Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Manises

What to see and do in Manises (L'Horta Sud, Valencia): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Activities · 2 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

When to go to Manises: festival calendar

July: Festival of la Ceràmica de Manises (around July 19)

How far each place is from the centre of Manises

Museum of Cerámica de Manises 250 m
Manises Airport 2 km

Towns near Manises

What to see in Quart de Poblet 1.7 km · 6 places
What to see in Paterna 2 km · 5 places
What to see in Aldaia 3 km · 8 places
What to see in Alaquàs 3.8 km · 5 places
What to see in Xirivella 4 km · 4 places
What to see in Mislata 4.1 km · 5 places
What to see in Burjassot 4.5 km · 6 places
What to see in Godella 5.1 km · 2 places

Spain › Valencian Community › Valencia › L'Horta Sud › Manises

What to see and do in Manises

Manises
Village
Manises is a municipality in the comarca of L'Horta Sud, in the province of Valencia, at the western edge of the Valencian market gardens, on the right bank of the Turia river, famous for its great ceramic tradition and for hosting Valencia's airport within its territory. It received the title of Historic and Industrious City in 1924, granted by Alfonso XIII in recognition of the rise of its ceramics industry, which dates back to the Middle Ages and achieved international renown in the 14th and 15th centuries, when its production was exported to various European countries. After resurging strongly in the second half of the 19th century, the School of Ceramics was created in 1917, dedicated to artistic ceramics, porcelain and tiles. It has 32,609 inhabitants (INE 2025).
Museum of Cerámica de Manises
Monument
An ethnological museum under municipal ownership dedicated to the ceramics of Manises, focused above all on pieces produced between the 14th and 20th centuries, together with contemporary work from the winners of the Concurso Nacional de Cerámica de Manises. It opened on 26 November 1967 with pieces bequeathed to the town council by José Casanova Dalfó and Pilar Sanchis Causa, whose 18th-century manor house, used by the couple as a leisure residence, was transformed into the museum's headquarters. During its early years it also housed the Municipal Library. Under the direction of José Royo Villar (1970-1977) the collection was expanded with ceramic fragments recovered from beneath the city and with donations from companies and residents, until it was consolidated in 1983.
Ceramic tradition of Manises
Curiosity
The ceramic tradition of Manises began after the Christian conquest of Valencia by James I; after the town passed into the hands of Pere Boïl in 1304, its potters began producing gilded Gothic-Mudejar lustreware, with blue decoration and metallic lustre, in the first quarter of the 14th century. This ceramic conquered European markets until the end of the 16th century, travelling from the port of Valencia packed in large jars wrapped in rope and straw as far as Naples, the Vatican, Flanders and the Baltic; it even appears depicted in the Portinari Triptych by Hugo van der Goes. In the 18th century the Real Fábrica de Alcora introduced vivid polychromy and intense blues. By 1941 the sector employed around five thousand workers in eighty factories.
Festival of la Ceràmica de Manises
Activity
A festival of Manises in honour of its ceramic tradition, declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Autonómico de la Comunitat Valenciana (a tourism-heritage recognition awarded by the Valencian regional government) since 2008, with a parade included. The parade is held on 18 July, the eve of the feast of the Saints Justa and Rufina, and its first documented mention appeared in the newspaper Las Provincias in 1900; it was inspired by the Battle of Flowers of Valencia, but replacing the flowers with pieces of ceramic handed out to the public. It also includes musical entries, processions of clavarías, street parades with firecrackers and fireworks, demonstrations of techniques such as raku, the potter's wheel and socarrats, and a ceramics fair with products from local craftspeople; the most prized piece is the plate of the Saints, decorated with the image of Justa and Rufina.
Manises Airport
Curiosity
Opened in 1932, it is one of Spain's historic airports and today the international airport of Valencia, located within the municipal district of Manises.
Palace of Jaime y capilla de la Hermandad de San Jaume de Manises
Monument
A building begun in 1883, linked by tradition to a former palace of James I and later home to the house and chapel of the Brotherhood of Sant Jaume.
Gilded lustreware pottery
Historical milestone
The Boïl family brought to their potteries in Manises, between the 14th and 15th centuries, the lustreware technique learned from the Andalusi potters of Málaga. The pieces were exported to courts and palaces across half of Europe and appear depicted in paintings by Van Eyck and Ghirlandaio.
The clay pot of Manises
Food and drink
The potteries of Manises have for centuries supplied glazed clay pots to Valencian kitchens. This type of clay vessel, round, low and wide, was already used in Greco-Roman times and is documented in the Catalan-speaking lands from the 14th century, with examples dated to 1348 in Morvedre and 1389 in Barcelona. In them are cooked arròs al forn and all i pebre, because clay, a poor conductor of heat, spreads the heat slowly and more evenly than metal, and allows rice dishes to be finished inside the oven; it also keeps dishes hot longer once on the table, though it cannot be used on induction hobs.