Europe a la Carte Blog

Already my thoughts are turning to the promise of spring sunshine and where better than Spain’s third largest city of Valencia. I visited Valencia with my family last April and when the weather was grey in England we enjoyed a sunny cycle ride in the Turia Gardens.

Most cities have a river running through them, crossed with bridges at several points. Now imagine that the river has been diverted and replaced by a ribbon of green, with parks and playing fields and you get the picture of the Turia Gardens. You can hire bikes in the old quarter of town nearby, which we wheeled past the Cathedral and through the Plaza de la Virgin. We joined the gardens by the Torres de Serranos, a stone tower which you can climb for a panoramic view of the city.

A football game in the Turia Gardens

In this area are many sports pitches and playing fields and we watched a team of Amazonian female football players for a while. A little further, under the bridge was an exhibition area where a wine festival was in full swing, but we resisted the temptation and continued along the boulevard, past the field where the firework displays had taken place during the pyrotechnical Fallas festival in March. The park is a favourite for city wallkers and joggers and families out for a stroll at the weekend.

Fountains in the Turia Gardens

As we continued, under the bridges, with the scent of orange blossom in the air, we reached the area around the Palau de la Musica, where there’s a lake with fountains and many shady trees around. This as a pleasant place to stop and rest a while, watching the rollerbladers and skateboarders trying out their tricks. Nearby you can hire bicycle carriages which are fun for families with younger children. There’s a nearby childrens’ playground on the theme of Gulliver’s Travels, with a reclining Gulliver for the children to scramble over.

City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia

We cycled on and soon reached the City of Arts and Sciences, an area of futuristic modern buildings surrounded by shallow blue pools of water. They are the design of local architect Santiago Calatrava who has gained an international reputation for designing striking public buildings in the US and Europe. The complex includes a concert hall, science centre, planetarium and aquarium – they are quite expensive to go in, but the complex and surrounding gardens are a sight in themselves if you’re on a budget. You should try the traditional sweet milky drink of Horchata, made from tiger nuts, from one of the vendors around the complex.

Soon after, the Turia gardens end, but if you have a good map, you can cycle along the roads to reach the port area and the beach, for a relaxing few hours and maybe a Paella at one of the boardwalk restaurants.

Hire bikes from Orange bikes or Do you bike in the old town area of Valencia

Photos by Heather on her Travels on Flickr