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Valencia 105 — City of the Arts and Sciences 

The City of Arts and Sciences is a cultural and architectural complex at one end of the garden of Túria.  It was designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela.  It was inaugurated in 1998 and has become Valencia’s number one modern tourist attraction.  The complex consists of a number of buildings including — The Hemispheric (IMAX, planetarium, and lasrium), the Prince Philip Science Musem, the Umbracle ( open, landscaped structure with a Walk of Sculptures and outdoor art gallery), the Oceanographic (largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe), the Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts (opera house and performing arts center), a bridge, and an agora (a covered plaza which hosts concerts and sporting events).

Bob and I walked around most of the complex and did a paid tour of the Palace of the Arts.  We also stumbled upon a Big Head Bonanza!

The Calatrava-designed Palace of the Arts — from different angles it looks like a helmet or a cruise ship
The front of the Palace of the Arts with its water feature
The back of the Palace of the Arts

One view from the 6th level of the building
Another view from the 6th level of the building
The largest (non-operatic) performance stage. The glass panels can be lowered or raised to create the optimum acoustics for each performance
The Umbracle structure

The Science Museum on the left and the Hemispheric on the right
The Science Museum and the Umbracle
The large plaza connecting the buildings
Looking back at the Hemispheric, the Palace of the Arts, and the big head sculptures in the pool

Bob with the 1st of the big head sculptures
Bob with the winning sculpture — voters decided that this was the one to keep
Bob with another big head sculpture

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