At nine kilometres long (about five and a half miles), the Turia Gardens flow through the heart of Valencia where the River Turia once did, until a flood in 1957 that devastated the city with the deaths and infrastructural damage that ensued. A small reminder of the height of this enormous fluvial surge is marked by the Cat House in El Carmen, some 100 metres from the riverbank.
From great destruction, new life grew and today everything from orange groves to pine forests decorate the path from the wetlands of the Cabecera Park to the City of Arts and Sciences (read our guide to it here), making it a perfect spot for a stroll, a cycle or a picnic. With parks for children – including the famous Parc Gulliver where children act like Lilliputians as they run all over a Gulliver shaped playground – picnic areas, workout spots and sports arenas, the park isn’t just an artery that makes it easy to get around the key parts of the city, it keeps the city healthy.
So how do you get there? Due to its size, it’s very walkable if you’re within the Old Town, but if not, head to Alameda metro station on the 3 or 5 metro lines.
There are plenty of ways to get around the park, with specific paths for joggers and cyclists as well as people powered vehicles to hire, but there’s nothing like a leisurely afternoon stroll in the shade of the trees as you admire the architecture that spans it, including its 18 bridges (the oldest of which dates back to the 15th century), the Palau de la Música and the mesmerising futuristic complex of the City of Arts and Sciences.
This is the one of the best ways of discovering Valencia’s soul and for a particularly impressive entrance to the Old Town, walk along the gardens until the Pont del Serrans and enter the city through the remarkable old city gates: the Port del Serrans. In short, the gardens are a symbol for the city, invigorated with an energetic mix of the old and new.
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