If you will be visiting Valencia and looking for the best place to exchange your foreign currency in the city of Spain, your best bet would be finding a money changer in the city center as exchange rates at the airport and train station are not good. Where to find a good money changer in Valencia and how good currency exchange rates is it offering?
Money Changers in Valencia
Valencia Train Station known as Estació del Nord is centrally located and has a money changer operating there. However, currency exchange rates offered by Italo Money at Valencia Railway Station are not very competitive as you are losing about 9-10% of your money when exchanging USD or GBP here and even worse you will be getting for the less popular foreign currencies. For a detailed report check Currency Exchange at Valencia Train Station.
However, in the city center, just 8 minutes' walk from Valencia Estació del Nord, on the street connecting Plaça de l'Ajuntament (Town Hall Square) with Central Market (Av. de María Cristina 7, Valencia), we've found a money changer Europound Exchange that is very well rated on Google as offering some of the best exchange rates in Valencia.
This currency exchange office in Valencia is open daily, with the following schedule:
- Monday to Friday: 10:00 - 21:00
- Saturday: 9:00 - 17:00
- Sunday: 10:00 - 18:00
They are advertising exchange rates of almost twenty foreign currencies on the board but the rate list on their website consists of more than 50 foreign currencies so don't hesitate to ask them for the rate if the rate of your currency is not displayed at the office.
Currency Exchange Rates in Valencia
As Europound seems to be offering some of the best currency exchange rates in the city, let's see, how good are currency exchange rates in Valencia City Center.
USD exchange rate in Valencia
The mid-market USD exchange rate on the day of our visit was 0.9647 EUR for 1 US Dollar, so the rate offered by the money changer in Valencia (0.928 EUR/USD) was by 0.0367 EUR or about 3.8% lower than the exchange rate at the market.
The exchange rate offered here was better than at Valencia Train Station as you could get about 6 EUR more for every 100 USD exchanged.
GBP exchange rate in Valencia
The mid-market GBP exchange rate on the day of our visit was 1.1629 EUR for 1 Pound Sterling, so the rate offered in Valencia City Center (1.128 EUR/GBP) was by 0.0349 EUR or about 3.0% lower than the market rate. That's quite a competitive rate even if beaten by online solutions like Wise.
The exchange rate offered in Valencia City Center was significantly better than at Valencia Estacio del Nord train station as you could get about 8 EUR more for every 100 GBP exchanged.
CHF exchange rate in Valencia
The mid-market CHF exchange rate at the time was 1.0183 EUR for 1 Swiss Franc, so the rate offered in Valencia (0.99 EUR/CHF) was by 0.0283 EUR or about 2.8% lower than the market rate.
The CHF exchange rate offered by this money changer was much better than at the train station as you could get about 12 EUR more for every 100 CHF exchanged.
CAD exchange rate in Valencia
The mid-market CAD exchange rate at the time was 0.7194 EUR for 1 Canadian Dollar, so the rate offered here (0.70 EUR/CAD) was by 0.0194 EUR or 2.7% lower than the market rate. That's much better than you can get at train station in Valencia.
PLN exchange rate in Valencia
The mid-market PLN exchange rate at the time was 0.2131 EUR for 1 Polish Zloty, so the rate offered in Valencia (0.165 EUR/PLN) was by 0.0481 EUR or about 22.6% lower than the market rate.
Even if PLN exchange rate here is better than you can get at Valencia Train Station or airport, it is by far not as good as you can get for GBP, USD or CHF in Valencia. You can actually get much better rates when exchanging PLN to Euro at the best currency exchange offices in Poland.
It's understandable that the less popular currency is, the worse currency exchange deal you can expect. It can be said not only about money changers in Valencia, but also anywhere else. Therefore, if you insist on bringing cash and exchanging it to Euro in Spain, choose one of the leading currencies such as USD, GBP or CHF to mitigate your loses on currency exchange.
Is currency exchange in Valencia worth it?
In Valencia City Center you can get much better currency exchange rates than at Valencia Train Station or Airport. If you are choosing between exchange at the airport or train station and exchange in the city, you should stick to exchanging your money in the center of Valencia as there are money changers offering much more competitive rates.
However, exchange margin charged by money changers in Valencia for less popular currencies can be quite significant so you might prefer to look for other options such as exchanging money to Euro at your home country or withdrawing money from ATM in Spain.
Tips
If your home bank is offering good exchange rates and doesn't charge commission, it might be better to withdraw money from ATM instead of exchanging currency but chances are slim, unless you are using the card from Wise that is offering the best exchange rate on your withdrawals.