Port city in the context of Geelong

Piraeus (/paɪˈriːəs, pɪˈreɪəs/ py-REE-əs, pirr-AY-əs; Greek: Πειραιάς Peiraiás [pireˈas]; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Πειραιεύς Peiraieús, Ancient: [peːrai̯eús], Katharevousa: [pireˈefs]) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located eight kilometres (5 mi) southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Athens Riviera.

The municipality of Piraeus and four other suburban municipalities form the regional unit of Piraeus, sometimes called the Greater Piraeus area, with a total population of 448,051. At the 2021 census, Piraeus had a population of 168,151 people, making it the fourth largest municipality in Greece and the second largest (after the municipality of Athens) within the Athens urban area.

Constanța (UK: /kɒnˈstæntsə/, US: /kənˈstɑːn(t)sə/, Romanian: [konˈstantsa] ) is a city in the Dobruja historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's fourth largest city and principal port on the Black Sea coast. It is also the oldest continuously inhabited city in Romania, founded around 600 BC, and among the oldest in Europe.

As of the 2021 census, Constanța has a population of 263,688. The Constanța metropolitan area includes 14 localities within 30 km (19 mi) of the city. It is one of the largest metropolitan areas in Romania. Ethnic Romanians became a majority in the city in the early 20th century. The city still has small Tatar and Greek communities, which were substantial in previous centuries, as well as Turkish and Romani residents, among others. Constanța has a rich multicultural heritage, as, throughout history, it has been part of different cultures, including Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian, and Ottoman. Following the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Constanța became part of Romania, and the city, which at the time had a population of just over 5,000 inhabitants, grew significantly throughout the 20th century.

Poti (Georgian: ფოთი [pʰo̞t̪ʰi]; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis and deriving its name from the same, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also home to a main naval base and the headquarters of the Georgian Navy.

The maritime republics (Italian: repubbliche marinare), also called merchant republics (Italian: repubbliche mercantili), were Italian thalassocratic port cities which, starting from the Middle Ages, enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by their maritime activities. The term, coined during the 19th century, generally refers to four Italian cities, whose coats of arms have been shown since 1947 on the flags of the Italian Navy and the Italian Merchant Navy: Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. In addition to the four best known cities, Ancona, Gaeta, Noli, and, in Dalmatia, Ragusa, are also considered maritime republics; in certain historical periods, they had no secondary importance compared to some of the better known cities.

Uniformly scattered across the Italian peninsula, the maritime republics were important not only for the history of navigation and commerce: in addition to precious goods otherwise unobtainable in Europe, new artistic ideas and news concerning distant countries also spread. From the 10th century, they built fleets of ships both for their own protection and to support extensive trade networks across the Mediterranean, giving them an essential role in reestablishing contacts between Europe, Asia, and Africa, which had been interrupted during the early Middle Ages. They also had an essential role in the Crusades and produced renowned explorers and navigators such as Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus.

Tobruk (/təˈbrʊk, toʊˈbrʊk/ tə-BRUUK, toh-BRUUK; Arabic: طبرق, romanized: Ṭubruq; Italian: Tobruch) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.).

Tobruk was the site of an ancient Greek colony and, later, of a Roman fortress guarding the frontier of Cyrenaica. Over the centuries, Tobruk also served as a waystation along the coastal caravan route. By 1911, Tobruk had become an Italian military post.

Phasis (Ancient Greek: Φᾶσις; Georgian: ფაზისი, pazisi) was an ancient and early medieval city on the eastern Black Sea coast, founded in the 7th or 6th century BC as a colony of the Milesian Greeks at the mouth of the eponymous river in Colchis. Its location today could be the port city of Poti, Georgia. Its ancient bishopric became a Latin Catholic titular see of Metropolitan rank.

