According to the Arab geographers and poets of the time, Balansiya, the Islamic Valencia, was one of the most beautiful and developed medinas of Al-Andalus. As in any Islamic city, public baths or hammams were a key urban element. While original baths from that period no longer exist, others such as the Almirante Baths, dating from 1312, continued the Arab tradition after the Christian conquest. Their existence shows how deeply the legacy of Al-Andalus has persisted into modern times. These baths remained in use until the 20th century. In 1985, the Valencia government acquired and restored them for public visitation.
Info & Location
City/Province: Valencia City
Type of Experience:
Islamic heritage
Address: Baños del Almirante, 3-5, 46003 Valencia, Spain
Opening hours: From Tuesday to Friday: 10:00h to 18:00h. Saturdays: 10:00h to 14:00h. Closing days: Sundays and Mondays.
How to get there: Bus: 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 16, 26, 28, 31, 70, 71.
Tourist info: The baths are temporarily closed for renovation work.
Further info: This medieval hammam in the heart of Valencia features a lobby and three vaulted rooms with star-shaped skylights. Bathers began in the cold room, the only part of the building to preserve part of the medieval pavement, then moved to the warm room to lather up, and finally enjoyed the hot room, where steam was generated by an adjoining oven that boiled the water. The high-temperature air produced by the boiler fire expanded through a low-ceiling chamber, called a hypocaust, located under the hot room.
Price: Free entrance.
