Right next door to Valencia Nord Train Station is the city’s bullring, a beautiful building reminiscent of Rome’s coliseum. It was built in 1850 by the architect Sebastián Monleón Estellés but was not officially opened until 1851, when the residents of Valencia were able to attend the first bullfights here. The design was inspired by the Doric-style Flavian Amphitheatre, the Coliseum.
In terms of its structure, the bullring has an inside diameter of 52 metres and is made up of a 48-sided polygon with 384 archways leading out, built in brick in a Neo-Mudéjar style. It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful bullrings in Spain, with its outside diameter of 108 metres and its seating for almost 16,000 spectators.
Bull fights with young or mature bulls and other types of display are still held here. It is a popular venue, especially during Las Fallas, the city’s local festival, when there is a special programme of bullfighting events. There are guided tours of the bullring, as well as a bullfighting museum that takes visitors on a journey of the history of bullfighting from the 18th to the 21st centuries.
Outside the bullring, you’ll find a statue of Manolo Montoliu, a Valencian banderillero who was well loved by bullfighting fans and thought of as “the greatest banderillero of the last century” but was killed by a bull’s horn at the age of 38.
Just a few metres away from Valencia’s bullring, you’ll find our Saba public car park at Valencia Nord Train Station, 24 Calle Xàtiva. It’s the perfect car park if you want to forget about your car and enjoy a bullfight.
