Valencia
You're flying out of Valencia Airport, you have 90 minutes to kill, and you'd like to do better than a Pret. Good news: airport drinking has improved more in the last five years than the previous fifty. Pre-flight drinks at Valencia Airport range from chain reliability to surprisingly polished hotel-style bars in the airport hotels. This is barsforKings's editor-curated guide to drinking better at Valencia's airports.
El Carmen · $$
Heritage cafe-bar near the cathedral.
El Carmen · $$
The heritage bar that birthed Agua de Valencia in 1959.
El Carmen · $
Heritage neighbourhood bar inside a former pharmacy.
Ruzafa · $$$
Restaurant-bar with one of Valencia's tightest natural-wine lists and a serious cocktail programme.
Want a real drink before flying? The fastest play is to get to airport hotels next door — most run polished bars that beat anything post-security. We list them at the bottom. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, see our shortlist of bars in Valencia proper at the end.
Plays for Valencia Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
Pre-flight drinks, hotel-bar reviews, and the openings we're watching across 176 cities. Friday mornings, no filler.
Looking beyond Valencia? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.