The Other Side of Valencia

After three days of visiting historic buildings from Valencia's past, today we saw a completely different aspect of the city.  We went to the City of Arts and Sciences, a complex of ultra-modern buildings designed by Spanish contemporary architects, Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela.  It was built between 1996 and 2005 and includes a science museum, the largest aquarium in Europe, an IMAX cinema and planetarium, a concert venue and an opera house / concert hall.

 

The futuristic design is quite spectacular, and the complex has become a major tourist attraction for Valencia.  However it has been a center of controversy.  There have been charges of government corruption, and huge cost overruns have left the city burdened with debt.  We simply came to view the architecture, but some critics have complained that there is an enormous amount of wasted space and that the museum content is second-rate.

From the City of Arts and Sciences we walked back to our hotel by way of the Turia Gardens. The Turia River once flowed in a curve around the heart of the city before emptying out into the Mediterranean Sea at Valencia harbor.  However it was prone to flooding, and in 1957 there was a particularly damaging flood.  To eliminate future disasters, the river was diverted to the south of the city.  More than five miles of former riverbed were than converted into a sunken park that winds its way from the arts and science complex around the old city.  The park features ponds, fountains, gardens, modern sculpture, cyclist and pedestrian paths, playgrounds and sports facilities.  The bridges which once spanned the river, including a number of medieval bridges, cross over the park.

  

The City of Arts and Sciences may or may not prove to be a white elephant, but the Turia Gardens are undoubtedly a wonderful asset for Valencia.