Ancient and modern Spanish international port. Barcelona

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

In Spain there is an ancient seaport - Barcelona, which has been successfully functioning for more than 2000 years. It is one of the largest Mediterranean logistics hubs, serving the huge transport and cargo flows of both the Iberian Peninsula and southern Europe.

A bit of history

For centuries, the seaport of Barcelona has seen both Greek galleys and state-of-the-art cruise ships. Thanks to him, the city flourished and was rich in the Middle Ages. At the very beginning of its existence, it was the anchorage of ships, located near the mountain Montjuïc (Montjuic), used by Phoenician merchants. She was not protected both from weather disasters and from lovers of easy money, as a result of which goods disappeared and even ships perished. In order to secure the profitable trade, it was decided to create a port. Barcelona at the beginning of the 15th century received permission from the Spanish king Alfonso V the Magnanimous to build a port to facilitate and speed up loading and unloadingships, and in 1428 its construction began. Later, it was rebuilt and reconstructed several times.

Modern infrastructure

Today, the port of the Spanish capital occupies a significant area, about 7.9 km², separating the Barceloneta area from the mouth of the Llobregat River, and consists of three parts:

port Vell;
cruise;
trading.

In fact, these are separate structural units united by a common name. The site of an ancient merchants' camp near Mount Montjuic is today a trading port.

Where do they travel from?

The largest in the Mediterranean and the fifth largest in the world is a cruise port equipped with seven terminals. Barcelona annually receives about 4 million tourists arriving on cruise ships through this sea gate. The gate and entrance are located just five minutes walk from La Rambla, to the left of the Trasmediterránea office and directly opposite Plaza de Les Drassanes.

South, North, Drassanes and Sant Bertrand terminals are located at the WTC - International Trade Centre, not far from the 5 star Eurostars Grand Marina hotel. The terminals (A, B, C, D) located on the Adossat embankment are 2 km away from the city center. A shuttle runs in the port of Barcelona, \u200b\u200bthe trip on which costs 2, and a ticket for the whole day is 3 euros. He collects passengers at a stop located near the entrance. Finding it is easy: you need to stand with your back to the monument to Columbusand facing the sea, a little to the right and there will be a place to land on the shuttle. You can also take a taxi to the cruise terminals.

Port Vell

Port Vell means "Old Harbor" in Catalan, but most tourists know it as the Old Port. Barcelona is an ancient city and different from other capitals. So, it is in the Port Vell area that the business center of the Spanish capital is located, serving most of the operations with northwestern Africa. You can get to it by walking along the pedestrian bridge, located directly opposite the Columbus monument.

Not far away are the Barcelona Maritime Museum, the popular Maremagnum shopping center, the huge Aquarium, the IMAX Port Vell and Cinesa cinemas.

How to get to the Port of Barcelona?

If you arrived in Barcelona by plane, you will not be able to get to the port without transfers, there is no direct connection between these two transport hubs of the Spanish capital. The quickest and easiest way is to take a taxi, which will cost 30–40 euros and take about half an hour.

You can also get there by public transport, but only with transfers. To do this, you need to take the Aerobus express bus at the airport, the ticket price for which is 5.9 €, and get to the end of the route at Plaça Catalunya. Having left on it, you need to take the green line L3 of the metro, having bought a ticket for 2.15 €. After that, after passing two stations, get off at Drassanes, the closest to the seaport. Coming out of the subway, you will have to walk alongLa Rambla towards the sea and, having rounded the monument to Columbus, go a little to the right to the entrance to the port. In the port itself you can use the shuttle (2€). Thus, moving from the airport to the seaport will cost you 10€ per person. However, to save some money and be sure to go to PortAventura Park (Barcelona), you can get from the airport by regular city bus, for example, number 106, to the nearest metro station for 1.4€.

All pleasures at once

If you happen to be in Barcelona, plan at least for one day to go to the world of childhood and visit the amazing Spanish amusement and amusement park - PortAventura. Since its opening in 1995, it has confidently held its place in the top ten most popular European parks. To date, this large-scale project includes a summer water park, four hotels and a huge area filled with attractions, entertainment venues, restaurants and cafes.

The entire park is divided into five main interesting themed areas:

Wild West;
Mediterranean;
Polynesia;
Mexico;
China.

Sesamo Aventura playground has been created for the youngest visitors, where the characters of this TV show loved by children walk and many interesting entertainments.

How to get there?

But Spain is not only Barcelona! "PortAventura" is located 100 km from the Spanish capital, on the Costa Dorada, in the province of Tarragona, between suchresort towns like Salou and Vila-seca. You can get to the park in the following ways, each of which will not take more than an hour:

From Barcelona and other major Spanish cities, take large Bus Plana buses on special routes.
Also from the Spanish capital you can get to "Port Aventura" by rail. In Barcelona, you can take the train at Estació de França, from where it leaves almost empty, or at stations such as Estació de Sants or Passeig de Gràcia.
If you have rented a car, you need to find the exit on the AP-7 motorway, marked with a huge yellow shield with the inscription PortAventura, and drive further, following the signs leading directly to the parking lot of the park. One parking day costs 10€.
You can also pre-order an individual transfer from a hotel, train station or airport on the park's website.
If you are staying in Salou itself, then on the tourist trains going there, you can get to the PortAventura park.