Parc Central

A few steps from the Russafa (Ruzafa) neighbourhood, Parc Central is València's big contemporary urban park. Its first phase opened in December 2018 on former railway land. It's a well-designed space that shows how a city can stitch back together neighbourhoods that train tracks had split apart for decades.

A park by a celebrated landscape architect

The project is by landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson, whose proposal was chosen unanimously in 2011 from 36 entries across eight countries. Her design is built around a network of paths and water features that link meadows, flower gardens and groves, and it also recovers several protected railway warehouses that now host cultural uses.

What to see

• The ponds and reflecting pools that run through the park and cool the air in summer.
• A large rose garden and landscaped areas with Mediterranean species.
• Large playgrounds, popular with local families.
• The restored old Ribes warehouses, with cultural programming.

Practical tips

Access is free and it's a short walk from the centre: from the North Station or from Russafa you get there in a few minutes. It's a good end to an afternoon of tapas in Ruzafa, the city's most fashionable district. See more no-cost ideas in free things to do in València.

Insider tip

Curiosity: although it looks like a park that has "always been there", everything you see was built over railway tracks and platforms, which is why that grid of brick warehouses sits among the greenery. A hot-weather secret: the water features and jets are the favourite refuge of neighbourhood families at dusk, when the sun drops and the park fills with local life. To keep the green theme going, compare it with the historic Viveros Garden or wander the corridor of the Parque de Cabecera.