Valencia, City of Arts and Sciences

Above: Palace of Arts, lateral view.
During our third day in Valencia we have rented bikes so that we could explore the bed of the (former) Turia River, reaching the complex of City of Arts and Sciences and further to the harbour. The Turia is an amazing park with lots of gardens, plazas, football fields, cycle paths and trees. The bridges are very old and add a sense of grandeur to the city.

Above: Museum of Arts (left) and Hemispheric (right)

Above and below: Umbracle, a landscaped walk.

I have been in Valencia before, about 4 years ago. This time now there was this exposition for kids with giant mechanical dinos.

Above: this bloggirl in front of the Palace of Arts or Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia - in good Valencian language. For me it is rather the helmet of a Spanish conquistador. The building is so impecably white, it glows under the sun - I believe that during the summer you hardly can stare at it.

Above: Agora, a covered plaza where concerts and sporting events are held.

There is also the Oceanographic, a marine park, in the shape of a huge water lily - actually it is the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe. I couldn't photograph it properly but one can easily find photos of it on the net. I had already visited it during my previous trip to Valencia with my colleagues so we decided not to visit it this time.  Hubby and I certainly plan to visit Valencia again in the future so that our kids can enjoy the marvels at such aquarium. More about the the City of Arts and Sciences here .