Which tower to visit sagrada familia: Sagrada Familia Tips | Barcelona Experience

Sagrada Familia Tips | Barcelona Experience

A few weeks ago we did a tour of the city with a family from Long Beach, California.

They were an enthusiastic bunch, but nothing could prepare them for the moment they saw Antoni Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia for the first time.

The dad said, “Guys, look!”

His wife and the kids in the back seat gasped, oohed and ahhhed as we drove up to the magnificent church.

Becoming A Sagrada Familia Insider

Their response was amazing and definitely fitting for the moment. Once you come to Barcelona and see Sagrada Familia for the first time, you’ll probably feel the same sense of wonder our clients did.

But did you know that the key to enjoying Gaudi’s masterpiece starts before you even come to the city? It’s true, and that’s why we’ve created this list of Sagrada Familia tips to help you know how to have the absolute best experience possible while visiting Barcelona’s most iconic building.

Sagrada Familia Tips #1: Buy You Tickets Online

You probably don’t know this yet, but you soon will. The lines to buy tickets for La Sagrada Familia are long — like, Disneyland long. You could wait for hours, which is something you definitely don’t want to do in the middle of August in Barcelona. It’s hot, it’s sticky and it’s downright miserable.

Avoid the lines and the heat by purchasing your tickets through Sagrada Familia’s official website. The site gives you three different options: a guided tour, an audio tour and a do-it-yourself tour:

By clicking on the “+” located next to the price of each tour, you can expand the tour and add the option of visiting the towers:

Sagrada Familia Tips #2: To Tower or Not To Tower?

A lot of people wonder whether or not they should visit the towers of Sagrada Familia. And you should wonder, for two very specific reasons: 1. If you’re afraid of heights, you may freak out once you get to the catwalk connecting the towers, and, 2. The walk down from the towers can be a claustrophobic experience.

As you can see, the view from the towers is not for the faint of heart. There’s a lot of exposure and plenty of opportunity to, simply put, freak out.

But if you don’t mind heights, it’s a thrilling experience. The views from the towers are amazing.

There’s no elevator on the way down from the towers, so you’ll have to descend a very long, very narrow series of corkscrew stairs. If you don’t like being confined to small spaces, this may not be the best thing for you.

When you buy your tickets, you’ll have the opportunity to choose between the Passion Towers and the Nativity Towers. The Passion Towers give you a better view of the ocean. The Nativity Towers give you better views of the mountain range behind Barcelona.

Visiting the Sagrada Familia is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so take full advantage of it by going to the towers and taking a guided tour.

Sagrada Familia Tips #3: Know Your Entrance

Since you’re buying your tickets online, you can enter the Sagrada Familia through an entrance on the Nativity Facade, the side of the church which is facing the park with the pond. Your entrance will be the gate that has the black umbrellas — these entrances are reserved for people with online tickets.

Sagrada Familia Tips #4: Get There On Time!

Now that you know how to buy your tickets, what kind of tickets to buy and which entrance you should use, we’re going to give you the most important tip of all: Be on time!

Your tickets are time sensitive, meaning if you arrive more than 15 minutes earlier you have to wait until our ticket time. If you arrive more than 15 minutes after your entrance time, you won’t get it. That’s right — you’ll be totally out of luck.

You can’t switch your date/time for another date/time. You have to go when you’re ticket tells you to, so be wise about what time you select for your Sagrada Familia experience.

Sounds intimidating, we know. But you’ll be fine as long as you make a point of getting there about 30 minutes before your ticketed time so that you can find the right entrance and get a sense of the scope and size of Gaudi’s church.

Sagrada Familia Tips #5: How to Get There

Among the amazing things that this church has to offer — history, beauty, legendary status among the world’s architectural masterpieces — is the ease with which you can access it.

Both the L5 (blue) and L2 (purple) metro lines have a stops across the street from Sagrada Familia. This is one of the things we love about the accessibility of Sagrada — as soon as you emerge from the metro station, you’ll see Sagrada Familia standing before you in all her glory.

Tower photo credit: ramon.caseras, Flickr Creative Commons

Stairs photo credit: Sander Wapstra, Flick Creative Commons

Passion Facade photo credit: Jocelyn Kinghorn, Flickr Creative Commons

Passion facade or Nativity facade – better tower at Sagrada Familia?

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Five million people visit Sagrada Familia in Barcelona every year.

Such huge numbers make it the second most visited tourist attraction after the Great Wall of China, which gets 10 million visitors annually.

Some visitors only explore the Basilica, while others go up one of the Towers to see the facades.

