The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) inaugurates the new Palma Port Centre, a space to bring the port closer to the public
The renovated facilities include an interpretation centre, educational spaces, an audiovisual room, an auditorium and a multifunctional hall that will be inaugurated with the exhibition Lighthouses. The light that guides us
Palma
01/06/2026- Port-city
The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) today inaugurated the new Palma Port Centre, a space designed to bring the reality of the Balearic Islands' ports of general interest closer to the public, their daily activity, their economic and social impact, as well as the future challenges related to sustainability, innovation and port-city integration. With its launch, the Palma Port Centre becomes the second Port Centre in Spain to join the international network of the International Association of Cities and Ports (AIVP), a leading global organisation promoting sustainable relationships between ports and cities.
Located in the port of Palma, the new facility is established as a meeting point, dialogue and dissemination centre open to residents, visitors, educational institutions and social groups. The project is in line with the APB's commitment to strengthen the relationship between the port and society, facilitating knowledge of an essential element of infrastructure for the connectivity and supply of the islands.
The Port Centre offers an immersive and educational experience that allows you to discover how the ports managed by the APB work, the services they provide, the trades that make their activity possible and the strategic role they play in the economic and social development of the Balearic Islands. It also highlights the sustainability policies, corporate social responsibility and environmental commitment promoted by the port authority.
The building is structured into different spaces designed to combine outreach, cultural activity and citizen participation. On the ground floor there is a large multifunctional hall, conceived as a versatile space capable of adapting to temporary exhibitions, receptions, presentations and public events.
The same floor houses an educational and mediation space aimed especially at schoolchildren and families, equipped with interactive resources to learn about the ports of the Balearic Islands, the lighthouses managed by the APB, the environmental challenges and the new technologies applied to port management. Learning experiences related to educational robotics stand out among the activities that can be conducted.
The Port Centre also has an audiovisual room designed as a small cinema space for the screening of documentaries, in-house productions, thematic series and content related to maritime and port activity.
On the first floor is the new institutional auditorium, with a capacity for 180 people, equipped with professional audiovisual technology and prepared to host conferences, technical seminars, presentations and institutional events.
The second floor houses the Port Centre interpretation centre, conceived as the knowledge hub. Through audiovisual resources, interactive elements, models, historical objects and immersive spaces, the tour explains how the port of Palma has evolved, the function of the five ports managed by the APB, civilian vessel and naval repair activity, passenger and freight traffic, the historical relationship of the islands with the sea and the work of the thousands of people who make up the port ecosystem.
The permanent exhibition also invites reflection on the main future challenges of the Balearic ports through participatory experiences that allow visitors to learn about the uniqueness of Palma, Alcúdia, Mahón, Ibiza and La Savina, as well as the sustainability, innovation and social return projects promoted by the APB.
The Port Centre now begins its activity as a facility open to all citizens. The building is open to visitors from Monday to Friday, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
"Women lighthouse keepers: the light that guides us"
Coinciding with the opening of the Port Centre, the multifunctional hall unveils the temporary exhibition Women lighthouse keepers: the light that guides us, a proposal curated by Cristina Rodríguez Paz that explores the world of lighthouses and recovers the memory of the women who lived in them and cared for them throughout history.
The exhibition focuses on the female perspective linked to these maritime signals. Through historiographical materials and contemporary works of art —illustration, collage, assemblage, oil painting and photography—, the exhibition establishes a dialogue between historical documentation and contemporary artistic creation.
The project features the stories of the six women who worked professionally as lighthouse keepers in Spain, as well as those of twenty others who succeeded in being appointed to the post and those of numerous pioneering women who took on the role replacing fathers or husbands. It also pays tribute to the many anonymous women who sustained daily life in lighthouses through caregiving, maintenance, and companionship.
With this first exhibition, the Port Centre begins a cultural programme aimed at generating new perspectives on the sea, maritime and port heritage, and the close relationship that has historically bonded Balearic society with its coastline.
