About Valencia
On Spain's east Mediterranean coast at the mouth of the Turia, Santiago Calatrava's Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias rose between 1998 and 2009 at the south end of the nine-kilometre garden replacing the diverted river. Playa de la Malvarrosa runs urban along the Paseo Marítimo with La Pepica and a kilometre of fine sand, while Playa El Saler stretches south through the dunes and pine forests of Albufera Natural Park. Sea temperatures climb to 25–26 °C77–79 °F from July through September, and Valencia airport sits fifteen minutes by road.