If you want to go up the Sagrada Familia Towers, you must purchase the Tower tickets, which cost €47 per person.

Since two of the Sagrada Familia Towers – the Nativity Towers and the Passion Towers – are ready, visitors can explore them.

This is why, before buying their Sagrada Familia tickets, tourists wonder which Sagrada Familia tower tickets they should buy – Passion facade or Nativity facade?

The better option would be to see both the Nativity facade and Passion facade, but that is usually not possible because of –

1. Limited time the tourists have

2. The need to buy two tickets to go up both the towers

3. No connecting bridge between the two towers

At the end of this article, you will get your answer to the question – Passion facade or Nativity facade.

Update: Till early 2019, it was possible to choose if you wanted to go up the Passion Tower or the Nativity Tower, but not anymore. Now visitors can book a self-guided Sagrada Familia + Tower ticket or a guided Sagrada Familia + Tower but can’t select their Tower. Depending on the availability, the officials will usher you toward one of the towers on the day of your visit.

Towers at Sagrada Familia
Facades at Sagrada Familia
- Nativity Facade
- Passion Facade
- Glory Facade
Before buying Tower tickets
Are Sagrada Familia towers worth it?
Passion facade or Nativity facade – which is better?
Tower tickets FAQs
Sagrada Familia tickets with NO Tower access

Towers at Sagrada Familia

When fully built, this Basilica will have 18 towers, but only eight are complete today.

These Towers are of varying heights, their height reflecting the hierarchy of the biblical figure they represent.

This infographic explains the 18 Towers of Sagrada Familia, the Biblical figure they represent, and their respective location within the Basilica.

Download Print Version

In the middle of Sagrada Familia is the tallest tower dedicated to Jesus Christ.

Four towers stand tall around this central tower, representing the four Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

These Evangelists wrote the four official Gospels, which are considered the Word of God, and that’s why they are closest to Jesus.

For the uninitiated, ‘Gospels’ are books containing the life and teachings of Jesus.

At the end of the Basilica is its apse, and a colossal tower representing the Virgin Mary rests on top.

Virgin Mary’s tower should have been the second tallest after Jesus, but since Gaudi was a catholic, he designed it a bit shorter than the Evangelists.

The star on top identifies the Virgin Mary’s tower.

Besides these six towers, there are 12 more, representing the 12 Apostles, the primary disciples of Jesus.

These 12 Sagrada Familia Towers representing the Apostles form the three facades of the Basilica.

Facades at Sagrada Familia

There are three facades in Sagrada Familia Cathedral – the Nativity Facade, the Passion Facade, and the Glory Facade.

Only eight of the 18 planned Sagrada Familia towers are fully constructed.

Of these eight complete towers, four are part of the Nativity facade, and four are part of the Passion facade.

A facade is a view that a few towers combine and create for the viewer.

Nativity Facade

Image: Barcelonacheckin.com

The four Eastern towers in the front of Sagrada Família make up the Nativity Facade.

These towers represent the four Apostles, Matthew, Barnabas, Jude, and Simon.

The Nativity facade view represents the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ.

Scenes from stories starting from the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary to the growth of Jesus decorate the Nativity facade.

This facade faces North-East, a symbolism where the rising Sun depicts the birth of Jesus Christ.

The Nativity facade was completed under the supervision of Gaudi himself in 1935.

Passion Facade

Image: Bluffton.edu

Sagrada Familia’s four towers facing West make up the Passion Facade.

These towers represent the four Apostles, James, Thomas, Philip, and Bartholomew, making up the Passion Facade view.

Work on the Passion Facade started in 1954 and ended in 2018.

While the Nativity facade is beautiful with all the decorations, the Passion facade is austere, plain, and simple.

Sculptures of Passion facade are carved from bare stones, using solid straight lines to form angular and rigid shapes.

Gaudi chose this decoration style for the Passion Facade because he wanted it to be the exact opposite of the Nativity Facade.

He wanted the Passion Facade to depict misery and death, while the Nativity facade showcased life.

Gaudi wanted Passion Facade to show the brutality of Jesus Christ’s death.

Glory Facade

The rest of the four towers in the South make up the Glory facade.

The Glory facade towers represent Andrew, Peter, Paul, and James, the Greater.

This facade is dedicated to the Glory of Jesus and hence the name.

It represents the road to God: Death, Final Judgment, and Glory.

The facade’s construction began in 2002, and once completed, these will be the tallest of all Sagrada Familia towers.

