Port Vell

Public space

Port Vell is the great meeting point between the sea and the city, the part of the Port of Barcelona where commercial, business, industrial and fishing activities coexist with urban uses, which is open to all citizens and visitors. A perfect setting to enjoy near the sea!

Port Vell stages sculptures by renowned artists in a privileged setting.
Discover the art of Port Vell

More than walks

A large part of the 70 hectares that today make up Port Vell are designed for you to experience and enjoy. In these spaces you can explore markets or fairs that take place periodically and participate in all kinds of recreational, commercial and sports activities. Or simply rest, walk and admire buildings and sculptures that are part of the port and city heritage.

 

Singularity and cohesion

The great challenge for the future is to rethink these spaces so that they preserve their maritime singularity while consolidating themselves as an urban environment for meetings and social cohesion. How?

  • Generating intelligent spaces adapted to the current reality: with sustainable urban planning focused on people’s needs.
  • Advancing in the elimination of urban barriers to guarantee access for all.
  • Promoting environmentally friendly mobility that reduces travel times and improves the connectivity between the different areas of Port Vell.
Get to know the nautical bus project
port vell guai

Spaces for you: beyond Paral·lel and the Rambla

The spaces open to the public in Port Vell at the ends of Paral·lel and Las Ramblas. Come and discover them!
Ones
Barcelona pier
Headquarters of the WTC Barcelona, two maritime cruise terminals, a 5-star luxury hotel and the Jaume I tower of the Barcelona cable car. It is also the origin of some tourist tours around the Port of Barcelona.
Portal Pau
Drassanes Dock / Portal de la Pau
At the end of the Rambla, next to the Columbus monument and at the foot of the Drassanes dock, is the Plaza Portal de la Pau. For many years the building that presides over it was the institutional headquarters of the Port of Barcelona.
Rambla mar
Rambla de Mar
It is one of the most emblematic images of Port Vell. A natural continuation of the Rambla de Barcelona towards the Maremagnum and the sea, the architecture and street furniture make this boulevard a unique walk.
Muelle España
Espanya wharf
Located in the heart of Port Vell, it has well-differentiated areas: Plaça de l’Odissea, Passeig d’Ítaca and the Viewpoint of Port Vell. It houses a wide variety of shops that includes the Maremagnum and L’Aquàrium and a car park.

Port Center, the Port of Barcelona explained to the world

The future Port Center is already underway. The refurbishment of the Portal de la Pau building has already begun and will soon house the ambitious Port Center project, a tool for communication, dissemination, education and entertainment, with the aim of promoting understanding of the port and its connection with the city.
This will be the new pole of attraction for citizens in Port Vell
port vell rambla

Spaces for you: next to the beach and open sea

The docks of Port Vell that have the yacht clubs and a marina as a backdrop. Come and discover them!
Moll Fusta
Muelle Bosch i Alsina (Moll de la Fusta)
It is the oldest space in Port Vell recovered as a citizen’s area. Framed by palm trees, it hosts large-scale events and activities with large numbers of people, such as the Mercè Festival or the Christmas fair.
Palau Mar
Muelle del Dipòsit / Palau de Mar
It includes the Pau Vila square and the Palau de Mar, a building built between 1895 and 1902 as a commercial warehouse that today houses the Pier01 technological initiative, the Museum of History of Catalonia and tourist restaurants.
Muelle Barcelona
Barceloneta Pier
A spacious pace, close to the beach and with the attractiveness of the Marina Port Vell. A mixture of locals and tourists can be found there during the Barceloneta festivities or in the multiple commercial, sporting, cultural and social events.
Muelle
Muelle del Rellotge
Space presided over by the Torre del Rellotge, an old lighthouse built in 1772 to indicate the entrance to the Port, which in 1904 began to function solely as a clock. This area will be much more accessible to the public when its renovation is completed.
port vell ok

Spaces for you: next to the beach and open sea

The spaces open to the public in Port Vell closest to the beach and the open sea. Come and get to know them!
Plaza del mar
Plaza del Mar
Inaugurated in 2009, after a reconversion that endorsed the importance of Barcelona looking at the sea. It is located in front of Sant Sebastià beach and communicates with the Mare Nostrum promenade, which runs along the beach to Nova Bocana area.
Espacios Nueva bocana
Nova Bocana spaces
The spaces created by the opening of the Bocana Nord are the most recent that the Port of Barcelona has made available to the public, covering nine hectares.
70 ha
Surface area
A large part of the Port Vell spaces are accessible to the general public.
16 M
Annual visitors
The attractiveness of its spaces translates into a large influx to Port Vell.

Pole of attraction in the city

The spaces managed by the Gerencia Urbanística Port Vell have many attractions and perspectives of the city and the port.

Integration and coexistence

The transformation processes in this area are complex, since they must be developed in an integrated and coherent manner with the rest of the seafront and in agreement with the administrations involved. And through dialogue and commitment with the rest of the agents in the territory: the concessionary companies, entities of the Barceloneta neighbourhood and its residents.

Opening out to the sea

For many years Barcelona lived with its back to the sea. Due to its historical configuration, the port was a physical and also a psychological barrier for citizens. The growth of the port meant that the part closest to the city began to focus to a great extent on its enjoyment.

Today it combines leisure and culture with business and training, in an increasingly sustainable and social manner, in economic and environmental terms. And facing the sea.

Related Links
New projects
Cultural heritage