Barcelona Guide
The waterfront
Museu Marítim
Opening time: Daily 10am–8pm
Price: €6.50, free on afternoon of 1st Sat of month
Telephone: 933 429 920
Website: www.museumaritimbarcelona.com
Dating from the thirteenth century, and originally used as a dry dock to fit Catalunya's war fleet when the Catalan-Aragonese crown was vying with Venice and Genoa for control of the Mediterranean, the Drassanes, Barcelona's unique medieval shipyards, remained in continuous use until well into the eighteenth century. The basic structure – long parallel halls facing the sea – has changed little; its singular size and position couldn't be bettered, whether the shipbuilders were fitting out medieval warships or eighteenth-century trading vessels destined for South America.
The huge, stone-vaulted buildings make a fitting home for the Museu Marítim. Its centrepiece is a copy of the sixteenth-century Royal Galley (Galera Reial), a soaring red-and-gold barge which was originally constructed here and was present at the great naval victory over the Ottoman Turks at Lepanto in 1571. This aside, it's really the building that's the main attraction, since the rest of the exhibits – fishing skiffs, sailing boats, figureheads, old maps and charts, ship portraits, navigation instruments – fail to spark much casual interest. You'll get the most out of a visit if you pick up the free audio-guide and hone in on some of the more illuminating digressions, for example on steam navigation, fishing methods, life at sea or the growth of the port of Barcelona. Combination tickets available at the desk are more worthwhile, offering discounted trips on the harbour sightseeing boats or up the Columbus monument, while children's activities at weekends and school holidays are well regarded. There's also a good café-restaurant at the museum (open Mon– Sat lunch, plus Thurs– Sat dinner), which puts out tables in the pleasant courtyard – on summer evenings, this becomes a popular patio lounge-bar.