Image: Barcelonacheckin.com

Only the foundations for the enormous Towers are in place at the Glory Facade. The decorations are yet to start.

Visual Story: 12 must-know tips before visiting Sagrada Familia

Before buying Tower tickets

Here are a few things you must know before booking Sagrada Familia tower tickets –

1. When you buy the Tower tickets online, you don’t pay what is known as ‘Ticketing window surcharge’ – the cost of maintaining a ticketing window at the venue. Thus, online tickets are cheaper.

2. All the online tickets help you skip the notoriously long lines at Sagrada Familia ticket counters.

3. You don’t need to take printouts of these tickets. On the day of your visit, show your ticket in your email and walk in at the entrance.

4. Children younger than six years are not allowed to go up the Nativity or Passion Towers. They can, however, explore the rest of the attraction with you.

5. During the peak season, while buying the Tower ticket, it is impossible to choose the Tower you will visit. Depending on the availability, you will get a chance to go up either the Nativity or the Passion Tower.

But having said that, the Sagrada Familia Tower experience is not something to be missed just because you didn’t get to choose.

So what is it going to be?

Ticket/tour	Cost
Sagrada Familia fast track tickets	€34
Sagrada Familia with Tower access	€47
Guided tour of Sagrada Familia	€50
Sagrada Familia guided tour + Tower access	€62
Guided tour of Sagrada Familia & Park Guell	€82
Guided tour of Sagrada & Montserrat	€99
Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia in French	€48
Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia in Italian	€48
Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia in German	€48
Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia in Spanish	€48

Are Sagrada Familia towers worth it?

Not all tourists who visit Sagrada Familia go up the towers.

They cite a lack of time and money (yes, you need to pay extra to go up the Sagrada Familia Towers).

If you aren’t in a hurry and not on a budget, we highly recommend going up the tower – it is totally worth it.

While the interior of Sagrada Familia is impressive, the exterior, when viewed from one of the towers, is equally beautiful.

The view from below doesn’t show you the intricate work on the facades of this masterpiece by Antoni Gaudi.

Besides checking out the facades and other towers, you can also catch amazing views of the city of Barcelona from the top.

When you go up one of the Sagrada Familia towers, you can also view the construction process of such a massive monument.

Convinced? Go ahead and book a self-guided Sagrada Familia + Tower ticket or a guided tour of Sagrada Familia with Tower visit.

Still not sure? Follow the link to find out the seven reasons why we think Sagrada Familia towers are worth a visit.

Bonus: Check out 23 interesting facts about Sagrada Familia

Passion facade or Nativity facade – which is better?

Image: Justfunfacts. com

The majority of the visitors to Sagrada Familia seem to think that the Nativity facade is better than the Passion facade.

The guides who take the tourists to both the towers say they have seen a better sense of satisfaction in tourists who go up the Nativity facade.

Here are our reasons for why we think the Nativity facade is better.

1. Antoni Gaudi built the Nativity facade himself. It makes more sense to see the towers built by the real architect of Sagrada Familia.

2. A bridge connects two towers of the Nativity facade. Once you take the elevator and go up the Nativity facade, you can walk on the bridge for incredible views. The Passion facade has no such bridge.

3. Standing on this bridge of the Nativity facade, you can view numerous details of the towers from close.

4. On your way down the Nativity facade, you can get into the balconies to better view the details of the towers.

5. From Nativity Tower, you see the city and the mountain range behind Barcelona, and from Passion Tower, you view the ocean. It is better to get a bird’s eye view of Barcelona.

6. The Nativity facade works better if you visit in the afternoon. After 12 pm, the Sun is at your back, making it easy to snap excellent photos of your family, friends, and the Basilica.

Whichever Tower you opt for, check out the best time to visit Sagrada Familia.

Tower tickets FAQs

Tourists planning to buy a Sagrada Familia ticket have a lot of questions.

We try and answer them here –

Can I purchase Sagrada Familia Towers tickets online?
Visitors can buy Sagrada Familia’s Tower tickets online.

You can book Sagrada Familia entry with a self-guided tour of the Tower or opt for a guided tour of the Tower, which is costlier.
Do I need advance tickets for Sagrada Familia Towers?
Even though it is not a must, we recommend you buy Sagrada Familia Tower tickets before visiting the attraction.

If you already have the tickets when you reach Sagrada Familia, you can avoid standing in the long lines at the ticketing counter.
If I have the basic Sagrada Familia ticket, can I upgrade to the Towers ticket?
Yes, once you reach the attraction, you can upgrade your regular ticket and add a Tower visit to it.

