the quarter chimes and the midnight strokes, followed by the "Resplandor" display, about nine minutes long (Visit València). It is not yet confirmed for 2026.

Metro and buses on New Year's Eve

• Metrovalencia: on New Year's Eve in 2022 and 2023 it kept trains and trams running all night, from before the chimes until the start of service on 1 January. In 2022, until about 3:00 trains ran to their usual destinations; after that, until the morning, they ended at Aeroport, Marítim, Alboraya-Peris Aragó, Paterna, Seminari and Torrent Avinguda, every 40 minutes (every 20 on the shared underground sections), and tram lines 4, 6 and 10 ran all night (Metrovalencia, 2022; Metrovalencia, 2023). In 2024, with the network still affected by the floods, there was a special service: normal hours until around midnight and trains again from before 4:00 (Metrovalencia, 2024). The 2026 service is announced in late December.
• Stations near the square: Xàtiva and Colón (lines 3, 5 and 9).
• EMT buses: we have not found an official notice with the 2025 New Year's Eve timetable. We will add the 2026 one.

If you would rather walk back, look for a place to stay near Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

What opens and closes on 31 December and 1 January

• 31 December: a normal working day.
• 1 January 2027 (Friday): a public holiday across Spain, the Valencia region included (BOE). 6 January is also a public holiday.

Museums and shops set their own hours for those days: check their websites before you go.

More Christmas plans

Lights, the City Hall nativity scene, markets and the Three Kings parade are in our guide to Christmas in Valencia. If you would rather eat out on the 31st, book early and ask what the menu includes (grapes, party favours, closing time). For everything else on those days, see the Valencia events guide.