The Port of Barcelona lies on Spain's Mediterranean coast between the rivers Llobregat and Besos about 150 kilometers south of the country's border with France. The Port of Barcelona is about 140 nautical miles north of Mallorca and some 200 nautical miles southwest of France's Port of Marseille. The capital of the Catalonia region, the Port of Barcelona is the second biggest city and the biggest seaport in Spain as well as an important cultural, educational, commercial, and industrial center. In 2005, almost 1.6 million people lived in the Port of Barcelona.

A seaport since before the 11th Century, the Port of Barcelona has a long history of trade. It was also one of the first cities in Europe to enter the Industrial Revolution based on the manufacture of textiles. Manufacturing has also been important to the history of the Port of Barcelona, and modern Barcelona is home to manufacturers of textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics, and motors. Other important industries include printing, publishing, logistics, information technology, and telecommunications. With a rich tradition in craftsmanship and creative arts, the Port of Barcelona has become a center for industrial design, hosting many international trade shows each year.

There are different legends about the foundation of the Port of Barcelona. One claims that Hercules founded the city some 400 years before Rome was built. The other says that the father of Carthaginian Hannibal founded the city in the 3rd Century BC. Others believe that the Phoenicians established a trading post there. Historians know that the Port of Barcelona was named after Carthaginian leader Hamilcar Barca who lived from 275 to 228 BC.

A relatively unimportant Roman colony called Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino existed on the site. The colony began to grow in importance in the 3rd Century AD, and walls were built around it in 263 to defend from barbarian invasions. As Rome failed, the Visigoths occupied the city for three centuries, calling it Barcinona, until the Moors arrived in 717 AD.

Called Barjelunah by the Moors, the Port of Barcelona was an attractive target for the Carolingian Franks who took it over in 801 AD, when Barcelona became the southern edge of their power. Although forces of the Umayyad Caliphate sacked the city in 985, the Frankish Counts of Barcelona held the city through the 10th and 11th Centuries.

In the 12th Century, Barcelona and the principality of Catalonia united with the Kingdom of Aragon, and the Port of Barcelona became an important trading center.

From 1164 through 1285, the Port of Barcelona became the Kingdom of Aragon's maritime capital. The Royal Shipyard known as Drassanes was constructed. In 1378, the Port of Barcelona was a common anchoring site for vessels traveling the Mediterranean coast. However, heavy winds caused many ships to wreck, and the citizens of the Port of Barcelona decided to build a safer artificial harbor so that maritime commerce could continue and grow. In 1438, King Alfonso V the Magnanimous gave Barcelona permission to build and port and wharves. Work began that year, but heavy storms quickly destroyed their work.

When the Black Death arrived in Spain in the 14th Century, the Port of Barcelona suffered and went into decline. Naples became the capital of the united Catalan-Aragon kingdom in 1442. The Port of Barcelona's influence was further damaged by the rise of the Habsburg monarchy, the growth of the Turks in the Mediterranean region, and the discovery of the New World.

In 1477, under the reign of Juan II, the first wharf was begun in the Port of Barcelona. The east dock was the main port shelter, and lands were reclaimed to the south and southwest to expand the port. Seamen and fishermen established homes in the new areas.

After the early 18th Century, Charles III of Austria established his court in the Port of Barcelona, staking his claim on the throne of Spain during the War of Spanish Succession. Spain's Philip V laid siege to the Port of Barcelona, and it fell to him in 1714. Philip denied any form of self-government to the captured city.

In 1723, the Port of Barcelona began to grow when the east dock was extended and the Linterna tower was built. Unfortunately, silting was a major problem, and the Port of Barcelona remained fairly stagnant until a breakwater was constructed in 1882. About this time, the cotton industry began to develop, from which the Port of Barcelona benefitted greatly during the 18th Century.

War with France devastated the Port of Barcelona, and Napoleon occupied the Port of Barcelona in from 1808 until 1813. However, the industrial age arrived in Barcelona. Development of the textile industry made the Port of Barcelona a leader in the industrial sector and made Catalonia the richest region in Spain.

New jobs brought many people to the Port of Barcelona, and the industrial workers and the bourgeoisie found it difficult to live together. The Anarchist movement so popular in Europe in the 19th Century flourished in the Port of Barcelona. In 1835, several convents were burned. Riots revealed the workers' resentment of the use of automated machinery in the mid-1850s. The "Tragic Week" in 1909 resulted in more church burnings.

In 1868, a Royal Decree opened the way for improvements in the Port of Barcelona. The Works Committee began a plan to dredge the port. At last, Barcelona would have a modern port. The Port of Barcelona covered a surface-water area of 110 hectares. By 1882, today's Barcelona wharf had been established.

Despite the civil unrest, Catalonia supplied almost half of Spain's imports in the early 20th Century. Prosperity led to calls for self-rule, and the Port of Barcelona enjoyed a period of relative independence from 1913 until 1923. In 1926, new work on the east dock was completed.