However, they will be subject to availability at that time.
Can I buy same-day Sagrada Familia Tower tickets?
You can purchase same-day Sagrada Familia tickets either online or from the Sagrada Familia’s ticket office.

During peak hours, you may have to wait at the ticket counter for more than an hour, which you can avoid if you buy the tickets online.

Besides, there is a surcharge on tickets purchased at the ticket office.
With a Sagrada Familia ticket purchased online, can I enter the attraction straight away?
Yes, you can show the ticket you received in your email (after the purchase) and walk-in.

You DO NOT need to take any printouts or show the ticket in your email and get a physical one.
Can kids go up Sagrada Familia towers?
As a safety measure, only children over six years can go up the Sagrada Familia Towers.

And kids under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
How do I get the Sagrada Familia Towers ticket if they are sold out?
A limited number of self-guided Tower tickets get sold every day.

If they get sold out, your next best option is to book a guided tour of the Towers.
Should I buy the regular tickets or Tower tickets at Sagrada Familia?
Ninety percent of the visitors to Sagrada Familia opt for the Fast Track ticket, which doesn’t get you access to the Towers.

If you qualify for any of the conditions below, you must buy the Sagrada Familia Tower ticket –

1. You love Antonio Gaudi’s work
2. You want to explore Sagrada Familia better
3. You have time on your hands
4. Money isn’t a concern (Tower tickets are costlier!)
5. You are NOT traveling with kids younger than ten years
If I buy an online Tower ticket, which Sagrada Familia entrance should I use?
If you have booked a self-guided Tower ticket, enter Sagrada Familia from the Marina side and show your smartphone ticket at the entrance.

If you have booked a guided tour of the Sagrada Familia Tower from us, show your smartphone ticket to your guide at the Quiosc Bar at Plaza de Gaudí across the street from Sagrada Familia.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of your tour.
With one Sagrada Familia Tower ticket, how many Towers can I see?
With one Sagrada Familia Tower ticket, you can only go up one of the Towers.

Until recently, you could decide which Tower you want to go up on – Nativity or Passion – but this has changed since the beginning of 2019.

Now when Tower ticket holders walk in, you will be ushered in the direction of one of the Basilica’s Towers.
Can I go from one Sagrada Familia Tower to the other?
No, you can’t because the Nativity Tower and the Passion Tower are not connected.

If you plan to see both the Towers, you must buy two Tower tickets.

Sagrada Familia tickets with NO Tower access

Not everybody wants to go up the Sagrada Familia’s Nativity or Passion Towers.

Those that only explore the Cathedral and don’t go up the Towers usually fall under one of these three categories –

1. They are traveling with kids younger than six years, who aren’t allowed to go up the Towers

2. They don’t fancy themselves walking down the 400 steps

3. They have something planned later and don’t have 45 to 60 minutes to spare for the Towers

Such visitors buy the Fast Track tickets, which saves them both time (they don’t need to wait in lines) and money (it is the cheapest ticket).

You ticket comes with the audio guide, which you can collect at the entrance.

Ticket prices

Adult ticket (30 to 64 years): €34
Youth ticket (11 to 29 years): €31
Student ticket (with valid ID): €31
Seniors ticket (65+ years): €27
Child ticket (0 to 10 years): Free entry

Buy This Ticket

Sources

# Sagradafamilia.barcelona-tickets.com
# Barcelona.com
# Tripadvisor.com

The travel specialists at TheBetterVacation.com use only high-quality sources while researching & writing their articles. We make every attempt to keep our content current, reliable and trustworthy.

Popular attractions in Barcelona

# Sagrada Familia
# Park Guell
# Casa Batllo
# Casa Mila
# Camp Nou
# Barcelona Zoo
# Montserrat Monastery
# Barcelona Cable Car
# Joan Miro Foundation
# Salvador Dali Museum
# Barcelona Aquarium
# Moco Museum
# Gaudi House Museum

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Sagrada Familia – different towers, different functions

The World of Antoni Gaudí
·
May 16, 2020

In this article we will talk about such an important and “noticeable” element of the architecture of the Sagrada Familia as a tower. More precisely, the towers – after all, almost two dozen of them are conceived!

As a rule, when talking about Sagrada Familia in Barcelona,  mention that the famous Temple of St.
Families, as planned Antonio Gaudí , will have eighteen
towers.

8 facade towers (four each for the Nativity Facade and the Passion Facade) have already been built, 4 are still to come – and since last year, the construction of 6 central, highest towers has been underway at an accelerated pace,
dedicated to Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Evangelists. However, as you can already see, the central towers look completely different from the towers of the facades.

