The Complex That Became Valencia's Emblem

Before the City of Arts and Sciences opened in the late 1990s, Valencia was regarded as Spain's third city — pleasant, underappreciated, and perpetually overshadowed by Madrid and Barcelona. Then Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela built a cluster of futuristic white structures at the end of Turia Gardens, and something shifted.

The complex is extraordinary. It's also a full day if you let it be, or a two-hour walk through without paying for anything. Here's how to approach it depending on your priorities.