Valencia, what a city….beautiful in so many ways. OK so I haven’t visited many cities in spain..…yet! Not been to Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Madrid…..but I will do some day. I am not really a city person, give me the wide open countryside, woods, rivers, fields and I am at home. One thing I really miss about living on the Costa Blanca is lush green grass, but hey you can’t have everything.
In May 2010 I visited London (to see relatives) and do the usual tourist things….London Eye - which was amazing, Tower Bridge (Chris’ favourite London monument); see a show and spend a fortune on meals out!! The weather was brilliant whilst we were there….sunshine and T shirt weather ……but for me Valencia was far superior.
It has amazing buildings both old and new…….....
The façade of the railway station, for instance
The glass domed ceiling inside the Post Office.......Royal Mail take note!
The Cathedral (which houses the Holy Grail)
The City of Arts & Sciences, a truly magnificent complex, designed by Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela and completed in 1998. It is situated at the end of the Turia riverbed. This complex houses:
The Hemisféric (a building which looks like a human eye) and houses an Imax Cinema, Planetarium and Laserium.
El Museo de las Ciencies Principe Felipe. An interactive museum of science but resembling the skeleton of a whale. It occupies around 40,000 m² on three floors.
L’Umbracle. A landscaped walk with plant species indigenous to Valencia.
L’Oceanográfic. An open-air oceanographic park. It is the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe with 110,000 square meters and 42 million liters of water. It was built in the shape of a water lily and is the work of architect Felix Candela.
El Puente de L’Assut de L’Or. This is now spain longest bridge at 180 meters and whose 125 meters high pillar is the highest point in the city.
L’Agora. This building has a height of 80 meters and occupies 5,000 square meters of elliptic space. The Agora was officially inaugurated in November 2009 to host the Valencia Open 500 ATP Tournament.
The L'Agora is the blue building in the background; the bridge is on the right