El Puig

El Puig, formally known as El Puig de Santa María, is an agricultural village of 8,600 people (2018) in the province of Valencia, 15 km north of the city of Valencia.

Understand
Pronounced 'el pooch' (from the Valencian word for 'hill', of which there are two in the village), the village was first settled by the Iberians, later occupied by the Moors, and finally conquered by Jaime I from Aragon in 1237. It is best known for its orange groves and Gothic monastery, and is easily visited as a day trip from Valencia.



By bus
From Valencia, Autos Vallduxense operates bus line 112, with buses departing every half-hour on workdays, and every hour on weekends, from (by the entrance to Parque de Tendetes), and stopping at the monastery. A full schedule can be found here; a one-way fare costs €2.25/1.50 (adults/seniors).

By bicycle
El Puig is just off the Via Xurra (Spanish: Vía Churra), a greenway developed from a disused railway connecting Valencia with Puçol. Except for a 800-m stretch of compacted earth, the easy 15-km route is paved and mostly flat.

Get around
Everything in the village proper can be easily reached by foot.

To reach the beach and the watchtower from the monastery, Autos Vallduxense bus line 112 heads directly to the beach en route to Valencia. Alternatively, you could take one of the three taxis operated by Taxi El Puig.

Beaches
El Puig has several kilometres of beaches, all with lifeguards in the summer and foot-washing stations.