Ragtag Saturday on Sunday: The river that isn’t a river

Yesterday, I showed you a Valencian scene from centuries ago: a man fishing in the River Túria.

No, the water you see isn’t the river. Cooling ponds and watercourses break up the space.

Come with us now to see it as it is today. No longer a river, but a long sinuous public park wandering the northern edge of the old city centre. By 1957, the river had flooded once too often. Too many homes had been lost and livelihoods ruined. The city made the bold choice to move the river, and give the vacated space not to a road, not to housing, but to the people, as a park. At any moment of the day you’ll find commuting cyclists, dog walkers, joggers, families, elderly couples, sporty types – all enjoying this 9 km. long space.

Today, we were there too, walking under ancient 15th century bridges, through cool wooded glades, all the way to the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Valencia’s iconic futuristic cultural and leisure centre.

So this is part two of my contribution to Saturday’s Ragtag Challenge: and no river in sight.

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

23 thoughts on “Ragtag Saturday on Sunday: The river that isn’t a river”

    1. What you can see is a large shallow pond around the bridge, with old and new Valencia reflected there. The gardens, since they are in the old river bed, are below street level. Which is quite interesting.

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    1. I agree of course. But then I also found out that the proposal was widely criticised as a vanity project, that it ran really wildly over budget, is unlikely to be fully completed, and that the debt incurred is likely to be a serious ptoblem for the entire region for many years to come. I’m still glad that it’s here. It’s an inspirational space. But I can see why some people might have a different view.

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  8. They made the right choice, to make this a beautiful park! My favorite cities have gorgeous, planned parks–it makes all the difference to a dense urban space.

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