City of Arts and Sciences

The complex was built between 1998 and 2009 in the drained bed of the Turia, and it is mostly the work of Santiago Calatrava, who was born in Valencia: the Hemisferic, an eye-shaped IMAX and planetarium with a lid that opens over a reflecting pool; the Principe Felipe science museum, a long white skeleton of a building; the Umbracle, a garden walkway under arches; the Agora; and the Palau de les Arts opera house. The Oceanografic, the largest aquarium in Europe, was designed by Felix Candela with buildings shaped as hyperbolic paraboloids. The project cost roughly three times its budget and remains politically contentious in Valencia, with maintenance and cracked cladding an ongoing issue.

What you actually see

• The Hemisferic - an eye-shaped planetarium reflected in a pool.
• The Oceanografic - Europe's largest aquarium under thin-shell roofs.
• The science museum - a long white structure with hands-on exhibits.
• The Palau de les Arts - Calatrava's opera house closing the complex.

When to go

Spring and autumn; Valencia summers are hot and the complex is white concrete with little shade. Evening lighting on the reflecting pools is the best time for photographs. Each building has its own hours.

Honest expectations

Every building charges separately and the total for a family is substantial. Construction costs and ongoing maintenance problems are a live local grievance, and parts have been closed for repairs. Queues at the Oceanografic are long in season.

Nearby

The Turia gardens run west through the city; Valencia's old town is at their far end.