Port of Barcelona

Historia

The Port of Barcelona has a 2000-year history and great contemporary commercial importance as one of Europe's ports in the Mediterranean, as well as Catalonia's largest port, tying with Tarragona. It is also Spain's third and Europe's ninth largest container port, with a trade volume of 2.57 million TEUs in 2008. The port is managed by the Port Authority of Barcelona. Its 7.86km2 are divided into three zones: Port Vell (the Old Port), the commercial/industrial port, and the logistics port (Barcelona Free Port). The port is undergoing an enlargement that will double its size by diverting the mouth of the Llobregat River 2km to the south and slightly pushing back the Llobregat Delta Nature Reserve.This is not the only port in Barcelona, as there are also two additional yacht harbors/marinas: Port Olímpic and Port Fòrum Sant Adrià to the north.OverviewThe Port Vell area comprises two marinas or yacht harbors, a fishing port, a maritime station for ferries travelling to the Balearic Islands and other destinations in the Mediterranean and other stations or landing areas for cruise ships, and it abuts the industrial port.In the central area, it also houses "Maremagnum" (a shopping mall and nightlife complex), a multiplex cinema, the IMAX Port Vell (large-format cinema complex), and Europe's largest aquarium, containing 8,000 fish and 11 sharks in 22 basins filled with 6 million litres of sea water. Because it is located in a designated tourist zone, the Maremagnum is the only commercial mall in the city that can open on Sundays and public holidays. Next to the Maremagnum area are the "Golondrines", small ships that take tourists for a visit around the port area and beyond.