The “Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias” (City of Arts and Sciences) is a group of buildings in Valencia, located in the Jardín del Turia (formerly the “Rio del Turia“).
This city was designed by the Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava and is an example of modern architecture. It also is the biggest tourist attraction in Valencia.
Construction began in July 1996 and the City opened on April 16, 1998. The first building that was completed was the L’Hemisfèric and the last one, the L’Ágora, was finished in 2009.
The complex consists of the following six buildings:
• El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, an opera house and arts center.
• L’Hemisfèric, IMAX cinema, planetarium and Laserium.
• L’Umbracle is a 320 meter long and 60 meter wide botanical garden with many palm trees, plants and works of art. The garden offers a view of the surrounding museum buildings. In summer the end part of L’Umbracle is converted into a club, where our students spend a lot of time at the weekends. It also serves as an access point to the City complex and contains a large car park.
• El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe, Science Museum.
• L’Oceanogràfic, the largest aquarium in Europe.
• L’Ágora, a building where many events are held such as Valencia Fashion Week and the Valencia Open 500.
Calatrava’s most recent project is the metro station at “Ground Zero” in New York.