El Grau · Poblats Marítims
El Grau, Valencia: a guide to the port barrio
The barrio at Valencia's port, between the marina and the old riverbed: Gothic shipyards, a 1910 market that reopened in 2023, and no beach of its own. Part of Poblats Marítims.
- Nearest apartment
- 450 m
- District
- Poblats Marítims
- Residents
- about 9,500
- Barrio area
- 71.6 hectares
El Grau is a barrio of Poblats Marítims, the maritime district on Valencia's eastern edge. Carrer de Francesc Cubells forms the northern boundary, with El Cabanyal-El Canyamelar beyond it. To the west, Carrer de Serreria and Carrer d'Eivissa separate it from Aiora, La Creu del Grau and Penya-roja, which belong to the separate district of Camins al Grau.
The old Turia riverbed runs along the south, with Natzaret and La Punta on the far side. East is the working Port of València and the sea. Avinguda del Port cuts through the middle and splits the residential part in two, with the older streets around the Mercat del Grau and the Església de Santa Maria del Mar in the northern half. About 9,500 people live in some 71.6 hectares.
Port, not beach
El Grau's seafront is working dock and the basins of La Marina de València. There is no beach inside the barrio, and the nearest sand lies over the northern boundary in El Cabanyal. What is here instead is port fencing, customs buildings, moorings, and sailing, diving and kayaking clubs on the marina.
A market and low streets
The Mercat del Grau reopened in 2023 after five years shut, and sells fish, cheese, fruit and vegetables. Around it and the Església de Santa Maria del Mar the streets stay low and ordinary. Bars and restaurants are thinner on the ground here than in El Cabanyal or Russafa.
Old buildings in use
Les Drassanes del Grau, five Gothic naves built in the 14th century for shipbuilding, now work as an exhibition hall. Las Naves runs public events from converted industrial sheds on Carrer de Joan Verdeguer, La Mutant programmes dance and theatre on the same street, and La Harinera, a 1922 flour mill, sits further along it.
Our nearest apartments, in El Cabanyal
We have no apartments in El Grau itself. These are the closest, about 450 m from les Drassanes del Grau in a straight line.
Valencia Vida Suites Terraces
Carrer d'Ernest Anastasio, València
22 m² · 1 bed · Up to 2 guests
€120 night
Valencia Vida Suites Terraces Double Bed
Carrer d'Ernest Anastasio, València
22 m² · 1 bed · Up to 2 guests
€110 night
Valencia Vida Suites Front Double bed
Carrer d'Ernest Anastasio, València
22 m² · 1 bed · Up to 2 guests
€100 night
Valencia Vida Suites Front
Carrer d'Ernest Anastasio, València
20 m² · 1 bed · Up to 2 guests
€110 night
Getting around
Marítim is the interchange for the barrio, though the station itself sits just outside it, in Aiora. Metro lines 5 and 7 stop there, and line 5 continues to the airport. Trams 6 and 8 use the same interchange. Line 8 also calls at Francesc Cubells on the northern boundary, the closest stop to the market and Santa Maria del Mar, and at Grau - La Marina by the waterfront.
Tram 10 terminates at Natzaret, across the old riverbed. EMT buses 4, 19, 30, 92, 95 and 99 cross the barrio: 4 runs to Plaça de l'Ajuntament, 19 to Estació del Nord. Avinguda del Port is wide, but the older northern streets are walkable.
What is nearby
Mercat del Grau
Municipal market on Plaça del Mercat Nou, inaugurated in 1910 and the oldest surviving market building in the city. It reopened in 2023 after five years closed.
Les Drassanes del Grau
Five Gothic naves built in the 14th century for shipbuilding, on Plaça de Joan Antoni Benlliure, restored in 1994 and now an exhibition hall holding the Museu Marítim Joaquín Saludes.
Església de Santa Maria del Mar
The founding parish church of the settlement, documented from 1333, which holds the image of the Santíssim Crist del Grau. The barrio's patronal fiestas fall in August.
La Marina de València
The old port basin turned public waterfront, with around 800 moorings and sailing, diving and kayaking clubs.
Veles e Vents
The white cantilevered building by David Chipperfield and Fermín Vázquez, built for the 2007 America's Cup and now holding restaurants and event spaces.
Els Tinglados and the Edifici del Rellotge
Early 1900s port warehouses and the clock building, both still standing around the edge of the marina.
Las Naves
Municipal innovation centre in converted industrial sheds at Carrer de Joan Verdeguer 16, with public events and urban innovation programmes.
La Mutant
Contemporary performing arts venue at Carrer de Joan Verdeguer 22-24, programming dance, theatre, film festivals and artist residencies.
Questions about staying here
Is El Grau a good area to stay in Valencia?
El Grau is Valencia's port barrio, and it suits people who want the marina, the port and a residential street with few tourists. It is a poor fit for beachfront or nightlife: there is no beach inside El Grau, and it has far fewer bars and restaurants than El Cabanyal or Russafa.
Does El Grau have a beach?
No. The seafront of El Grau, in Valencia, is working port and the basins of La Marina de València. The nearest city beach is Platja del Cabanyal, north of the barrio boundary in El Cabanyal-El Canyamelar, and Platja de la Malva-rosa lies further north again.
Is El Grau the same as Camins al Grau?
No, and booking sites confuse the two routinely. El Grau is a barrio of the Poblats Marítims district, at the port of Valencia. Camins al Grau is a separate inland district containing Aiora, La Creu del Grau and Penya-roja, which border El Grau along its western edge.
How do I get from El Grau into the centre of Valencia?
Tram line 8 runs along the northern edge of El Grau to Marítim, where metro lines 5 and 7 continue into the city. EMT bus 4 runs to Plaça de l'Ajuntament and bus 19 to Estació del Nord.
What is worth seeing in El Grau, Valencia?
Les Drassanes del Grau, the Gothic royal shipyards built in the 14th century, now an exhibition hall and home to the Museu Marítim Joaquín Saludes. Also the Església de Santa Maria del Mar, the Mercat del Grau of 1910, and the La Marina de València waterfront with Veles e Vents and the surviving Tinglados.
Does SariStays have apartments in El Grau?
No. SariStays has no apartments in El Grau. El Grau is a barrio of the Poblats Marítims district at the port of Valencia, and the nearest SariStays apartments are in neighbouring barrios just outside it.