I'd been to València a few times before, and this trip was mainly an expedition to photograph as much of the city's graffiti as I could. See the results by clicking here.

València is a really enjoyable place to stay: though it's Spain's third largest city the central location of the train station and the natural boundary created by the circling bed of the Riu Túria make it feel quite contained. It's home to some daring and exciting architecture, as well as an old quarter that is colourful, beautiful and in places pretty run down.

València is still less of a holiday destination than Barcelona, but that's changing fast. There are vibrant art, music and sport scenes, and half an hour out of town is the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. It runs along the Riu Túria in a thread of structures and landscaping planned on a huge scale.

To get an idea of the size of the buildings, to the bottom left on the next picture there is a figure standing outside the El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía; the Opera house and performing arts centre. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Despite its futuristic aesthetic it's interesting to see some of Gaudi's emblems - organic shapes and mosaic - being used to give a closer, more human feel to the buildings. At the time they were hurrying to finish construction on the Puente de l'Assut de l'Or in time for the Grand Prix. Next to it, the skeleton of the Agora was going up.