City of Arts and Sciences – Valencia
Hi , my name is Star and I have been lucky enough to call Gran Alacant my home for over 9 years now. My 7 year old daughter Ashlee and I are often “Out & About” enjoying the local attractions and culture in this part of Spain. Over the next few months I will be sharing some of our experiences with you to encourage you to go “Out & About” yourselves and maybe learn a little bit about this beautiful place we call home.
This month we want to share with you the fun and amazing experiences we had during a long weekend in the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.
If you have ever wondered what Valencia is like and are a fan of architecture then this part of Valencia, which is actually listed as one of the 12 Treasures of Spain, is definitely worth a visit. It is located just a couple of hours away (even without using the toll roads) and the journey takes you through some amazing scenery.
Sitting at one end of the Jardin del Turia park and surrounded by lots of water, the fascinating architectural buildings and structures that form the City of Arts and Sciences, were designed by architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela. The first stages of construction started in 1996 and weren´t finished until 2005.
“The Umbracle” is the gateway to the City of Arts and Sciences, this 1,000 m2 green area contains an open-air art gallery with sculptures and a large number of different plants, chosen because their shapes and colours change throughout the year. Within the “City” itself you will find the “Reina Sofia Opera House” and performing arts centre, where lots of different opera, musical and theatrical performances take place. Next to it is the “Hemisferic”, (or the “eye of knowledge”) which resembles an eyelid and is a 13,000 m2 IMAX cinema and planetarium.
The 42,000 m2 ”Príncipe Felipe Science Museum” is designed to look like the skeleton of a whale. It has the largest exhibition space in Spain and is home to an amazing interactive museum. Whilst there we even took a quick trip into space, much to the girls delight! “The Agora” is a covered plaza in 
which concerts and sporting events are held. Built in the shape of a water lily, the “Oceanográfic”, is the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe. The focus here is on marine conservation and they have over 500 species, including dolphins, penguins, turtles, sharks and rays, the tunnel aquariums are incredible and extremely long.
The “Jardines del Turia” park is a really peaceful place to walk, cycle or relax with a picnic, in stunning surroundings. We jumped on the local “park train”, which takes you around the water fountains and walkways and hopped off at the famous Gulliver Park. This park has a large model of Gulliver lying on the ground where everyone can have lots of fun climbing on and sliding off of various parts of his body.
So what are you waiting for!!!! Get yourself booked on a mini-break and go and experience the amazing things the City of Arts and Sciences has to offer. We will definitely be going again.
Join us next month for some more fun “Out and About”.
Bye for now Star and Ashlee x
