Why go

The Sagrada Família is the building most people come to Barcelona to see, and it lives up to the queue. Antoni Gaudí took over the project in 1883 and worked on it for more than 40 years, the last of them almost exclusively. He knew he would not see it finished, and it still is not: cranes rise beside the towers, and the basilica is paid for by visitors’ tickets and donations. That makes a visit feel less like touring a monument and more like walking through a building site that happens to be one of the great churches of the world.

Outside, the two finished façades could hardly be more different. The Nativity façade, built in Gaudí’s lifetime, is dense with carved figures, plants and animals. The Passion façade on the opposite side is stark and angular, the work of the sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs. Inside, Gaudí’s tree-like columns branch towards a ceiling of star-shaped vaults, and coloured glass fills the nave with light that changes through the day.

What to see

  • The nave. Stand in the centre and look up. The columns split like branches and the vaults open like a forest canopy. The windows on the east side run through blues and greens; those on the west through reds and oranges, at their best in the late afternoon.
  • The Nativity façade. The oldest part, facing Carrer de la Marina, carved with the story of Christ’s birth. Look for turtles at the base of the columns and the cypress tree near the top.
  • The Passion façade. Subirachs’ angular figures tell the story of the crucifixion. It faces the afternoon sun.
  • The towers. A tower ticket takes you up by lift for close views of the pinnacles and over the Eixample grid. You come down a narrow spiral staircase.
  • The museum and school. Below the basilica, Gaudí’s plaster models and drawings explain how he designed with geometry. Beside it stands the small Sagrada Família Schools building, with its wavy roof.

Plan your visit

Tickets. Tickets are sold online only, for a timed entry slot. The basic ticket with the audioguide app costs €26, or €24 for under 30s and students and €21 for seniors. A guided tour adds €4, and the towers add €10 (€36 in total, or €40 with a guide). Under 11s go free but still need a ticket. Book days ahead in any season, and further ahead for the towers.

Opening hours. From November to February the basilica opens Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10.30am to 6pm. Hours run later from March, up to 8pm on weekdays from April to September. Over Christmas it closes at 2pm on 25 and 26 December and on 1 and 6 January. Services and special events can change the times at short notice.

Getting there. Sagrada Família metro station, on lines L2 and L5, comes up beside the basilica, and buses 19, 33, 34, D50, H10 and B24 stop nearby. Individual visitors enter on the Nativity side, on Carrer de la Marina.

Good to know. Allow an hour and a half, or two hours with a tower. Cover shoulders and knees, leave large bags behind and keep voices low, as Mass is celebrated here. Late November and December bring the Fira de Nadal Christmas market to Plaça de la Sagrada Família, which makes a good stop before or after your slot. For the best photo of the Nativity façade, walk across to the pond in Plaça de Gaudí.