Port Vell, just means 'Old Harbour' in Spanish. It's quite a small harbour to build a city around, and it's nothing like San Francisco or Sydney harbour, nor is it even the busiest port in Spain. There is no major river like the Hudson or the Thames river to move bulk freight by water. However, Barcelona has made it work.
I joined the rest of the tourists late in the afternoon for a walk down the La Rambla to Port Vell. The area was redeveloped for the Olympics. There is a shopping mall, Imax theatre, and it's quite a nice walk past the marinas.
If you arrive by cruise ship to Barcelona you will land at Port Vell. There are a number of hotels clustered around the port.
If you continue past the marinas and around the harbour you will reach the beach. As you can see it's overcast, and doesn't show it in it's best light. The cable car to Montjuic (the green mountain to the South) also starts from here.
I found this ship interesting (pictured above). The Spanish explorers set out for the New World in ships like these, beginning in 1492 with Christopher Columbus. The colonies it established in the Americas brought huge wealth to Spain. New products like Potatoes, sugar, coffee, tobacco, Cocoa and peanuts were introduced to Europe. The Spanish language is now the second most spoken language in the world.
Tomorrow night we are off to hear some Flamenco music, and on Saturday we are going to see the famous, Park Guell.
Further reading:
Port Vell - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Vell
