Why go

Santa Maria del Mar is the church Barcelona loves most. It was built in just over 50 years in the 14th century, astonishingly fast for the time, by and for the sailors, merchants and porters of the Ribera waterfront. The porters carried the stone down from the royal quarry on Montjuïc on their backs, and you can still see them carved on the main doors. The result is the finest example of Catalan Gothic: plain outside, and inside a single soaring space with slender octagonal columns set wide apart, so the church feels light and almost weightless.

Around it lies El Born, the old merchant district, now one of the most enjoyable parts of the city to wander, with medieval streets, small squares, independent shops and some of the best bars in Barcelona.

What to see

  • The nave. Stand at the back and take in the space: three aisles of almost equal height and columns 13 metres apart, lit by the great rose window.
  • The rooftops and towers. The cultural visit climbs to the roof terraces, 35 metres up, for views over El Born and the Gothic Quarter.
  • The crypt and galleries. Below and above the nave, with a small museum space in the galleries.
  • Passeig del Born. The long square beside the church, once the scene of jousts and markets, now lined with terraces.
  • El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria. The iron market hall at the end of the passeig, with the excavated streets of 1714 Barcelona under glass.
  • Carrer de Montcada. A street of medieval palaces, home to the Picasso Museum.

Plan your visit

Tickets. Entry to the church is free outside cultural visit hours. The cultural visit costs €8 and covers the interior, the gallery museum, the crypt, the towers and the roof terraces. You can buy tickets online or at the visitor point inside. Guided tours run from Thursday to Sunday in Catalan, Spanish and English and are priced separately.

Opening hours. The basilica is open every day from 10am to 8.30pm. The cultural visit runs Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 1pm to 6pm, with last admission at 5.30pm. Masses and other services can change access, so check the calendar if you are planning around a specific time.

Getting there. Jaume I station on metro line L4 is about five minutes’ walk away, through the lanes of El Born. Barceloneta, also on L4, is about eight minutes.

Good to know. The route to the towers and rooftops is all stairs and is closed to children under 8; only the ground floor of the church is accessible. Allow 45 minutes to an hour for the basilica, then spend the rest of the afternoon in El Born. Keep your voice low in the church, which is still a busy parish. In the evening, the bars around the basilica and on Passeig del Born are some of the liveliest in the old town, and Plaça del Fossar de les Moreres, beside the church, marks the graves of the defenders of the 1714 siege.