The City of Arts and Sciences
When a dried-up river became Europe's greatest architectural utopia
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1957, a flood of the Turia devastated Valencia. The city diverted the river and transformed its old bed into a nine-kilometre park. At its end, Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela built a futuristic science and art complex that seems to come from another planet.
A river turned park, a park turned utopia
Valencia had always lived with the Turia — and against it. For centuries, the river regularly flooded the city. The Great Flood of 14 October 1957 was the last: the water rose three metres in the city centre, killing more than eighty people. Franco then decided to divert the Turia south of the city. The old riverbed, two hundred metres wide and nine kilometres long, became Spain's largest urban park — and the site of a visionary project.
« "The City of Arts and Sciences is not a set of buildings — it is a living organism resting on water, like a whale skeleton stranded in a former river." »— — Before the Hemisfèric, whose giant eye opens onto the water at dusk
From the 1957 deluge to Calatrava's utopia
On 14 October 1957, after torrential rains, the Turia burst its banks and flooded Valencia. It was the worst natural disaster in the city's history. The Plan Sur of 1958-1969 diverted the river through a new channel to the south. The old riverbed was initially earmarked to become a motorway, but citizen mobilisation — the "El Riu és nostre" movement — saved the space that would become the Jardín del Turia.
In 1991, the Valencian government launched an international competition. Santiago Calatrava, a son of Valencia, won the project. He designed a set of organic buildings resting on water basins: the Hemisfèric (a giant eye housing an IMAX cinema), the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum (a glass dinosaur skeleton), the Umbracle (a promenade garden of white parabolas), the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (a futuristic knight's helmet) and the Àgora.
The City of Arts and Sciences, completed progressively between 1998 and 2009, became the symbol of contemporary Valencia. Controversial for its cost — over one billion euros — it nevertheless transformed the city's image and attracted millions of visitors. The Oceanogràfic, Europe's largest aquarium, designed by Félix Candela, completes this ensemble that makes Valencia one of the most photogenic cities in the world.
A game, a guided tour and a heritage guide — all in one
You're not just buying an escape game. You're carrying a living guide — historical anecdotes, forgotten legends, key monuments, hidden architecture — unfolding as you go.
At each stop, places ordinary guides miss — secret façades, sculpted crests, alleys steeped in history.
Every riddle is rooted in a real historical fact or local legend. You leave with dozens of stories to tell.
Learn to read buildings — flamboyant Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco — like a real art historian, while having fun.
Walk through the city like a novel's character — every alley becomes a stage, every square a theatre.
A voice walks with you at every step, tells the story of each place, reads clues, adds a cinematic feel.
Keep access to the guide & game for 1 year. Come back any time, share it with friends.
« You will not leave this city the way you entered it. »
How does it work?
Explore the city on foot solving puzzles based on real historical facts. No locked room — the city is your playground.
No app to download. Play directly from your browser. Guided step by step, at your own pace.
One purchase per phone is enough. Play with family, friends or as a couple — everyone participates.
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears and speaks to you in your language. Golden letters magically write themselves on the wall to reveal the puzzle answer.
Stuck? Progressive personalised hints. The character repeats the puzzle on demand — at your own pace.
French, English, German, Spanish, Italian + 27 other languages auto-translated by AI.
The Route
4 stages through the city
The gameplay: AR, camera, hidden clues
At each stop, open your phone camera: an augmented reality character appears on the façade and speaks your language. Hunt the clue — it materializes as golden letters on the real wall or floats in front of you. When you find it, the phone vibrates, an AR chest opens and reveals your answer fragment. 8 stops, 8 clues to find with the camera, 1 final code.
The stops on your route are a surprise. You'll discover them one by one, guided by your phone, starting from the meeting point.
How does it work with a group?
One phone = one team. Pick the number at checkout (1 to 10).
Solo, or a group sharing the screen. One team, one code.
Family, couple, or 2-3 teams competing. Each phone has its own code and its own score.
Friends, bachelor/bachelorette, small office outing — each their own code, each plays at their own pace. Tiered pricing then €6 flat per phone from the 6th.
- ✓All codes are independent — play at the same time OR separately, each team advances at its own pace.
- ✓Leaderboard between your teams + global game leaderboard — each score appears in the public ranking.
- ✓More than 10 phones or need a personalized quest? Discover custom tours.
Ready to live this adventure?
Get my code · 12€No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒 Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
Practical info
Why this route?
Calatrava decoded
Understand the organic logic of Calatrava's buildings — bones, eyes, wings, skeletons — and what they say about Valencia.
A river turned park
The story of the Turia — from devastating floods to the creation of Spain's largest urban park.
Engineering genius
Structures that defy gravity, impossible volumes — the City of Arts is an open-air engineering course.
Mediterranean light
Valencia's light transforms the white buildings into mirages. At sunset, the City takes on gold and pink hues.
A river that reinvented itself as utopia.
Explore the City of Arts and Sciences like never before.
9 features nobody else has
OddballTrip combines gamified play, augmented reality and AI. All our competitors deliver 1 or 2 of these angles. We deliver all 5.
AR treasure chest
A golden chest floats in front of the monument. Tap → opening animation → reveals a secret message.
AR narrator character
Point your phone at the façade: a knight, witch, monk, sailor, detective or ghost appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language with their dedicated ElevenLabs voice (each character has their own unique voice) — your living guide.
Magic golden letters
At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's the puzzle answer. An unforgettable visual effect.
Written + audio narration
Every puzzle available as text AND voice-over: read at your own pace or listen eyes-free while walking. Great in groups and for accessibility.
360° radar + vibration
A mini-radar shows the target even behind you, and the phone vibrates when you aim in the right direction.
Heritage storytelling
Every puzzle weaves in real historical facts (architecture, era, anecdotes). You learn by playing — like a gamified audioguide.
Progressive AI hints
3 levels of AI-generated help: vibe → where to look → answer format. You're never stuck.
AR selfie memento
At the end of the game, capture a selfie with OddballTrip banner + mascot, shareable on Instagram, TikTok.
Zero app to install
PWA technology: open the link, it plays in your browser. Same quality as an app, no App Store hassle.
Frequently asked questions
Q01The City of Arts and Sciences — is it a guided trail or a free-form hunt?
It's a semi-guided trail: GPS points you to the next stop, but you find the camera clue and solve the puzzle yourself. No app to install, everything runs in your browser.
Q02How many stops are in The City of Arts and Sciences?
Eight stops total. At each stop you find a camera clue, solve the puzzle, collect a fragment of the final code. With all eight, you've got the answer.
Q03Is The City of Arts and Sciences suitable for a challenge-seeking teen?
Absolutely. The puzzles aren't obvious — a curious teen will sweat just enough to be proud of cracking them. Progressive hints prevent frustration: if stuck, unlock hint level 1, then 2, then 3.
Q04What's the best time to start?
Morning between 10 and 11, or early afternoon around 2 PM, is ideal. You still have daylight ahead, Valencia · Turia Gardens and City of Arts is less crowded, and the light is better for camera clues.
Avis des aventuriers
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Your turn to play
A flood in 1957 killed the river and a utopia of white concrete rose in its place — this investigation tells how Calatrava turned a natural disaster into an architectural masterpiece.
1 purchase = 1 phone. Play several on the same device.
No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
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