Valencia has city beaches in walking distance of the centre and quieter ones a short drive south. The main beach is Playa de la Malvarrosa, a wide ribbon of clean sand that runs north from the port, backed by a long pedestrian promenade and a string of beach-paella restaurants. It joins seamlessly onto Playa de las Arenas to the south and Playa de la Patacona to the north.
Tram line 4 runs straight to the beach from the centre in 15 minutes. The sand is golden, the water is shallow and warm from June to October, and the famous paella places (La Pepica being the most legendary — Hemingway ate here) line the promenade. Avoid August Sundays unless you like a crowd.
For something wilder, drive twenty kilometres south to Playa El Saler and the dunes of the Devesa, on the strip of land that separates the Mediterranean from the Albufera lagoon. Long, undeveloped, pine-backed, and far less crowded.