Many of the constructions that are erected especially for international exhibitions or fairs end up remaining forever. It is the case of Water park that was built for the Saragossa Expo 2008.
Do you remember her? Today the park has been renamed as Luis Buñel Water Park and it has become a beautiful walk that the city offers to its citizens and also to its visitors. Let's learn a little about it.
The Expo Zaragoza 2008
From 14 from June to 14 from September from 2008 an international exhibition was held in this Spanish city. The leit motivate of it was water and sustainable development, hence the location of the expo building was in the banks of the Meandro de Ranillas, a loop that the Ebro river takes when it passes through the city.
Just over a hundred countries, hundreds of NGOs and many autonomous communities participated in this exhibition. The Spanish city knew how to win among other candidate cities such as Trieste or Thessaloniki, in Greece. There was almost six million visitors and the international expo combined with the bicentennial of the Zaragoza Sites (against Napoleon's invasion) and the same centenary of the 1908 Hispano-French Exposition.
So, the meander of Ranillas, as we said above, is a curve of the Ebro and is on the left bank of the ACTUR - Rey Fernando neighborhood. It is a wide 150 hectare space that traditionally functioned as an orchard and grove and is important for the animal life it houses.
In line with the expo, three bridges were built that connect both sides of the river, the Palacio de Congresos and the beautiful Torre del Agua that today is one of the buildings that dominate the skyline of Zaragoza.
The Luis Buñel Water Park
The park itself occupies a total of 120 hectares and if you go from end to end you will have walked two kilometers. Before the expo it was known as the Metropolitan Water Park. It was designed by Iñaki Alday, Christine Dalnoki and Margarita Jover.
It can be reached by bus, lines Ci1 and Ci2 have stops there, and if not by car then there is free parking for more than a thousand cars. The park is located just 25 minutes from Plaza del Pilar, walking, or ten minutes from Ave Delicias station. If you prefer the tram you can also use it but from the Adolfo Aznar stop you will have to walk a bit.
Although the park belongs to the municipality the management is public - private since there are many spaces granted in concession to private. Thus, there is a tourist train, un Multiadventure Park, bikes and boats are rented, there are river beaches that have sand, restaurants and cafeterias, a children's theater, miniature golf, a spa, a gym, 5 paddle football courts, a nice Botanical Garden, a picnic spot, trails to do running ...
With regard to the latter, there are two running circuits: one of 5 kilometers and the other of 10. They are signposted and approved. Both routes combine asphalt and dirt and are traced along the banks of the Ebro river and the surroundings of the Expo, so those who travel them can have a good look at the park and what it offers.
You can also visit the River Aquarium which is open all year round. It is in the expo area and admission costs 4 euros. The Laser park It is also a very good idea because it is open all year round and entry costs from € 6 per game.
Others concession spaces are not open all year: for example, the Mini Golf for children which is only open from March to October. The same are the beaches that open from May to September or the theater in Arbolé that opens in season for a ticket of between 6 and 8 euros.
If you go with children, it is best to start the walk through the Playground which is south of the park in general, on the Paseo del Botánico. It has about three thousand square meters and holds the Columpio De Oro award as the best children's area in all of Spain. Are you going to miss it?
In this park for children, more than one hundred children between four and twelve years old can play simultaneously. There are about 20 different games between two slides of more than four meters high, a soccer field, swings, a pyramid to climb, seesaws, hopscotch, and so on. Be careful, it is not the only children's space in the Water Park, there are others and in total there are seven, between play fountains and playgrounds, so you have to choose.
The entrance to the Water Park is free and free , there are no lockers, doors or gates, so is always open. The idea is that the families of Zaragoza have and enjoy this enormous green space. Some visitors complain that in summer there is not much shade but the truth is that over the years the trees will grow more and in addition to the water, the ducks and other animals the trees will have more canopy and provide more shade.
Zaragoza is a city, municipality and capital of the region and the province of the same name, within the Autonomous Community of Aragon. It is the fifth most populated city in the country and is around 275 kilometers from Madrid, in a straight line, but about 317 kilometers by road. If you go by car it is about three hours and a bit, but you can take the AVE and you arrive in an hour and 19 minutes, the fast one, or an hour and 35 minutes in the slowest version.
The AVE has three categories, tourist, preferential or club and that is why there are different rates. There is a Promo Ticket, a Flexible Ticket, a Ticket for families and a BonoAVE valid for ten trips. If you don't want to spend on the AVE you can take the regional train but I already warn you that it takes four and a half hours. It operates from Monday to Sunday and connects the Chamartín stations with Delicias.