VALENCIA
Stadiums
Valencia’s steep-sided Mestalla stadium (Avenida Aragon 33; +34 963 372 626), opened in 1923, is a short walk from Aragon station on metro line 5, two stops from central Colon. You can also access via Facultats on line 3. After cutting down C/Doctor Juan Regia, you soon come to the ground. The main ticket office is open 10am-2pm, 5pm-8pm on weekdays before a matchday, Saturdays 10am-2pm, and three hours before kick-off.
Facing the booths is Plaza de Valencia CF, where you’ll find a modest club shop and three bars in a row. One, the Museo Deportivo de Manolo del Bombo, is a shrine to the game and the career of the smiling, rotund gentleman behind the bar, he of the huge drum the cameraman always picks out when Spain play in the World Cup. Photographs of Manolo’s travels cover every inch of space on the walls.
There is another club shop in the centre of town, at Pintor Sorolla 25, a modern, well-stocked two-storey establishment that also sells match tickets. The Valencia faithful gather in the Fondo Norte (north end). For the neutral, a spot in the Tribuna Numerada offers the best view for a reasonable price.
Levante’s Ciutat de Valencia stadium can be reached by bus – take the No 11 from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento to C/Santiago Rusinol, also accessed from Machado metro station. There are ticket offices at either end of the stadium along Rusinol – the furthest one from the main Avenida de Alfahir road stands beside the modest club shop.
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