Príncipe Felipe Science Museum Valencia: visitor guide
Valencia: Oceanogràfic + Hemisfèric + Science Museum combo
What is the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum in Valencia?
An interactive science museum in the City of Arts and Sciences complex with 40,000 m² of exhibition space across three floors. Entry is around €9 online. Best for teenagers and adults; younger children find the top floors most engaging. Allow 2–3 hours.
The Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe is the second major building of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias complex, located directly across the central lake from the Hemisfèric. Designed by Santiago Calatrava and opened in 2000, it resembles the skeleton of a large whale — a 40,000 m² ribbed structure rising seven storeys, visible from the Turia Gardens path at a distance of several kilometres. Inside, three floors of interactive science exhibits cover physics, biology, environment, and technology.
| Where | Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, across the lake from the Hemisfèric |
| Cost | Around €9/adult online, €7/child |
| Time needed | 2–3 hours |
| Getting there | Bus 13 from Plaza del Ayuntamiento, or 5 min walk from the Hemisfèric |
| Best time | Afternoon, after Oceanogràfic and the Hemisfèric screening |
The building
The Museu de les Ciències is routinely described as one of Calatrava’s most dramatic structures. The exterior is unmistakable — white concrete ribs rising from a ground-level reflecting pool, with the main entrance shaded under a projecting canopy that appears to hover without visible support. The building’s dramatic proportions have led to comparisons with a whale skeleton, a futuristic greenhouse, and a sprouting seed, depending on the angle.
The interior is generous with natural light through the upper glazing. The three main exhibition floors are connected by escalators and open atria. On a clear sunny day, the quality of light inside the upper galleries is exceptional.
What to expect: exhibit by exhibit
Ground floor: planet Earth and life sciences
The ground floor covers environmental science, biology, and the history of life on Earth. Exhibits include scale models of geological processes, information panels on the Mediterranean ecosystem (including the Albufera), and interactive models of evolution and adaptation. The atmosphere is spacious and calm.
For families with children under 8, the ground floor is the most accessible floor — the exhibits are physically interactive, the height of displays is calibrated for smaller visitors, and the café adjacent to the entrance provides a natural rest stop.
Second floor: physics and technology
The second floor is the most engaging for teenagers and adults. Interactive demonstrations cover classical mechanics (pendulums, lever systems, gear trains), thermodynamics, optics, and electromagnetic phenomena. Many exhibits are hands-on — you can adjust variables and observe results in real time.
The human body section, with working scale models of organ systems and nerve pathways, is consistently popular with school groups and tends to be crowded on weekday mornings in spring.
Third floor: space and environment
The upper floor covers space science, environmental challenges, and information technology. The exhibits here are less interactive than the second floor and more information-panel-based — better for adults than for young children.
The upper terrace, accessible from the third floor, provides excellent views over the entire complex and the Turia Gardens to the north. This is one of the better free views in the complex (included with museum entry) and is easy to miss if you do not ask staff about terrace access.
Practical information
Opening hours (2026):
- Daily 10:00–19:00 (July–August until 20:00)
- Last entry one hour before closing
Ticket prices (2026):
- Adult (13+): €9 online
- Child (3–12): €7 online
- Under 3: free
- Senior (60+): €7 online
Combination tickets:
- Science Museum + Hemisfèric: ~€17
- Oceanogràfic + Science Museum: ~€46
- Triple combo (all three): ~€57
Príncipe Felipe Science Museum entry ticketCheck availability
Hemisfèric + Science Museum comboCheck availability
Getting there
The Science Museum is the most central of the three main City of Arts attractions. Bus 13 from Plaza del Ayuntamiento stops directly at Museo de las Ciencias. From the Hemisfèric it is a 5-minute walk across the pedestrian bridge over the central lake. From the Oceanogràfic it is a 15-minute walk or a short shuttle (included with full-day combined ticket).
By bike from the city centre: follow the Turia Gardens cycle path southeast for approximately 4 km. The museum entrance is visible from the path.
Combining with the rest of the complex
The Science Museum sits logically in the middle of a City of Arts and Sciences day. Practical sequence for a one-day visit: Oceanogràfic in the morning (3.5 hours), lunch break, 40-minute Hemisfèric screening, Science Museum in the late afternoon (2–2.5 hours). This fills a full day without feeling rushed.
For families with young children (under 7), the Science Museum is best saved for the afternoon when the aquarium energy has been absorbed. The science museum kids guide has specific age-by-age recommendations.
City of Arts full-day combined ticketsCheck availability
Honest assessment
The Príncipe Felipe Science Museum is consistently rated lower than L’Oceanogràfic by visitors, and the comparison is fair — the aquarium is a more spectacular and more emotionally engaging experience. But the science museum has its own strengths: the building is extraordinary, the second-floor physics exhibits are genuinely interesting for adults, and the atmosphere is less crowded than the aquarium.
The exhibits have not been substantially refreshed since around 2015 and the information panels show their age in places. At €9 per adult it is reasonably priced for what it offers. For families combining all three City of Arts buildings, it is a worthwhile third stop. As a standalone visit without the others, it is better suited to those with a specific interest in science education than to general visitors.
The museum gift shop, on the ground floor near the exit, has a reasonable selection of science-oriented books, puzzles, and models — better curated than the typical tourist attraction shop.
Photography and the architecture
Even visitors with little interest in the exhibits themselves often find the building worth a stop for photography. The exterior ribs create strong repeating patterns best photographed from the reflecting pool’s edge in late-afternoon light, when the low sun rakes across the concrete surface. The interior atria, with their criss-crossing walkways and bridges, photograph well from the ground floor looking up. For visitors focused specifically on Calatrava’s architecture across the complex, see the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias guide for the full context of his design across all the complex’s buildings.
Who should skip it
Solo travellers and couples on a short Valencia visit with no particular interest in science exhibits can reasonably skip the interior and still appreciate the building from outside — the exterior and the surrounding Turia Gardens walk cost nothing. Families and anyone spending 2+ days in Valencia get better value from going in, particularly if combining it with the Hemisfèric or Oceanogràfic as part of a full City of Arts day.
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