Cruises and Tourism

During the last few years, we are witnessing a cruise increase in the Mediterranean area. The Port of Cartagena is also having important increases in this type of traffic, with more and more frequent calls. For this reason, the Port Authority decided to support firmly this traffic, building a new berth specific for this type of vessels, allowing this way both ships and passengers to access the port and the city under excellent conditions.

The Cruise Terminal is located in the exterior part of the Marina, next to the new building of the Yacht Club, a suitable place due to its proximity to the city centre, cultural, leisure and commercial area of the quay, as well as for its depth and easy manoeuvres that may be obtained in this area. With a platform that allows the berth of vessels 300 m. long and a depth of 12.5 m., an esplanade of more than 3,000 m2 and four ship mooring dolphins.

The terminal has a bus stop, taxi rank, information points, and all the necessary services so that tourists have a pleasant arrival to the city, as well as being connected with the Alfonso XII Quay by means of pedestrian and vehicle accesses, through the Marina commercial area.

The Alfonso XII Quay is undergoing a great change, that in a brief period of time, it has made it to become an important commercial, leisure and cultural reference of the city. Over an underground parking located next to the sea, which is dominated by the Charles III Wall and classified as a Cultural Interest Asset, includes a commercial building, areas of parks and gardens with catering establishments in the shape of stands that imitate those that occupied the port area during the 20 th century, and the new building of the Chamber of Commerce of Cartagena.

The setting will be completed with the new headquarters of the National Museum of Maritime Archaeology, designed by the Ministry of Culture, as well as the Auditorium and municipal Congress Centre.

Furthermore, we must add the construction of a berth for luxury yachts started recently, which will be located next to the future National Museum of Maritime Archaeology, and which is expected to be built by September 2004.

The CARTAGENA, PORT OF CULTURES Consortium, is made up of the autonomous region, the Town Hall of Cartagena, the Port Authority, the Business Owners Association of Cartagena, the Chamber of Commerce of Cartagena, and the University of Cartagena, and open to private companies, it is a project that intends to place Cartagena as one of the main tourist destination making the most of its heritage and cultural offer.

Its aim is to create a thematic space that at the same time offers a wide range of possibilities to make the valuable cultural offer of the city of Cartagena known. It intends to show the history and culture of the city, using the historical potential of Cartagena and its Port as well as interpretative resources.

This consortium is carrying out several projects aimed at making Cartagena an exceptional tourist destination, among which we may emphasize:

Interpretation Centre of Concepcion Castle.

Accesses to Concepcion Castle.

Interpretation Centre of Punic Rampart.

Lift-footbridge to Parque Torres (Concepcion Castle).

Interpretative signalling plan.

Tourist transport (boat and bus).

Thematic itineraries.

Director Plan of the Defensive Arquitecture.

Autobús Turístico

Fuerte de Navidad

Teatro Romano

Con el fin de promocionar Cartagena en el sector de cruceros, la ciudad portuaria se encuentra cada vez más involucrada para lograr este objetivo. En Mayo de 2008 se presentó un nuevo proyecto llamado ?Comercio Amigo de los Cruceros?. CAC es una iniciativa única, en el que sus establecimientos asociados se comprometen a permanecer abiertos durante la escala de un crucero, de más de 300 pasajeros, en el Puerto de Cartagena. Entre los participantes del mismo se encuentran la Cámara de Comercio de Cartagena, el Ayuntamiento de Cartagena, Centro Comercial Abierto y la Autoridad Portuaria.