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Visiting the Mestalla: A Valencia CF Matchday Guide
A practical guide to watching Valencia CF at the Mestalla — tickets, getting there, where to sit, the pre-match atmosphere and matchday tips.
There are modern football stadiums with retractable roofs, giant screens and enough hospitality lounges to resemble an airport terminal.
And then there is the Mestalla.
Wedged into the streets of Valencia, impossibly steep in places and largely open to the Mediterranean sky, it remains one of the most distinctive football grounds I've visited.
But time is running out to experience it.
Valencia CF have confirmed that the 2026/27 season will be their final campaign at the Mestalla, with the club planning to move into the new 70,044-seat Nou Mestalla in summer 2027.
I travelled to Valencia to watch Valencia CF take on Mallorca and experience a matchday here for myself. From the walk through the city and the brilliant pre-match atmosphere outside the stadium to the extraordinary climb into the upper tier, this is my guide to visiting the Mestalla before Valencia leave.
At a Glance
Club: Valencia CF
Location: Valencia, Spain
Opened: 1923
Getting there: Around a 20-minute walk from central Valencia
My ticket: €30
Where I sat: Upper tier, North Stand
Best for: Atmosphere, stadium architecture and old-school European football
Don't miss: The pre-match atmosphere outside the main stand
STT tip: If you're sitting high up, prepare for plenty of stairs and very little shade
Time remaining: Valencia CF plan to leave Mestalla in summer 2027
Sports Travel Tom Tip: If the Mestalla is on your stadium bucket list, I'd prioritise it now. Valencia CF are due to move to the Nou Mestalla for the 2027/28 season.
Watch my Mestalla matchday experience
Join me in Valencia as I walk from the city centre to the Mestalla and experience a Valencia CF match from one of the stadium's famously steep upper tiers.
Why you should visit the Mestalla before 2027
The Mestalla has been Valencia CF's home since 1923, but the club are now preparing for one of the biggest changes in their history.
Construction on the Nou Mestalla restarted in January 2025 after years of delays, and Valencia CF currently plan to move there in summer 2027 for the beginning of the 2027/28 season. The new stadium will have 70,044 seats, all covered by a roof.
That means the 2026/27 season is expected to be the final opportunity to watch Valencia play a full campaign at their historic home.
And that's a shame, because the Mestalla is magnificent.
It doesn't have the facilities of Europe's newest stadiums. Three of its four stands are uncovered. Some of the staircases feel never-ending. Depending on where you're sitting, getting a drink can involve something approaching a small expedition.
None of that matters.
Its imperfections are part of what makes it such an extraordinary place to watch football.
How to get tickets for Valencia CF
Where I bought my ticket
I bought my ticket directly through Valencia CF for €30 for the La Liga match against Mallorca.
For most visitors, buying directly from the club should be the first place to look rather than immediately turning to resale websites.
Where should you sit at the Mestalla?
I chose the upper tier of the North Stand.
And when I say upper tier, I mean upper.
The climb is substantial, but the reward is one of the great stadium views in European football. From high above the pitch you really appreciate just how steep the Mestalla is and how tightly it has been squeezed into the surrounding city.
Sports Travel Tom Tip: If you're attending an afternoon match in one of the uncovered stands, bring sunglasses, sun cream and a cap. I visited in March and spent much of the match sitting directly in the Spanish sunshine.
Getting to the Mestalla from Valencia city centre
One of the great things about visiting the Mestalla is just how close it is to the centre of Valencia.
Rather than disappearing underground and emerging beside the stadium, I'd recommend walking there and making the journey part of your matchday.
I stayed at Hotel El Siglo, close to Plaza de la Reina in the heart of the city. After arriving on an early flight from Mallorca, a much-needed coffee here was my starting point before setting off towards the Mestalla.
From Plaza de la Reina, it's roughly a 20 to 25-minute walk to the stadium. I headed southeast along Carrer de la Pau, a handsome street lined with Valencian buildings, towards Porta de la Mar.
From there, the route takes you towards one of Valencia's most interesting features: the Turia Gardens.
Walking through the Turia Gardens
The Turia Gardens occupy the former riverbed of the Turia River and now form a huge green space running through Valencia.
The river once flowed directly through the city, but following the devastating Great Flood of Valencia in 1957, a plan was developed to divert it away from the centre. The old riverbed was eventually transformed into the park you see today.
It means that to reach the Mestalla from the city centre, you effectively have to cross what was once the Turia River.
There are plenty of bridges to choose from, but I crossed using the colourful Flower Bridge, or Pont de les Flors.
It opened in 2002, long after the river had been diverted, which means this bridge has never actually had the Turia flowing beneath it. I can't help thinking that's a little sad for a bridge.
The flowers covering the bridge are changed throughout the year, making it one of the more colourful approaches to a football stadium you're likely to encounter.
Once across the Turia Gardens, I continued along Carrer del General Gil Dolz.
And this is where the walk gets particularly good.
The Mestalla begins to appear ahead of you at the end of the street. There isn't an enormous plaza or huge open space announcing its arrival.
