Tourist in My Own City: Palau de Les Arts

While browsing events in Valencia on Facebook, I came across an article for free tickets to the opening symphony of the season. Classical music and free things are two of my favorite things! I was also extra excited because it meant I could finally go in one of the buildings in La Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias.

The tickets were given out Friday at 10:30am outside the Palau de Les Arts. When I arrived at 10 I was surprised at how many people showed up! Luckily, they weren’t all given away by the time I got to the front of the line.

We arrived early to explore the building. It had some beautiful views of the gardens and some really cool architecture. The performances spaces include individual spots for concerts, opera, theater and dance.



The symphony took place in one of the smaller venues on the upper levels. A really cool courtyard with gardens was right outside the door.

  

The music itself was really beautiful, everyone sounded really good and they had a nice selection of pieces. The one thing that I thought was a little too much was when the maestro came out of back stage to bow 5 times! He wasn’t even anyone famous. I guess he just needed a little ego boost.

Tourist in My Own City: Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

One of the things I regret most about my 2 years in Almeria is that I didn't take advantage of the cultural and tourist sites the city has to offer. Which is why I am on a mission to not make the same mistake in my new city. Which is why I have decided to write a series of blog posts about the most famous sites in Valencia.

My first stop was The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, which is one of, if not the most famous monument in Valencia. The arts and science city is a series of BEAUTIFUL modern buildings designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela. It is a 2 kilometer piece of land on the former bed of the River Turia. It has five main parts: Hemisfèric: which houses an IMAX screen, Umbracle: which has great views of the rest of the park and also lots of trees and plants, Príncipe Felipe Science Museum: an interactive science museum, Oceanográfico: the largest aquarium in Europe and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía: which has opera performances.

I unfortunately have not been able to go inside any of the places yet since I am trying to save some money for my trip to Italy, but I definitely want to visit all of them. However, just walking around the complex is enjoyable and something I do almost every weekend. It’s a beautiful place to take a walk, a bike ride or just bring a book and a picnic to enjoy under a tree.

View of Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía from the Turia Gardens

Some of the beautiful landscape

Hemisfèric or the eyeball building as I like to call it

Hemisfèric from the entrance. Looks like a bug doesn't it?

Príncipe Felipe Science Museum
See that arc? If two people stand on each side of it and speak to the wall they can hear each other!

Príncipe Felipe Science Museum and Ágora

Umbracle gardens

Umbracle

Umbracle Gardens