Barcelona was the site for the declaration of Catalonia as a republic in 1931. In 1936 when the Spanish Civil War erupted, the Port of Barcelona was a stronghold for the Republicans. Its fall in early 1939 ended in the Republican's surrender. For many years after that, the city and the region lost many privileges, including the prohibition of the Catalan language.

In 1958, the Port of Barcelona began to expand to the south. By 1962, the port had a new outer seawall. By 1968, the Port of Barcelona had an extnernal sheltered harbor area covering 500 hectares of water surface.

It was 1977 before the autonomous Catalan government was restored and the Port of Barcelona began to hope for further development. Hosting the 1992 Olympic Games was a boon to the Port of Barcelona, as the city renovated the waterfront and added a new promenade and marina. New restaurants appeared, the beaches were cleaned up and developed, and the city re-claimed its historic culture.

In 1992, the State Port and Merchant Navy was abolished, and the State Public Ports organization was created to coordinate and control the port system. Separate port authorities were established to manage Spain's ports, and the Port of Barcelona was renamed the Port Authority of Barcelona. Since the early 1990s, the Port of Barcelona has become a popular tourist destination, and it has ample facilities to accommodate as many as 11 cruise ships. The number of cruise vessel calls and passengers has increased each year, making the Port of Barcelona one of the most important European tourist ports.

The Port Authority of Barcelona strives to develop the Port of Barcelona by constructing and managing port infrastructure and to provide reliable services that enhance customers' competitiveness and creates income for the community. The Port of Barcelona hopes to be recognized as Europe's port solution in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Port of Barcelona offers a network of facilities and services that include coastal terminals, logistics, and inland maritime terminals that create a multi-modal transport corridor. Operators manage the port facilities in a decentralized organization to offer customers a wide range of handling, transport, and logistics services.

In 2008, the Port of Barcelona welcomed over 9.5 thousand vessels and handled almost 50.6 million tons of cargo, 2.6 million TEUs of containerized cargo (carrying 25.1 million tons), 716.3 thousand automobiles, and more than 3.2 million passengers (including 2.1 million cruise passengers).

Total cargo included almost 42.5 million tons of foreign cargo and 8.1 million tons of domestic cargo. Almost all container traffic was foreign. Incoming throughput accounted for nearly 30.8 million tons, and outgoing throughput accounted for 19.8 million tons. In addition to containerized cargoes, the Port of Barcelona handled 34.9 million tons of general cargo, almost 10 million tons of hydrocarbons, 9.8 million tons of non-containerized cargo, 3.5 million tons of dry bulk, and 2.1 million tons of liquid bulk.

Cargoes included 10.4 million tons of energy-related cargoes, 8.9 million tons of agricultural products, 2.1 million tons of iron and steel (including 1.6 million tons of iron and steel products), 1.3 million tons of metals and minerals, 4.4 million tons of chemical products, 1.9 million tons of construction materials, 10.6 million tons of other cargoes, and 10.6 million tons of special transport cargoes. Energy-related cargoes were dominated by 5.1 million tons of natural gas, 2.8 million tons of diesel oils, and 1.1 million tons of petrol. Agricultural cargoes were dominated by 1.5 million tons of wines, beverages, and spirits; 1.4 million tons of soya beans and flour; 906 thousand tons of oils and fats; 813 thousand tons of cereals; 722 thousand tons of tobacco, coffee, and cocoa; and 672 thousand tons of feedstuffs and fodder. Other cargo included 2.1 million tons of machinery and spare parts, 1.8 million tons of pulp and paper, and 268 thousand tons of timber. Special transport cargoes included 1.5 million tons of automobiles and parts, of which 636 thousand automobiles were foreign cargoes.

Passenger traffic through the Port of Barcelona in 2008 included 1.2 million passengers traveling in 3257 regular line ferry calls (including 724 thousand domestic passengers and 396 thousand European Union passengers). The total of 892 pleasure cruise calls accounted for almost 2.1 million passengers.

The north entrance to the Port of Barcelona is 370 meters wide and 16 meters deep, while the south entrance is 145 meters side and 11.5 meters deep. The Port of Barcelona covers a total land area of 828.9 hectares and contains 20.3 kilometers of wharves and berths, including 32 roll-on/roll-off ramps, with alongside depths up to 16 meters. The Port of Barcelona contains over 121 thousand square meters of covered warehouses and almost three million square meters of open yards. The Port of Barcelona has a 215-meter-long, 35-meter-wide dry dock with capacity for up to 50 thousand DWT and a floating dock of 120 meters long and 19 meters wide with lifting capacity of up to 4.5 thousand tons.

The Port of Barcelona contains two international container terminals with over 3000 meters of berthing positions and depths up to 16 meters that can accommodate super-post-Panamax vessels. It also has one terminal for national and coastal shipping and one multi-purpose terminal for handling containers and conventional cargoes. The Port of Barcelona offers ample rail facilities for handling and shipping cargoes and is served by highly-qualified professionals with years of experience in managing cargo. The Port of Barcelona contains two specific short-sea shipping terminals with daily services to provide a reliable alternative to road transport in the region.