The stadium is packed tightly amongst Valencia's apartment blocks and roads, so it seems to grow larger with every step until suddenly it's right on top of you.
For a first visit, it's a brilliant way to arrive.
Sports Travel Tom Tip: If you're staying in central Valencia, walk to the Mestalla rather than taking public transport. It's an easy journey, takes you through part of the historic centre and across the Turia Gardens, and gives you a much better sense of how remarkably integrated the stadium is into the city.
What is the atmosphere like outside the Mestalla?
The matchday experience at the Mestalla begins well before you take your seat.
Outside the stadium, it's a stunning sight.
For a first-time visitor, the atmosphere immediately makes you feel welcome. It almost feels as though the Mestalla is saying: "What took you so long? Right, settle in and grab a beer. This is what we do here."
And grabbing a beer isn't particularly difficult.
Where to go before a Valencia CF match
Much of the pre-match crowd gathers around the main Mestalla Stand, particularly along Avenida de Suecia.
Bars spill out onto the surrounding streets, while Valencia shirts, scarves and flags provide flashes of orange everywhere you look.
When I visited in March 2025, Bar Ciudad Real, Aficio Bar and El Palco Bar were all busy with supporters before kick-off. Despite the crowds, I found service surprisingly quick, with a beer costing around €2.50 to €3 at the time (March 2025).
I'd allow yourself plenty of time here rather than arriving at the stadium shortly before kick-off.
Having a drink in the sunshine among Valencia supporters was one of my favourite parts of the entire experience.
But the bars aren't the only attraction.
Don't miss the team bus arriving at the Mestalla
Before my match, an orchestra appeared on one of the balconies of the Mestalla Stand and suddenly burst into action above the supporters below.
It was one of those wonderfully unexpected matchday moments.
Soon afterwards, the Valencia CF team bus arrived to cheers and waving scarves. The Mallorca team bus followed and received a rather different welcome, with the cheers quickly turning to boos as it made its way towards the stadium.
I have to give the Mallorca supporters some credit at this point. Many of them had been on my early-morning flight from Palma and it struck me just how much travelling is involved in following an island club through a La Liga season.
For every away matche, getting there involves getting on a plane or a ferry.
Once the buses had disappeared and the road reopened, the orchestra re-appeared at street level and supporters began towards the stadium entrances.
The whole area had the feel of a street party building towards a football match.
It would have been tempting to stay outside for another beer, but I'd already been warned about something waiting for me inside the Mestalla.
The stairs.
And my seat was right near the top.
Sports Travel Tom Tip: Don't treat the area outside the Mestalla simply as somewhere to pass through on your way to your seat. Arrive early, walk around the main stand and spend some time on Avenida de Suecia. The pre-match build-up was one of the highlights of my visit.
What is it like inside the Mestalla?
Walking into the Mestalla for the first time is quite an experience.
There are no giant wraparound screens, retractable roofs or particularly luxurious concourses. Three of the four stands are largely open to the Spanish sky and parts of the stadium feel every bit as old as its history suggests.
But that's precisely the appeal.
The moment I emerged into the stadium bowl, I understood why the Mestalla has such a reputation. The pitch was bright green, the sky completely blue and the stands seemed to rise almost vertically around it.
With a capacity of just under 50,000, I was surprised by how enormous it felt.
And then I looked behind me.
More stairs.
The climb to the upper tier
I'd bought a ticket high in the North Stand, which meant getting there involved tackling one of the Mestalla's famous staircases.
After entering through Entrance N5, I began what felt like a never-ending climb towards the upper concourse. It probably only took around five minutes, but with flight after flight of steps winding upwards, it certainly felt longer.
Eventually I reached the outer concourse, where there were a couple of food and drink kiosks and... the female toilets.
Hang on... Where are the men's toilets?
Back down several floors it turns out.
Sigh.
The good news is that once you've made the climb, the view makes it worthwhile.
What is the view like from the upper tier?
My seat gave me an extraordinary perspective over the Mestalla.
This is a stadium famous for its steep stands and from high in the North Stand you really appreciate the scale of them. Rows of seats tumble down towards the pitch while the surrounding apartment blocks and Valencia skyline appear beyond the open sides of the ground.
There's very little separating you visually from the city outside.
That was one of my favourite things about the Mestalla. It doesn't feel like a modern stadium dropped into Valencia. It feels as though the city has grown tightly around it.
Just be prepared for the weather.
Most of the Mestalla is uncovered and, despite visiting at the end of March, I spent much of the match sitting directly in warm Mediterranean sunshine. A cap, sunglasses and sun cream would have been useful additions to my matchday bag.
What is the atmosphere like during a Valencia CF match?
I watched Valencia take on Mallorca in La Liga, with home supporters desperate for an important victory.
As the stadium filled, there was a real mixture around me. Regular Valencia supporters sat alongside families, groups of friends and visitors experiencing the Mestalla for the first time.
It was quite easy to spot the latter.
