The Iglesia de San Blas sits on a low rise just south of the historic centre, above the old neighbourhood of the same name. The first chapel on the site was built in the seventeenth century; the present building dates largely from rebuilding in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with a single nave and a square bell tower.
San Blas itself — the surrounding barrio — is one of the oldest residential quarters of Valencia and still has a number of low colonial houses with deep eaves and inner patios. The walk up from Plaza Bolívar takes about fifteen minutes and the small terrace in front of the church gives a good view across the rooftops of the historic centre. The annual parranda de San Blas on 3 February — neighbourhood musicians with cuatro and maracas going house to house — is one of the city's more endearing traditions.