The Port of Barcelona has two Ferry Terminals with daily services to and from Mallorca, Minorca, and Eivissa. The Ferry Terminal of Barcelona also serves routes with Rome, Sardinia, Genoa, and Tangiers. The Terminal Port Nou also serves routes with Tunis and Algiers.

The Port of Barcelona has two specialized terminals, Autoterminal and Setram, handling vehicles. In 2006, these terminals handled over 855 thousand vehicle units. The terminals are equipped with five rail cargo tracks and five roll-on/roll-off ramps. With capacity to store up to 24 thousand units, the auto terminals offer 1.2 thousand meters of berthing space, and new areas are being constructed for the distribution of cars.

The Barcelona Fruit Terminal is Spain's main fruit-receiving port. With nine thousand square meters of controlled-temperature warehousing, the Port of Barcelona's Fruit Terminal receives cargoes from Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, South Africa, China, and the United States.

The Port of Barcelona is also Spain's main coffee distribution center and a strategic port for the distribution of coffee throughout the Mediterranean. Three warehousing companies handle coffee cargoes in the Port of Barcelona: Barcelona International Terminal, Molenbergnatie, and Viorvi.

The Port of Barcelona's terminals for liquid bulk cargoes have exclusive wharves with alongside depth of over 17 meters that can accommodate the new generation of vessels. The liquid bulk warehouses have capacity for over 75 thousand cubic meters and segregated tanks to handle all types of products, including biofuels. The terminals are directly connected to road and rail networks and to oil pipelines. Specialized facilities handle a diversity of solid bulk cargoes that include cement, grain, soybeans, potash, and others.

As the leading European cruise port and Mediterranean turn-around base, the Port of Barcelona boasts seven international passenger terminals. The port is home to several cruise companies who lead the cruise security and logistics business.

Looking to the future, the Port of Barcelona has worked to re-organize port activities to make the most efficient use of specialized terminals and to focus on the growing container traffic. Today, the Port of Barcelona consists of three main zones. The Port of Barcelona's Old Port (Port Vell) is the commercial and logistics port. Anticipating ever-increasing traffic, the Port of Barcelona plans a fourth major enlargement by diverting the mouth of the Llobregat River some two kilometers to the south in order to double the effective size of the modern commercial port. By 2050, the Port of Barcelona will cover an area of 1.2 thousand hectares.

The City of Barcelona is a Mediterranean city by geography, history, tradition, and culture. Two official languages are spoken in the Port of Barcelona: Catalan and Castillian Spanish. It is more than just one city. It's a collection of many cities and a curious mix of modern and historic, traditional and avant-garde. Luckily, the historic Gothic city center has been faithfully preserved. The Port of Barcelona offers some of the world's best architecture, delicious Spanish cuisine, colorful culture, and glorious weather. It also offers a range of accommodations to suit any budget. Barcelona has far too many attractions to describe here. For detailed information, visit the Port of Barcelona's tourism website.

The Port of Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate that enjoys warm dry summers and mild humid winters. Storms may come quickly in August. Rain is more common from April to June and from August to November. Like most Mediterranean locales, the weather can be unpredictable from year to year. Rains may be light or torrential. Some winters are relatively dry. Temperatures range from an average high of 28 °C (82 °F) in August to an average low of 4.4 °C (40 °F) in January.

Visitors to the Port of Barcelona will want to check out La Rambla, a mile-long avenue that contains five distinct areas. This popular strolling street is lined with street players, just plain-old odd characters, cafes, kiosks, and flower stands. La Rambla moves through the heart of the center city and presents the "best" of the city. The street has both nice and seedy areas. The northern section is safer and tamer, while the southern section can become a red-light district at night. While this is probably the most famous of Barcelona's tourist attractions, it is not necessarily the best of them.

At the top of La Rambla is Placa Cataluna, the cultural heart of the city. The circular plaza contains fountains and sculptures and beautiful flora, and it is surrounded by hotels, big stores, and open-air cafes very popular with people-watchers. As the day ages, the plaza becomes more crowded and more colorful. During the frequent fiesta times, visitors enjoy live music and dancing and happy celebrations.

The Barri Gotic is reputed to be the most densely populated and biggest medieval quarter in Europe. It can take half a day to wander its narrow alleys. At night, the Barri Gotic is magical. The Catedral in the quarter is a must-see, and the Museu d'Histoira de la Ciutat was build over a Roman town. In the Salo del Tinnel in the Palau del Rei, Columbus introduced Spain's sovereigns to American natives. Many of the buildings in the Barri Gotic date from medieval days. Remains of the old Roman Wall are still visible. The Medieval Jewish quarter, El Call, is located here.

The Port of Barcelona offers seven beaches for sun-lovers. Barceloneta and Sant Sebastia are the oldest, biggest, and most crowded. Newer beaches were opened to host the 1992 Summer Olympics. The sand is replenished from nearby quarries where rain torrents create lots of natural washed-away materials.

Travelers wanting to visit the Port of Barcelona by sea will find a very long list of scheduled cruises on the Cruise Compete website and a searchable database on the Port of Barcelona website.