Cities Tourism Guide - Port Vell & Barceloneta

Port Vell, Columbus Monument & Barcelona Boat Trips

Port Vell (old port) runs from Monument Colon/Columbus Monument along the Barcelona Waterfront to Barceloneta and Barcelona's main beaches. Barcelona's old port was actually at the base of Montjuic, (the current Maritime Museum near Drassanes Metro exit explores the old port's history, whilst the Barceloneta area was a working class residential area during the 18th century and an important hub for fishing. Today both these Barcelona waterfront areas are a magnet for visitors, and a welcome leisure retreat from the bustle of Barcelona's La Rambla and Old Town. Shopping, Barcelona aquarium, boat trips, Barcelona swimming beaches, top Barcelona seafood restaurants, Paseo strolling and waterfront picnicing, Barcelona cycling, cinema and a dramatic cable car ride are all on the menu in the Port Vell pushing towards Barceloneta area. The walk from Monument Colon to Barceloneta's beaches is a delightful but quite long walk. If you want to speed things up, and many do, hire bicycles from arond the Monument Colon, bottom of La Rambla area. (see the Barcelona Tourism guide right for Barcelona Cycle hire listings).

Starting at Monument Colon, you can actually go up this iconic Barcelona waterfront monument for great views of the marina. Dating from 1888, you can get up close to the base for the kids to climb all over various lion sculptures or scoot up it. (tel. 93 302 52 24). The Barcelona open top sightseeing bus departs from a pick-up point just near Monument Colon. On the waterfront Golondrina Barcelona Boat trips offer a choice of boat trips along the Barcelona coast (see weblink right fro details). Walking across the pretty wooden paseo Rambla De Mar and pedestrian footbridge takes you to Port Vell's mammoth Mare Magnum Shopping centre, Barcelona's Aquarium and plenty of restaurants and outside seating areas for views of Barcelona Marina and the cable car overhead. The Cross-harbou cable car runs from Montjuic at Costa i Llobera gardens to Sant Sebastia tower on the Barceloneta main beach. It stops off on the way at Jaume I tower next to the World Trade Center on Port Vell complex. Open from 10.30am to 8m in the Summer and 10.30am to 6pm in winter. Cable cars run every 15 minutes, but it's well worth getting there early morning to avoid queues in peak season. Tel. Sant Sebastia tower. 932 252 or Jaume 1 tower 934 415 071 for more details.

The two main acclaimed Barcelona museums in the Port Vell and Barceloneta areas are the Maritime Museum (Museu Maritim near Drassanes Metro and the Catalan History Museum (Museu D'Historia De Catalunya) right on the waterfront between Monument Colon and Barceloneta's beaches. Both are highly recommended to dig deeper into Barcelona's port history, and at the superb Catalunya Museum head particularly upto the top floor for an excellent exhibit on Barcelona's integral role in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) as Republican stronghold. Photography here explores too mass immigration into the city from Murcia and Andalucia in the south in the early 20th century, and mass evacuation from the city after the civil war, as well as Barcelona's port and textile heritage.

Barcelona Aquarium, Moll d'Espanya del Port Vell, s/n 08039 Barcelona. Tel. (00 34) 93 221 74 74. (weblink right for details) Museu D'Historia De Catalunya, Placa de Pau Villa 3, Port Vell. 08003 Barcelona. Tel. 932 254 700 (weblink right for details, note the excellent restaurant with views at the top of the museum!). Museu Maritim, Avinguda de les Drassanes, s/n 08001 Barcelona. Tel. 933 429 920 (weblink right).

Barceloneta Barcelona Beaches

From Monument Colon two wide walkways - Passeig Colom slightly inland and Moll De La Fusta on the waterfront push towards the Catalunya museum and Barcelona's Barceloneta beaches. At the Catalunya museum the paseo gets even wider as it runs into Paseig de Joan De Borbo. Perfect for cycling or strolling, family cycling is particularly popular and you can hire kids bikes or bicycles with baby seats from Barcelona's many bike hire outlets (see Barcelona Tourism weblink/getting around the city section for listings).

Once the old fishing quarter, Barceloneta has been considerably redeveloped in recent times offer a selection of pretty beaches and best Barcelona seafront seafood restaurants, the most scenic of which sit adjacent to the Catalunya Museum on Palau de Mar. These have delightful terraces with views onto the Paseo and out onto the marina.

Stretching towards the Olympic Port area, all of Barceloneta's beachfront and beach area have been extensively redeveloped to great effect. Barcelona beaches include first Platja Sant Sebastia which moves into Platja de Sant Miquel and Platja Barceloneta. Urban beaches don't get much better than Barcelona's beach choice (although Gran Canaria's capital Las Palmas comes close). Lazy beach cafes are dotted along the beaches, alongside striking public art (see Horn's beach boxes photo left) and a wide Paseo where cycling, roller skating and skateboarding are all popular. Perfect for families, Barcelona can offer both city break and beach holiday all in one!

In all Barcelona's Barceloneta beaches cover around 4 km and they're particularly crowded in peak season, popular with locals and visitors alike. Further developments are promising a marine wildlife park, two green areas and another bathing area (checkout the Barcelona Town Hall guide right for progress).