It's Valencia's turn to be in the spotlight

updated 6:46 p.m. ET April 20, 2007

VALENCIA, Spain - Forget Barcelona, Bilbao or Seville. Now it is Valencia's turn to bask in the international limelight.

Spain's third-largest city has ascended travelers' must-visit list since America's Cup winner Alinghi — from landlocked Switzerland — picked it to host the 32nd America's Cup.

But the America's Cup is only one part of an aggressive urban transformation plan set off 19 years ago to return the city's architectural heritage to its citizens.

"To be here over the last 20 years has been very humbling — it's a big success because the city has totally changed," said Jose Salinas, director of Valencia Tourism since 1991.

"Valencia has taken a big leap forward; it is now a more open and cosmopolitan city than it was before and the people — locals and visitors — are embracing it."

Tourists have responded, just as they did with Barcelona following the 1992 Olympic Games and Bilbao after the opening of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in 1997.

The latest statistics show Valencia experienced the biggest jump in tourism of any European city. The 1.6 million visitors who came here in 2006 were nearly five times the number who came in 1992.

Better travel connections, including the rise of low-cost airlines, the advent of the Internet, a mushrooming of hotels, conference halls, and museum and art galleries are why Valencia is expected to dwarf the 2 million visitor mark in 2007 — which will make it third only to Madrid and Barcelona.

Philippe Desmazes / AFP - Getty Images file America's Cup port is seen in Valencia, Spain.

Tourist arrivals will include a million people expected here for the America's Cup. But to many, the futuristic Palace of the Arts is what put Valencia on the map.

Designed by the superstar architect Santiago Calatrava, who happens to be a native son, the $334 million palace is part of a complex of museums and other attractions called the City of Arts and Sciences. The futuristic white buildings — most of them designed by Calatrava — include a planetarium, an aquarium, and the arts palace, which is an opera house that looks a little like a floating gladiator helmet.

Like Bilbao, Valencia has a Calatrava-designed bridge, a renowned work by British architect Norman Foster (the Conference Center), and a city mayor willing to spend to transform the city.

Call it the Bilbao effect.

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"Calatrava's designs have given a new image to the city," Salinas said. "But there has been a much more direct effect between Bilbao and the museum. In Valencia, there are a lot more attractions, a more complete product."

The City of Arts and Sciences is set within the Turia Gardens, a drained river renovated into a park in the 1990s, and Calatrava's next work will be here also, a 70-meter high public square to be completed in 2008. "Agora" will be dwarfed only by the neighboring "Three Towers," three skyscrapers ranging from 220 to 301 meters, with the latter 81-story building to be the tallest in Europe.

Mayor Rita Barbera has overseen the renovation of 64 historic sites in the city at a cost of $241 million during her 16-year tenure. Not since the 15th century has this mercantile city — still known for its UNESCO protected silk markets — seen such a renaissance.

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Barbera and Salinas were responsible for the America's Cup bid in 2003, which has sped up the planned renovation of the port. With the cup returning to Europe for the first time in 156 years, the growing interest coincides with a friendlier format, with organizers shortening the races and putting fans closer to the sailing than ever thanks to Valencia's deep shoreline. With a museum, cafes and restaurants, and team bases to tour, the America's Cup has opened up more than ever as it looks to shed its title as an elitist event for the yachting crowd in places like Newport, R.I., where it was held for 50-odd years.

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