A guide to Europe´s seaport cities and cultures From the dawn of history, international culture and trade have developed and spread through ports. A port gathers extremes of human fauna. Naval commanders, businessmen, harbour masters, shipping agents, seafarers, dockers, travellers, emigrants, pub owners, singers and prostitutes turn the dockland and the adjoining city into a most singular biotope, which is often marked by pharaonic infrastructures and monumental industrial architecture as well. The aim of this guide is to promote - and compare - leading port cities in Europe from a wide cultural and historical perspective. The selected cities are internationally renowned as world ports and may be said to symbolize port culture. Whilst they are still highly competitive port and commercial metropolises today, they are also decisively attractive for non-professional visitors. The Ports Portable is an insight guide on the specific and multifaceted seaport-related features of these cities, covering history, the arts and economy and not omitting to provide a mass of practical information on port museums, places of interest, hotels, restaurants, pubs etc. The first volume on Antwerp, Hamburg and Rotterdam focuses on the three mainports of North West Europe. All three are misjudged as being just dirty port towns, while in reality they have many world-class highlights to offer. The Ports Portable brings these three ports - the very largest in Europe - and their cities back to the rank they deserve. The authors are professional port specialists. Eric Van Hooydonk (1965) is professor of maritime law at the University of Antwerp, chairs the European Institute of Maritime and Transport Law and leads a law office specializing in sea ports law. Patrick Verhoeven (1969) is secretary-general of the European Sea Ports Organisation in Brussels, which represents the common interests of more than 800 seaports with the European Union. Other volumes of the Ports Portable in preparation include GENOA - MARSEILLES - BARCELONA, DUBLIN - LIVERPOOL - LONDON, ISTANBUL - PIREAUS - TRIESTE, BILBAO - BORDEAUX - LISBON, GDANSK - GÖTEBORG - TALLINN