"Wow" was a fairly common reaction as people emerged from the concourse and saw the stadium bowl for the first time.
The atmosphere was different to what you might experience at an English football ground.
There was less continuous communal singing around the whole stadium during my visit, but a constant buzz followed the action. The Mallorca supporters to my left made themselves heard, while the home crowd responded to good spells and tried to lift Valencia when they needed it.
Then Valencia scored.
The Mestalla came alive.
Thousands of scarves suddenly appeared above heads and began waving around the stadium.
Given the heat, they weren't particularly useful as items of clothing that afternoon, but they were very effective for celebrating a goal.
At half-time, the orchestra I'd seen outside the stadium pre-match or back, this time making its way around the pitch. While plenty of supporters headed for refreshments or escaped the sunshine for a few minutes, I stayed in my seat.
From that high up, with Valencia spread beyond the stands and the matchday unfolding beneath me, it was difficult not to sit back and soak it all in.
What a marvellous way to spend an evening in Valencia.
Sports Travel Tom Tip: If you're comfortable with heights and don't mind plenty of stairs, I'd seriously consider an upper-tier seat for your first visit. The steep climb is part of the Mestalla experience, and the view from the top gives you a brilliant appreciation of both the stadium and its position within Valencia.
The Mestalla sunset
If you're lucky enough to visit the Mestalla for a late-afternoon kick-off, the stadium might have one final show waiting for you.
My match against Mallorca kicked off at 5:30 PM and, as the second half progressed, the sun began dropping behind the Valencia skyline.
By full-time, it had transformed the view.
The sky behind the stadium turned from blue to deep orange, while thousands of supporters gradually made their way towards the exits. As the stands emptied, more and more of the Mestalla's orange seating appeared beneath the sunset.
For a few minutes, the entire stadium seemed to match Valencia's colours.
It was an extraordinary sight and one of my favourite memories from the whole visit.
I'd spent most of the match exposed to the sunshine in the upper tier, but suddenly being so high up felt like I'd accidentally booked one of the best seats in Valencia for sunset.
It's another reason I'd recommend considering the upper levels of the Mestalla for a first visit.
You don't just get a brilliant perspective of the pitch and those famously steep stands, you can also see right across the surrounding city.
Eventually, the stadium emptied and the floodlights became brighter against the fading sky.
Modern stadiums can manufacture plenty of spectacle.
This one came for free.
When are Valencia leaving the Mestalla?
Valencia CF currently plan to leave the Mestalla in summer 2027, moving into the Nou Mestalla for the start of the 2027/28 season.
And importantly, this is no longer just an endlessly delayed proposal.
Construction restarted in January 2025 and has progressed substantially.
In September 2026, work began on lifting the main structure of the new stadium's roof.
The Nou Mestalla will have 70,044 seats, with all seats covered, and Valencia are already selling hospitality products for the new ground.
So while the history of this project teaches us to be cautious about stadium deadlines, Valencia are actively preparing for the move.
Is visiting the Mestalla worth it?
Absolutely.
I've visited some of Europe's biggest and most modern football stadiums, but the Mestalla offers something increasingly difficult to manufacture: character.
It's steep. It's imperfect. It's hemmed in by the city. Much of it is completely exposed to the elements. The concourses aren't enormous and reaching the upper tier requires considerably more effort than stepping onto an escalator.
But that's precisely why I'd visit.
From having a beer among Valencia supporters outside the main stand to emerging at the top of that enormous bowl and watching the sun disappear across the city, this felt like far more than simply attending a football match.
It felt distinctly Valencian.
The Nou Mestalla will undoubtedly provide Valencia CF with facilities their current home simply cannot offer. But whether it can recreate the character of a stadium that has occupied this corner of the city for more than a century is another question.
For now, you still have the opportunity to experience the original.
I wouldn't leave it too long.
Final thoughts
I started this particular day at Palma de Mallorca Airport at 4:30 in the morning after a few days holiday with my wife-to-be.
And for whatever reason, flying had inexplicably become something I feared after spending most of my life loving it.
Every bump suddenly felt bigger than it was and every unfamiliar noise had me gripping the armrest.
So, whilst I nervously waited to board my 35-minute flight to Valencia, I looked at images of the Mestalla knowing it would be worth it. I'd always wanted to visit.
A few hours later I was sitting at altitude within the Mestalla itself and the only turbulance expeienced was that created by Valencia fans jumping up and down.
Spanish sunshine on my face, watching Valencia play football as the city stretched into the distance behind the stands — this is one of my most joyuss footballing experiences.
Travel has a rather useful habit of reminding you why you put yourself through difficult journies sometimes. For me, on this particular day of uncomfortable flyjing, discovering this magical stadium was worth it in spades.
I'll continue sharing sports travel guides, ticket tips and experiences from stadiums, arenas and sporting destinations around the world here on Sports Travel Tom.
You can also follow the journey on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok @sportstraveltom, where I share regular ticket updates, travel guides and sporting adventures to help you travel better for sport and adventure.
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