City of Science and Art in Valencia

City of Science and Art(Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias)

One of the largest cultural and scientific centres in Europe and the main attraction of Valencia. It was built for 9 years! During this time, 5 large complexes appeared, which are considered a marvel of architecture and design. The whole centre covers an area of 350000 m². It is a whole ‘city’ in the city, so if you want to see everything this centre has to offer, you need two or three days. Or if you are interested in one thing, then one day will be enough.

Briefly about each complex

Complexes include: Science Museum, Oceanographic Park, Planetarium, Botanical Garden and Umbrakle Gallery, Sofia Palace of Arts and Agora Centre.

Science Museum(Museo de las Ciencias)

It is a museum dedicated to science, environment and technology. The building was designed in a shape resembling the skeleton of a whale. It has an area of 26,000 m². It has been open to the public since 2000. Since then, more than 25 million visitors have stayed and explored the diverse works in its exhibition halls. The aim is to encourage, surprise and engage the public with art through entertaining presentation of information. Inside the Science Museum

Oceanographic Park(Oceanogràfic de València)

One of the largest oceanariums in the world, spread over an area of 110,000 m². Its main building was built in a futuristic style and is shaped like a lily. Here you can see a great variety of marine species, which visitors can observe and learn interesting facts about them for more than 20 years. Very impressive, a must-see! Inside the Oceanarium

Planetarium(Hemisfèric)

The building has the appearance of a large human eye reflected in a 24,000 m² artificial lake. This element symbolises the gaze of wisdom and the observation of the amazing worlds that the visitor will discover through fascinating audiovisual projections. The planetarium was the first of five facilities to open to the public in 1998. In addition to the planetarium, the building also houses an IMAX cinema and a laser theatre. Inside the Planetarium

Botanical Garden and Umbracle Gallery(L’Umbracle)

An integral part of the City of Arts and Sciences, designed as an entrance to this huge centre. Amidst the concrete, glass and 119 transparent arches grows a great variety of exotic plants, flowers, bushes and trees. There is also an exhibition area with very interesting works by contemporary sculptors and artists. And from the balcony, which is located on the north side, you can enjoy the best panorama of the whole City of Arts and Sciences, as well as the magnificent Valencia.

Sofia Palace of Arts(Palacio de las Artes Reina Sofía)

A building for opera, ceremonies, concerts and more in Valencia. It is 75 metres high and looks like a giant floating sea creature thanks to its soaring white roof. It is the largest and grandest structure in the City of Arts and Sciences, which took about 10 years to design and develop and finally opened its doors in 2005.

Agora Centre(Ágora)

A versatile space for a wide variety of events, be it tournaments, concerts, performances or important political conventions, congresses. It is the newest building in the City of Arts and Sciences, opened in 2009. Outside of the schedule of events, it is closed to the public. The design of the Agora is a metal structure resembling a pointed ellipse, but according to the architect the idea was to make this building in the form of intertwined arms with wings to be added in the future.