Hoorn (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦoːr(ə)n] ) is a city and municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the largest town and the traditional capital of the region of West Friesland. Hoorn is located on the Markermeer, 20 kilometers (12 mi) east of Alkmaar and 35 kilometers (22 mi) north of Amsterdam. The municipality has just over 75,000 inhabitants and a land area of 20.38 km (7.87 sq mi), making it the third most densely populated municipality in North Holland after Haarlem and Amsterdam. Apart from the city of Hoorn, the municipality includes the villages of Blokker and Zwaag, as well as parts of the hamlets De Bangert [nl], De Hulk and Munnickaij [nl].

Hoorn is well known in the Netherlands for its rich history. The town acquired city rights in 1357 and flourished during the Dutch Golden Age. In this period, Hoorn developed into a prosperous port city, being home to one of the six chambers of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Towards the end of the eighteenth century, however, it started to become increasingly more difficult for Hoorn to keep competing with nearby Amsterdam. Ultimately, it lost its function as port city and became a regional center of trade, mainly serving the smaller villages of West Friesland. Nowadays, Hoorn is a city with modern residential areas and a historic city center that, due to its proximity to Amsterdam, is sometimes considered to be part of the Randstad metropolitan area. Cape Horn and the Hoorn Islands were both named after this city.

Villa San Giovanni (Southern Calabrian: Villa San Giuanni) is a port city and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria of Calabria, Italy. In 2010 its population was 13,747 with a decrease of 2.5% until 2016 and in 2020 an increase of 3.7%. It is an important terminal for access to Sicily and is also known for being the location of several police films.

Antofagasta (Spanish pronunciation: [antofaˈɣasta] ) is a port city in northern Chile, about 1,100 kilometres (700 mi) north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669.

Once claimed by Bolivia following the Spanish American wars of independence, Antofagasta was captured by Chile on 14 February 1879, triggering the War of the Pacific (1879–83). Chilean sovereignty was officially recognised by Bolivia under the terms of the 1904 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

Haiphong or Hai Phong (Vietnamese: Hải Phòng, pronounced [hǎːj fɔ̀ŋ͡m] ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of 1,526.52 km (589.39 sq mi). The city includes Bạch Long Vĩ and Cát Hải islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. It has a population of 2,130,898 in 2023. The city's economy has strength in manufacturing, as evidenced by large industrial parks and numerous smaller traditional handicraft villages. Historically, Haiphong was the first place in Vietnam and Mainland Southeast Asia to get electricity.

In the imperial era of Đại Việt, the Bạch Đằng River in Haiphong was a place of many legendary victories, led by now-legendary commanders Ngô Quyền and Trần Hưng Đạo. In the 16th century, Mạc dynasty promoted the coastal settlement as a secondary capital, growing to become an important port town of Đàng Ngoài. After the French conquest of Vietnam, in 1888, the president of the French Third Republic, Sadi Carnot, promulgated a decree to establish Haiphong as one of the principal cities of French Indochina. From 1954 to 1975, Haiphong served as the most important maritime city of North Vietnam. It was one of the directly controlled municipalities of a reunified Vietnam with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 1976.

The Río de la Plata (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ðe la ˈplata] ; lit. 'River of Silver'), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and forms a funnel-shaped indentation on the southeastern coastline of South America. Depending on the geographer, the Río de la Plata may be considered a river, an estuary, a gulf, or a marginal sea. If considered a river, it is the widest in the world, with a maximum width of 220 kilometres (140 mi).

The river is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and widens from about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) at its source to about 220 kilometres (140 mi) at its mouth. It forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay. The name Río de la Plata is also used to refer to the populations along the estuary, especially the main port cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, where Rioplatense Spanish is spoken and tango culture developed. The coasts of the river are the most densely populated areas of Uruguay and Argentina.

Bata (Spanish: [ˈbata] ) is a port city in the Litoral province of Equatorial Guinea. With a 2005 estimated population of 173,046, it is the most populous city in Equatorial Guinea. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Río Muni. Bata was formerly capital of Equatorial Guinea and is a transport hub and port, from which ferries sail to Malabo and Douala, while aircraft can land at Bata Airport. Bata is also known for its nightlife and market.

