An urban park in an old river! A walk in Valencia

How is it possible? An urban park in a big city that is within the bed of a river. Supposedly there should be water there but there isn't... so let's go for a walk along that whole river bed, taking A LOT OF PHOTOS and let's discover everything there is, a peaceful little oasis where you don't feel the noise or the hectic rhythm of the city out there.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I visited the city again and I was walking around there (I didn't have time to post the article, so I'm sharing it today in this wonderful #WednesdayWalk community created by @tattoodjay) and I was seeing a lot of things, again in a place that I hadn't been in for a long time. enjoy a different afternoon, between two holidays and that also seemed like a party.

But why is there a park where a river passes? Because it is the old bed of the Turia River, in the city of Valencia, in Spain. And it is old because in 1957 the river was diverted surrounding the city afterwards, so the river has not dried up, it still exists but you have to go outside. This was done to prevent another tragic flood like the one that occurred on that date.

Let's go back to the center of the city and go down some ramps on either side to the park, and depending on how high up the route we are, we will see one thing or another. I have entered and in front practically, the last building created in the "City of Arts and Sciences", is the Opera House, with a modern and futuristic design by Santiago Calatrava. For more about this incredible place I wrote another post some time ago: A walk through the future and through the past

Let's keep going. And let's walk, or run, or we can also go by bicycle. We can have picnics or just breathe a bit of tranquility. Because there are different paths that take us along the entire course of the river, on the sides we can still see the walls that contained it (when they could) if we look up or in front we will see bridges. Isn't it strange to walk under the bridges?

Where there should be fresh moving water there are trees, flowers and small animals. There is even a metro stop, and a large and iconic "Gulliver" playground for children, many of you will know the story of Gulliver who arrived on an island where he was a giant... well, that giant lying down is there, and children can climb and play on it. On this late autumn day, on a pleasant and not at all cold afternoon, knowing that tomorrow is a holiday, there is more animation.

And there are other quieter spaces, in which we only hear the intense conversations of the birds, a place full of trees, a lot of palms and more palms, but also pines, cypresses, ficus, of course some orange trees, because it is the city of oranges, and even baobads! In addition, there are still flowers that resist the changes of time, and are still there as we pass by, giving color to all that original environment.

Forward, because the road is long, and I don't think we'll get to the beginning of the river, almost to the beginning of the city, but it doesn't matter because here we discover other architectural structures, columns or fountains that remind us of other places, and if we look towards outside there are some gargoyles!

We also see the buildings that accompany all this urban and natural landscape. There are modern buildings and some famous like "The Palace of Music" (space for concerts, classic music auditions and other events) and also other industrial vestiges from another time, such as chimneys from old factories that rise above everything.

And in the distance a fantastic blue dome, which belongs to the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia, my favorite museum in the city, I recommend it on another walk, in another visit to this enjoyable city. About art or culture, we are surprised to find ruins, there in the middle of nowhere, ruins in an old river? Ancient mysteries perhaps...

We cross more bridges but not above but below, and yes, we find water, but not from the Turia River, which no longer passes through here, but from calm and peaceful ponds, which become a meeting point for groups of young friends and tourists.

And from where you can see, looking up again, the statues of the Virgin and the patron saint of the city, Vicente Ferrer. And there is even more, another bridge, "The Bridge of Flowers", and about it I also wrote another post a long time ago: The Bridge of Flowers [ENG/ESP/ITA]

And the afternoon light is changing, the sun is saying goodbye and we have to go out, go up another of the access ramps to return to the frenetic world of the city where the lights of the street lamps will soon begin to compete with those of the traffic lights. So we left this original environment that makes the city a more pleasant place to be, where to walk and abstract ourselves for a second from reality, to be there, in a curious park but in the middle of the city. We will go again, to walk more...

Thanks for reading! Have a pleasant and original day.

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