Nico Ruijter's video: Valencia Jard n del Turia

The Turia old river bed is another jewel of Valencia that shouldn't be missed and... well.. is impossible to miss. It is the central axis of the city, 9km of a green belt surrounded by ancient walls and buldings. With all honesty, no matter how aesthetic and varied various section of the garden are, it is not a masterpiece of gardening to stun you with the power of Gardens of Babylon. Rather, the river bed gives you a sense of what Valencia really is, the spirirt of Valencia. The river bed is the embodiment of the cosy charm of Valencia. It is here that this calm and ancient city embraces you with its unlost warmth and sunny tranquility. Origins Valencia grew up on Turia. However, the river had always been prone to floods and in 1957 the flood was particularly bad. A fair few people lost their lives, much of the city was devistated. Valencia decided to divert the course of the river. And the fertile soil of the riverbed quickly gave life to a lush garden. The River of Culture Turia River Bed Gardens - Jardines de Turia - Valencia, SpainThis is what the Valencian government labelled the garden. Indeed - historically the river banks got saturated with various architectural monuments, museum and culture centres. The government went further and developed the riverbed into an entire world of leisure and culture. There are numerous playgrounds and sports areas, fountains and well-trimmed arty gardens. The river bed is always full of people, there is something for everyone. With time the riverbed became the obvious area for new cultural projects: Palau de la Musica now has its own section of the garden, while the City of Arts and Sciences sits right in the river bed. And the space between Bridge de las Flores and the Calatrave (Exposicion) Bridge always has some kind of fair, festival or circus residing there. To understand the scope of this phenomenon, you should have a look at the official website of Rio Turia.