The Lonja is located in the centre of the city - in front of the Central Market and the Temple of Santos Juanes - and occupies a rectangular area of 1.990 square metres
Built between 1482 and 1533, la Lonja is composed of three parts (plus the Orange Garden - a walled court-yard).
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Behind the current building, there was an earlier one from the 14th century, which was called the Oil Exchange (Llotja de l’Oli, in Valencian, or Lonja del Aceite, in Spanish). It was used not only for trading with agricultural oils, but for all kind of business. Where in 1348 was traded perxal (percale) as some kind of silk. Valencia's commercial prosperity reached its peak during the 15th century, and led to the construction of a new building. The design of the new Lonja of Valencia was derived from a similar structure in the Lonja of Palma de Majorca, built by the architect Guillem Sagrera in 1448.
The architect in charge of the new Lonja was Pere Compte, who built the main body of the building – the Trading Hall (or Sala de Contractació in Valencian) – in only fifteen years (1483–1498). So is written in a blue band that runs along all four walls of the Trading Hall, also called "Hall of Columns". It proclaims in golden letters the following inscription: Inclita domus sum annis aedificata quindecim. Gustate et videte concives quoniam bona est negotiatio, quae non agit dolum in lingua, quae jurat proximo et non deficit, quae pecuniam non dedit ad usuram eius. Mercator sic agens divitiis redundabit, et tandem vita fructur aeterna. According to the local Valencian scholar Joan Francesc Mira, this inscription showed that it was not a necessary to be a Protestant or a foreigner to establish the basis of a good trade; it also showed the union of ethics and economy. Other construction and decoration works lumbered on until 1548, such as the Consolat del Mar (Consulate of the Sea), a Renaissance building adjoined to La Lonja. During subsequent centuries, La Lonja functioned as a silk exchange. The honesty of its traders is honored by the inscription that runs around the main contract hall.
The UNESCO considered it as a World Heritage Site in 1996 since "the site is of outstanding universal value as it is a wholly exceptional example of a secular building in late Gothic style, which dramatically illustrates the power and wealth of one of the great Mediterranean mercantile cities."
. At the end of the 13th century, as a result of the prosperity in València at the time, the old Lonja became insufficient and it was decided to build a new Exchange. The first stone was laid in 1492, although the construction was started a year later. Pere Compte, a Valencian engineer and architect, was the principal figure involved in its construction. There are three clearly defined sections and a garden or “orange patio”. The Columnario or Sala de Contratación is divided into three longitudinal and five transversal naves with eight columns that support the domed ceiling. Its height of 17.40 meters gives the columns a special sense of size and proportion. The Taula de Canvis, set up in 1407, was located in this room by the municipal council and gained great prestige for its solvency and banking operations. The Taula or Table used for the transactions, as well as the first Bill of Exchange written in Spain are kept in the València Municipal archive. The Torreón is the second section of the building while on the ground floor there is a small chapel dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The two upper floors were used as a prison for those who reneged on their debts.