Every year, Open House Valencia (OHV) transforms the city into something generous. Buildings open up, stories unfold, and for a brief moment, you’re not just a passerby, you’re a welcomed guest, invited to understand the city from the inside.

Three days that reminded me why Valencia is a place you never truly finish discovering. Three days of stepping into buildings I’ve walked past countless times and seeing them in a completely new light. The Open House tours turn architecture into experience and familiar streets into small revelations.

Day 1

The first day set the tone: four places, all different, each adding something to how I see the city.

📍 Finca Roja

A landmark in my own neighborhood I thought I knew until I finally stepped inside. Seeing its courtyard, its inner structure, and even stepping into one of the apartments made the whole building feel completely different to me: more coherent, more intimate, almost rhythmic in the way the spaces unfold. It felt like rediscovering a place I had walked past for years without truly seeing.

📍 City Hall Air-raid Shelter

A descent into history, literally. Going down into the shelter felt like descending into the city’s memory. The silence was heavy in a way that makes you feel humble, a reminder of Valencia’s wartime resilience hidden right beneath our feet.

📍 La Patriarca

La Patriarca was the quiet beauty I imagined. The soft light, the worn stone texture, the layers of history… everything felt grounded and simple. I found exactly the kinds of details I naturally gravitate toward: textures, symmetry, repetition, and subtle shifts in color. It’s a place that makes you slow down and absorb what’s around you.

📍 Porcelanosa Showroom

Visiting the Porcelanosa showroom was the perfect contrast to the rest of the day: after spending the day surrounded by centuries-old stories, stepping into Porcelanosa felt like an exhale. Sleek lines, refined materials, contemporary inspiration, everything intentional… It was the perfect way to end a day split between past and present.

Day 2

Day two offered two completely different spaces, each with its own energy.

📍 Espai Vert

Organic architecture at its best. It felt like stepping into a small oasis inside the city. The mix of light, greenery, and water is exactly the kind of design language I connect with, a space designed with people and nature in mind. Everything feels thought through for the people that actually live there. It’s architecture that breathes.

📍 Residencia María Micaela

Residencia María Micaela is a simple space, but full of personality, the kind of architecture that doesn’t try to impress you loudly. I was especially interested in visiting because, a few years ago, I was very close to buying a duplex here but it sold before I even had the chance to view it. Walking through the residence now felt both familiar and new, like finally stepping into a place I’d once imagined living in.

Day 3

A rainy, but memorable final day.

📍 San Juan del Hospital

San Juan del Hospital is one of the oldest and calmest places in Valencia. We were also lucky to have as guide an architect who actually worked on the church’s renovation, he offered us centuries of history in just one hour.

📍 Only YOU Hotel Valencia

I ended the weekend with a view, a rooftop perspective that made the whole experience feel complete. The hotel occupies a building that once housed one of the city’s early luxury hotels. Today its atmosphere is relaxed, open, and surprisingly welcoming, the kind of place where locals and guests mix naturally. The place was buzzing, and I appreciated how the renovation kept the elegance of the original building without the stiffness that often comes with luxury hotels.

What I take away from OHV

Open House Valencia is one of the few moments when the city feels fully open. You get a realistic sense of how buildings work, how people move through them, and how much thought sits behind spaces you normally just pass by. For anyone who works with interiors or architecture, it’s a rare chance to experience the city as a sequence of interiors, not just a collection of façades.