Month: October 2017

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!

Another memory I have of my time as a student in Valencia was crossing the River Túria, which we called the dry river since it was pretty much just sand and dirt, the river having been diverted in the 1950s to prevent flooding.  The riverbed wasn’t much to look at and wasn’t serving any useful purpose though the bridges across it were nice.  Since I left, the city has transformed the riverbed into the Jardin(es) del Túria, or the gardens of Túria, a large urban park.  It is 9 kilometers long and runs from a park near the zoo to the new, modern arts and sciences complex.  The gardens have 5 kilometers of running trails (loved them, as do the locals as they were busy), exercise spaces, playgrounds for kids and adults, and sports courts and fields along with beautiful trees, flowers, water features, etc.  The gardens are crossed by 18 bridges of varying historical times and many of the city’s major museums and monuments run alongside of the gardens.