The bridges of the Turia: the back story

About The bridges of the Turia: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Valencia Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

The river has gone, but its bridges remain. Eighteen of them cross the Turia Garden, the nine-kilometre park in the old riverbed: five historic stone bridges, several by Santiago Calatrava and a few modern surprises.

A river without water

The Turia once ran around the old town, and for centuries Valencia crossed it on stone bridges. After the great flood of 1957, the river was diverted south of the city, and its old bed became the Jardín del Turia, a garden about nine kilometres long, crossed by 18 bridges (Visit Valencia).

The five historic bridges

The oldest is the Pont de la Trinitat, built in 1407 in the Gothic style. The Pont del Mar, the Pont de Serrans by the Torres de Serranos and the Pont del Real, which led to the old Royal Palace, all date from the 16th century; from the Pont del Mar, stairways lead down into the garden. The Pont de Sant Josep, of the 17th century, carries a statue of St Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, in whose honour the Fallas are celebrated.

In Valencia you can walk beneath the city’s oldest bridges on a lawn, in the bed of a river that no longer flows.

Calatrava’s bridges

Valencia’s own Santiago Calatrava designed several of the garden’s bridges. The first was the 9 d’Octubre bridge of 1988. The Pont de l’Exposició, built between 1991 and 1995, is known to everyone as “la Peineta”, the comb, for its single leaning arch.

The most spectacular is the Pont de l’Assut de l’Or, opened in 2008 beside the City of Arts and Sciences. Its curved white pylon, 125 metres high, is the highest point in the city, and its cables give it the look of a giant harp.

The colourful bridges

The Pont de les Flors, a footbridge, is the most colourful of all, lined with flowers all year round. The Pont del Regne carries four winged demons, two on each side, by the sculptor Joan Martí.

Our advice: walk or cycle the whole garden from the Torres de Serranos to the City of Arts and Sciences, passing under the old bridges and the new, and finish at l’Assut de l’Or at sunset.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The bridges of the Turia: the back story before you go.