Dalian (/dɑːˈljɛn/ dah-LYEN) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang and Harbin). Located on the southern tip of the Liaodong peninsula, it is the southernmost city in both Liaoning and the entire Northeast. Dalian borders the prefectural cities of Yingkou and Anshan to the north and Dandong to the northeast, and also shares maritime boundaries with Qinhuangdao and Huludao across the Liaodong Bay to the west and northwest, Yantai and Weihai on the Shandong peninsula across the Bohai Strait to the south, and North Korea across the Korea Bay to the east.

As of the 2020 census, its total population was 7,450,785 inhabitants of whom 5,106,719 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 6 out of 7 urban districts, Pulandian District not being conurbated yet.

Hairatan (Dari and Pashto: حیرتان; Uzbek and Tajik: Ҳайратон / Hayraton) is a port city along the Amu Darya in the northern Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It serves as the capital of Kaldar District and is about 60 km (37 mi) north of Mazar-i-Sharif. The port and border checkpoint are located in the eastern section of the city. The Amu River forms the border with neighboring Uzbekistan, and the two nations are connected by the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge. The city of Termez in Uzbekistan is a short distance away to the northwest of Hairatan, on the other side of the Amu River.

Hairatan is one of the major transporting, shipping and receiving locations in Afghanistan. It is also an official border crossing between the people of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Security in and around the town is provided by the Afghan National Security Forces. All foreign travelers must possess a valid travel visa to enter Afghanistan. Citizens of Afghanistan could stay visa-free for up to 2 weeks in the Airitom Free Zone of Termez.

Murmansk (Russian: Мурманск) is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Kola Bay, an estuarine inlet of the Barents Sea, with its bulk on the east bank of the inlet. The city is a major port of the Arctic Ocean and is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the border with Norway, 180 kilometres (110 mi) from the border with Finland and 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) from Moscow.

Being a non-freezing port due to the warm North Atlantic Current, Murmansk resembles cities of its size across western Russia, with highway and railway access to the rest of Europe, and the northernmost trolleybus system on Earth. Its connectivity contrasts with the isolation of Arctic ports like the Siberian Dikson on the shores of the Kara Sea, and Iqaluit, in the Canadian Arctic. Despite long, snowy winters, Murmansk's climate is moderated by the generally ice-free waters around it.

Mecca Province (Arabic: مِنْطَقَة مَكَّة, romanized: Minṭaqat Makka, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈmin.tˤa.qat ˈmak.ka]), officially Makkah Province, is one of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the third-largest province by area at 153,128 km (59,123 sq mi) and the second most populous with 7,769,994 inhabitants as of 2022. It is located in the historic Hejaz region, and has an extended coastline on the Red Sea. Its capital is Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, and its largest city is Jeddah, which is Saudi Arabia's main port city. The province accounts for 26.29% of the population of Saudi Arabia and is named after the Islamic holy city of Mecca.

Historically, the area was inhabited by the Quraysh, the Banu Kinanah and the Thaqif, among other tribes. Part of the Hejaz region, the province has seen several exchanges of power between many Islamic realms within a short period of time. The province gains its significance as it contains the city of Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, and several other historic Islamic sites, such as the village of Hudaybiyyah, where the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is said to have been agreed upon. More recently, the province was modernized under the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after the oil boom.Most of the population is concentrated in three cities: Jeddah, Mecca and Taif. Jeddah is the largest city in the province and the second-largest in Saudi Arabia with an estimated population of 2,867,446 as of 2020. Mecca is the second-largest city in the province and third-largest in the kingdom at 1,323,624. After the city of Ta'if at third place, Rabigh, Shafa, Turbah and Jumum are other populous cities and towns in the region. The region receives Muslim pilgrims of the Umrah and the Hajj around the year and its population increases by up to 2 million during the Hajj. It has approximately 700 kilometres (430 mi) of coastline on the Red Sea and hosts oil refineries in Rabigh, port and oil export facilities in Jeddah, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the King Abdullah Economic City. The province also hosts part of the Haramain High Speed Railway line, which is Saudi Arabia's first and only high-speed railway line.