Barcelona - Port

(Local Name: Port Vell Franc de Barcelona) The port, with its outer harbor of about 300 hectares/740 acres, occupies the whole of the coastal strip between the district of Barceloneta and the southern foothills of Montjuïc. Before Spain showed renewed interest in the Atlantic and her possessions in Central and South America in the 17th C., the port of Barcelona was one of the most influential in the Mediterranean, and even today ranks as the most important in the whole of Spain. The northern end of the harbor area and the stretch of coastline lying beyond Barceloneta have been reorganized and rebuilt specially for the Olympic Games.

The merchant port extends from the foot of Montjuïc, from which it is separated by the broad Cinturó del Litoral (an arterial road leading to the airport and on to Tarragona). With the ports of Gijón and Bilbao it is the most modern in Spain; the annual volume of traffic is about 18million tons. The main imports are oil, coal, wheat and cotton; first and foremost among its exports are olive oil and cork.

For tourists, the most interesting part of the port is the northeastern section, with the International Trade Center and promenade.