Tour around Valencia

City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, CAC). Nowadays it is the most important tourist sight in the city of Valencia. It is a spectacular architectural complex with great cultural and entertainment value. It was designed by architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela and inaugurated on 16th of April 1998.

The CAC is made up of several important buildings:

  • a) L’Hemisfèric. A planetarium with laser and IMAX cinema.
  • b) Oceanográfico. With 110,000 m2 it is the largest aquarium in Europe.
  • c) Príncipe Felipe Science Museum. 40,000m2 of interactive science.
  • d) Reina Sofía Arts Palace. Dedicated to music and performing arts
  • e) Ágora. A covered square that is the venue for many concerts and prestigious sport events.

The City of Arts and Sciences is situated by the Turia river, on the Avenida Autopista del Saler, 7, in Valencia.

The exact GPS coordinates are 39º 27′ 23” N, 0º 21′ 10” W.

The web page is: http://www.cac.es

Valencia Bioparc. It is an ultra-modern zoo based on the concept of immersion-zoo. It helps the visitor immerse himself totally in the wild habitats. It has a surface of over 100,000 m2 distributed among the different habitats. It is situated in Avenida Pío Baroja, 3. Its GPS coordinates are: longitude 39.478142, latitude -0.407052.

Opening times are: 10am – 6pm in winter and to 9pm in summer. Child tickets are 16 Euros and adult tickets are 21.50 Euros.

Their web page is http://www.bioparcvalencia.es

La Plaza de la Virgen.This area is situated on what used to be the Roman forum. It is surrounded by impressive buildings like the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados on one of the sides of the square and the Gothic Palace of the Generalitat in front of it, which is the seat of the local regional government of Valencia.

The Cathedral and the Miguelete. The Cathedral stands out with 3 magnificent doors: the Baroque Door of Iron (Puerta de los Hierros), the Gothic Door of the Apostles (Puerta de los Apóstoles) and the Romanesque Door of the Palau (Puerta del Palau). The Miguelete is the bell tower of the Cathedral , from where you can enjoy the best and most spectacular views in Valencia.

The Serranos Towers. They are considered the largest Gothic gates in the whole of Europe. They were built at the end of the 15th century by Pere Balaguer as part of the fortified city. Originally they were used provisionally as a prison, after that, throughout the years they have been used as triumphal arch for different celebrations.