Russafa · l'Eixample
Russafa, Valencia: a guide to the barrio (also written Ruzafa)
A dense barrio in l'Eixample, south of the old town. It keeps the street plan of a village Valencia annexed in 1877, a working municipal food market, and a core of bar streets declared an acoustically saturated zone.
Joanbanjo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nearest apartment
- 1.4 km
- District
- l'Eixample
- Residents
- about 24,400
- Barrio area
- 87.8 hectares
Russafa is barrio 2.1 of l'Eixample, the district south of Valencia's old town. Its northern tip touches Sant Francesc in Ciutat Vella along a short stretch of Carrer de Xàtiva, with the bullring on the Russafa side. Carrer de Russafa and Avinguda del Regne de València divide it from el Pla del Remei and la Gran Via.
Avinguda de Peris i Valero runs the whole southern edge, facing Montolivet, En Corts and Malilla. Carrer d'Alacant is the northwestern boundary with la Roqueta; Parc Central and the old railway land separate it from Arrancapins to the west and southwest. Around the market the lanes are narrow and irregular. East of there the nineteenth-century Eixample grid takes over. About 24,400 people live on 87.8 hectares.
A market that still sells food
The Mercat de Russafa is a municipal food market rather than a restored hall of tapas counters. Fish, meat, fruit and vegetables go to the people who live here. The building is reinforced concrete, begun in 1957 and inaugurated in 1962, by Julio Bellot Senent with Javier Goerlich Lleó.
A village core inside the Eixample
Valencia annexed Russafa in 1877. Around the church of Sant Valer the old village lanes survive, narrow and irregular, while the streets east of them follow the nineteenth-century Eixample plan: five and six storey blocks with iron balconies. Two street patterns meet in the middle of the barrio.
The bar streets, and the noise
Bars and terraces concentrate on Cadis, Sueca, Cuba, Dénia and Literat Azorín. These streets have widened pavements but still carry traffic and parking, and together they form a declared acoustically saturated zone, so they stay loud late. The genuinely pedestrian streets are narrower ones such as Vivons and Sornells.
Our nearest apartments, in Arrancapins
We have no apartments in Russafa itself. These are the closest, about 1.4 km from the Mercat de Russafa in a straight line.
Valencia City Center L
Carrer de Martínez Aloy, València
55 m² · 3 beds · Up to 4 guests
€110 night
Valencia City Center R
Carrer de Martínez Aloy, València
50 m² · 2 beds · Up to 3 guests
€80 night
Getting around
Metrovalencia Line 10, a light rail line, reached Russafa in May 2022. Russafa station is inside the barrio, its entrance on Avinguda del Regne de València opposite the Escola d'Artesans. Alacant, the line terminus, sits under Carrer d'Alacant on the western boundary; an underground passage has linked it to Xàtiva station since December 2025.
Xàtiva, just beyond the northern tip in Sant Francesc, is served by Lines 3, 5 and 9, and Lines 3 and 5 run to the airport. EMT bus 35 crosses the barrio between Estació del Nord and the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, stopping at Mercat de Russafa and Sant Valero. The barrio is 87.8 hectares, so most of it is walkable.
What is nearby
Mercat de Russafa
The barrio's municipal food market on Plaça del Baró de Cortés, a reinforced-concrete hall begun in 1957 and inaugurated in 1962, selling fish, meat, fruit and vegetables to residents.
Església de Sant Valer i Sant Vicent Màrtir
Baroque parish church built between 1676 and 1700, with an octagonal bell tower completed in 1740. Known locally as the cathedral of Russafa.
Parc Central
A large public park on the former railway land along the barrio's western and southwestern edge, built around the restored Naves de Ribes sheds, with lakes, a children's garden and a dog run.
Plaça del Doctor Landete
A square in the middle of the barrio with a public fountain, one of the everyday gathering points away from the market.
Sala Russafa
A 178-seat theatre, open since 2011, programming drama, dance, music and children's shows.
Ubik Café
Bookshop and café at Carrer del Literat Azorín 13, also used as a small venue for book launches, workshops and talks.
Canalla Bistro
Ricard Camarena's informal restaurant on Carrer del Mestre Josep Serrano, with a menu mixing Valencian cooking and Mexican, Japanese and American dishes.
Mercat de Colom
The 1916 modernista market hall by Francisco Mora Berenguer, now shops, bars and restaurants. It stands in el Pla del Remei, just off Russafa's northern edge.
Questions about staying here
Is Ruzafa the same place as Russafa?
Yes. Russafa is the Valencian spelling used officially by the Ajuntament de València, which lists it as barrio 2.1 in the l'Eixample district of Valencia; Ruzafa is the Castilian form. The name comes from the Arabic Rusafa, meaning garden. Both spellings appear on street signs, menus and station signage.
Does Russafa in Valencia have a metro station?
Russafa has one station inside the barrio and a second on its western edge, both on Metrovalencia Line 10, which opened on 17 May 2022. Russafa station's entrance is on Avinguda del Regne de València, opposite the Escola d'Artesans. Alacant, the line terminus, sits under Carrer d'Alacant, the boundary with la Roqueta, and has been linked on foot to Xàtiva station since December 2025.
How do I get from Valencia airport to Russafa?
Metrovalencia lines 3 and 5 run from the airport to Xàtiva station, which stands beside the bullring at the northern edge of the barrio of Russafa. Since December 2025 an underground passage connects Xàtiva station to Alacant station, the terminus of Line 10, without going back up to street level.
Is Russafa noisy at night?
Parts of it are. In Russafa, the barrio of Valencia south of the old town, the bars and terraces concentrate on Cadis, Sueca, Cuba, Dénia and Literat Azorín, which the city has declared an acoustically saturated zone. Those streets stay busy late, particularly Thursday to Saturday. The Eixample grid east towards Avinguda del Regne de València is noticeably quieter.
Is Russafa near the beach?
No. Russafa is an inland barrio of l'Eixample, south of Valencia's old town. The city's beaches lie in the Poblats Marítims district on the eastern edge of the city, at El Cabanyal and la Malva-rosa, and are normally reached by Metrovalencia or EMT bus.
What is there to see in Russafa, Valencia?
Less monumental sightseeing than Ciutat Vella. The set pieces are the baroque Església de Sant Valer i Sant Vicent Màrtir, a Bien de Relevancia Local whose octagonal bell tower was finished in 1740, and the Mercat de Russafa, a working municipal food market inaugurated in 1962. Parc Central adjoins the barrio on its western and southwestern side.