• The Open Days will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 30 and 31, featuring nearly 5,000 guided tours by land and sea, family activities, and new proposals open to all citizens.
• Ticket reservations for the visits will open on Tuesday, May 19, with a symbolic one-euro contribution benefiting the CRAM Foundation and Stella Maris.
• On Sunday morning, the 10th edition of the Deichmann KM Against Cancer charity race will be held at the Port of Barcelona, with 100% of registration fees allocated to cancer research.
The Port of Barcelona will host the third edition of its Open Days on May 30 and 31, consolidating an initiative aimed at bringing the port closer to citizens and strengthening the connection between the port infrastructure and the city. This year, the event introduces two major new attractions: an unprecedented boat dance performance and land tours to the Llobregat Lighthouse, expanding the range of experiences available to discover the port from the inside.
Following the success of the previous edition, which attracted more than 15,000 visitors, this year’s Open Days take another step forward, expanding the range of activities and offering nearly 5,000 places for land and sea tours.
Tours to discover the Port from within
The Open Days will once again offer three main types of visits: land tours, maritime tours, and theatrical walking tours, all requiring prior reservation and with limited capacity. Reservations can be made starting Tuesday, May 19 at 12:00 p.m., through a symbolic one-euro donation that will be entirely allocated either to Stella Maris Barcelona or to the Foundation for the Conservation and Recovery of Marine Animals (CRAM), according to the visitor’s choice, through the website:
https://www.portdebarcelona.cat/portes-obertes
The land tours by coach will allow visitors to discover the commercial port through guided routes in restricted-access areas of the port complex, offering a close look at port operations. Visitors may choose between three different itineraries: one including access to the Hutchison Ports BEST container terminal, another visiting APM Terminals Barcelona, and, as a new feature this year, a visit including the Llobregat Lighthouse, an iconic site usually inaccessible to the public.
Maritime tours aboard Las Golondrinas boats will once again offer visitors the opportunity to explore the Port from the sea. During the 90-minute guided tour, participants will navigate through port facilities and observe first-hand the activity that makes the Port of Barcelona the leading logistics hub in the Mediterranean.
The historical theatrical walking tours will also return, combining heritage, port activity, and storytelling to explain the historical evolution of the Port and its relationship with Barcelona. The route will begin at the Portal de la Pau building, in front of the Columbus monument, and end at Palau de Mar, passing through emblematic locations such as Moll de la Fusta and the Joan Salvat-Papasseit monument.
An unprecedented spectacle: the boat dance
One of the major highlights of this year’s edition will be the boat dance, an unprecedented maritime performance taking place on Saturday, May 30 at 12:00 p.m. at the Barcelona East Wharf, home to the World Trade Center Barcelona.
During the exhibition, pilot and mooring vessels will parade across the water while tugboats perform choreographed movements synchronized with music and combined with water salutes, in a show never before seen at the Port of Barcelona. The activity will be open to the public, with limited capacity, and will last approximately 30 to 45 minutes.
Once again, at Moll de Drassanes, the Port Police and the Barcelona Fire Brigade will be present with their specialized vehicles and equipment. This will be a particularly attractive activity for children, who will have the opportunity to learn about the work carried out by the Port Guard Corps and the port’s specialized firefighters, experts in extinguishing fires on ships and port terminals.
Charity race
Among the featured activities will be the 10th edition of the Deichmann KM Against Cancer charity race at the Port of Barcelona, taking place on Sunday, May 31 from 9:00 a.m. onwards. The event will donate 100% of registration fees to cancer research and to the free services provided by the Cancer Association in Barcelona to improve the lives of cancer patients and their families.
The race will include 2 km and 5 km categories, as well as children’s races. The 5 km race will start at Portal de la Pau and run through the Port Vell roads, passing Rambla de Mar, Moll de la Barceloneta, Passeig de Mare Nostrum, and Moll d’Espanya before returning via Rambla de Mar to the finish line at Moll de la Fusta.
The 2 km and children’s races will start near Moll de la Fusta, following a route through Moll d’Espanya and Rambla de Mar, designed as an accessible and family-friendly circuit.
Registrations will remain open until May 31 at 9:00 a.m. or until all places are filled, through the website:
A wide-ranging programme of parallel activities
The third edition of the Open Days will also feature a broad programme of parallel activities organized together with entities, companies, and associations linked to the Port and the city.
World Trade Center Barcelona will organize the “Vora el Mar” event, featuring live music, DJs, children’s activities, and family workshops throughout the weekend at Barcelona East Wharf. Another highlight will be “Sail in the Port”, an initiative promoted by the Barcelona Capital Nàutica Foundation, offering demonstration and participatory sailing trips aboard light vessels in a designated area between Moll de la Fusta and Rambla de Mar. Each trip will last approximately 30 minutes.
In the gastronomic and cultural field, “Barcelona en Boca – Fogons de Barri”, promoted by the Gastronomy and Tourism Association (AGT) and Barcelona Restauració, will feature Catalan cuisine showcookings using local products. Meanwhile, the Barceloneta Neighbours Association will organize a Catalan rumba concert and related activities.
The Pelut Festival, organized by the Barceloneta Traders and Industrial Association (ACIB), will offer exhibitions, participatory workshops, and family activities related to pets and companion animals.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy a participatory artistic carpet inspired by the tradition of floral carpets, promoted by the Popular and Traditional Culture Council of Poble-sec, transforming the Drassanes terminal space into a collective artistic creation.
Additionally, “Vermut de Llucià Ferrer” will take place at Portal de la Pau square on Saturday, May 30 at midday, in an open-air public format.
Furthermore, the Maritime Museum of Barcelona and the Museum of the History of Catalonia will offer free admission throughout the weekend, while Barcelona Aquarium will join the celebration with special promotions for families.
Opening the Port to the city
“The Open Days are much more than a set of activities. They are an invitation to better understand the Port, to feel it closer, and to strengthen the historic relationship between Barcelona and the sea,” said José Alberto Carbonell, president of the Port of Barcelona, during the presentation of the event.
Carbonell also emphasized that “the Port is not only a logistics infrastructure, but also a space for the city, coexistence, and the future, and we want more and more people to discover it from within.”
The third edition of the Port of Barcelona Open Days is made possible thanks to the collaboration of several companies and organizations from the Port Community. APM Terminals, Hutchison Ports BEST, Marina Barcelona 92, and ZAL Port support the initiative and contribute to making this opening of the Port to citizens a reality.
