In the central area, it also houses "Maremagnum" (a shopping mall and nightlife complex), a multiplex cinema, the IMAX Port Vell (large-format cinema complex), and Europe's largest aquarium, containing 8,000 fish and 11 sharks in 22 basins filled with 6 million litres of sea water.

Because it is located in a designated tourist zone, the Maremagnum is the only commercial mall in the city that can open on Sundays and public holidays.

In common with much of Western Europe, the older traditional industries in Spain, such as textiles, declined in the face of foreign competition.

The surviving companies closed their factories in the city or along the rivers, leaving industrial wastelands or abandoned workers' colonies.

The free trade zone is located within the port area, not far away from downtown Barcelona, and is easy to access.

[6][7] In 1978, the Ministry of Public Works declared Bilbao, Huelva and Valencia and Barcelona autonomous ports.

[10] The Logistics Activity Zone (Catalan: Zona d'Activitats Logístiques, Spanish: Zona de Actividades Logísticas, ZAL) is a multimodal transport centre that was set up in 1993 with an initial area of 68 hectares in the first phase.

[14] While Baleària and Trasmediterránea operate connections to the Balearic Islands, the companies Grimaldi Lines and Grandi Navi Veloci serve destinations in Italy and Morocco.