L'Umbracle Sculpture Garden, Valencia

Welcome to L'Umbracle, the part of Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences where Santiago Calatrava decided that futuristic architecture alone was simply not enough and added an enormous botanical promenade for good measure. Part sculpture garden, part landscaped walkway, and part giant architectural rib cage, this place stretches for 320 meters along the southern edge of the complex, proving that even a parking garage roof can become wildly photogenic if you hand the project to the right architect...

Completed in 2001, L'Umbracle serves as the grand southwestern entrance to the entire complex. Its soaring white arches — 55 fixed and 54 floating — rise nearly 18 meters high in sweeping parabolic curves that look somewhere between a sci-fi greenhouse and the skeleton of a very elegant prehistoric creature. Beneath those arches lies a long open-air garden planted with species native to the Valencia region, including rosemary, lavender, rockrose, lentiscus, honeysuckle, bougainvillea, and rows upon rows of palm trees and bitter orange trees. In other words, the air here smells considerably better than most futuristic movies would lead you to expect.

The garden was designed to shift with the seasons, so its colors subtly change throughout the year. One month, you are strolling beneath bursts of bougainvillea, the next, you are surrounded by aromatic herbs and flowering shrubs, while wondering whether this is still an architectural landmark or quietly the fanciest park bench situation in Spain. More than 450 climbing plants weave through the structure, while thousands of ground-cover plants spread across the landscaped walkways below.

And then there is the art. Hidden among the greenery is the Walk of the Sculptures, an open-air gallery featuring works by contemporary artists, including Yoko Ono and several notable Spanish sculptors. So, while you wander beneath the arches, you are not just sightseeing — you are participating in the rare experience of simultaneously visiting a garden, an art gallery, and what looks like the headquarters of a benevolent alien civilization.

So, take your time here. Valencia built plenty of places to impress your camera, but L'Umbracle is one of the few designed equally for your eyes, your nose, and your slowly overheating walking-tour feet...