This is what the facade towers look like. In particular, in the photo – the four towers of the facade of the Nativity, the only ones of all that sat down during their lifetime (though not quite completed)
see Gaudi.

And here are the four towers of the Passion façade. Despite the difference in age – the facade of the Nativity is much older, therefore the stone from which it is built has darkened to a greater extent – despite some
stylistic differences, we see that the design of the towers of the two facades of the temple that are ready at the moment is completely identical.

The four towers of the Glory facade, whose construction has not yet begun, will look exactly the same. And now let’s compare them with one of the central towers, the height of which by the end of 2018 exceeded 100 m
– with the tower of the Virgin Mary:

As you can see, the design is completely different, and this fully applies to all 6 central towers of the Sagrada Familia. An attentive tourist will definitely pay attention to this.
attention and ask yourself – why? What is the reason for such a drastic difference?

Sagrada Familia – purpose of towers

The answer is really simple – the towers of the facades and the central towers perform different functions – and it is their functionality in this case that dictates a different design. When we
we are talking about the twelve towers of the facades dedicated to the twelve Apostles – we mean the bell towers.

They will house bells (in some places they have already been installed), and hence their very characteristic appearance – stone elements that have a downward slope:

Sagrada Familia. Symbolism and purpose of individual elements

These elements are called “abat-sons” (French) and were already used in medieval temples. In the open places of the bell towers, similar elements were installed, made of
trees, and tilted exactly down – so that the sound of the bells is focused on the ground – where we, the people, are.

In the Sagrada Familia, these stone elements and in quantity, of course, many times exceed those that were installed in the temples of past centuries.

EXCURSION “ANTONIO GAUDI”

And in terms of the number of bell towers, the Sagrada Familia is unparalleled. Remember – even large temples, cathedrals, as a rule, have one, maximum two bell towers – and in Sagrada Familia
there are twelve of them – four for each of the three facades! But this is not one of the many temples – but unique and unique.

As for the six central, highest towers, they are designed to perform the function of a symborio. Simborio (Spanish)
cimborrio – “cup”) – dome drum, light lantern, crowning
dome.

Simborio is placed on the crossroads – the place of the temple where the central nave intersects with the transept, and, accordingly, the place itself turns out to be the most distant from the windows placed on the facades and,
hence the darkest. For the purpose of additional illumination of this space, a light lantern is installed above the crossroads.

Usually there is one light lantern in the temple. In the Sagrada Familia, as we understand, there will be a whole lot of such symborios, or lanterns.
six – and, huge. That is why this amazing temple will become the brightest in the world!

Sagrada Familia – building history

Related articles:

Saint Antonio Gaudí

Sagrada Familia today – according to the project
Gaudí

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona – the most
rainy day. ..

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona – masons like
in the good old days

In “Antoni Gaudí”

In the section “All excursions”

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Sagrada Familia towers

Author Admin Reading 13 min Views 74 Published 06/02/2019
Updated 03/03/2020

Contents

Tours to Barcelona
Tickets online and skip the line
Observation deck of the cathedral
Interesting facts
THE CATHEDRAL IN THE CITY CENTER WAS DESIGNED BY THE REPRESENTED SPANISH ARCHITECT ANTONI GAUDI , THE MOST FAMOUS ARCHITECT AND RESIDENT OF BARCELONA.
How does it work?
Important information:
Opening hours:
Ticket prices for the Sagrada Familia in 2019
Sagrada Familia highlights
Why is the temple still not completed?
History
Where to stay in Barcelona

Barcelona Tours

20 unusual excursions around St. Petersburg

Blablacar: find a ride and fellow travelers

Map of entrance yards of Petrogradka

Louvre Paris: Let’s go to the museum!

Museum-Reserve Tsaritsyno

Excursions to Italian cheese dairies

Uffizi Gallery

Prado Museum

Pompeii and Vesuvius: how to get from Naples and Rome

How to apply for a Schengen visa yourself

Vatican Museums: how to see on your own

How to rent a car in Europe

Hermitage: Let’s go to the museum!

All about insurance Green card

How to buy cheap flights

Where to stay in Prague

Tickets online and skip the line

The Sagrada Familia is the #1 attraction in Barcelona. Guess where all the tourists go, even before they’ve had paella? That’s right, take the queue at the cash desk of the Sagrada Familia. Where they stand in the summer in the heat of +45 for several hours.

Therefore, if there is nothing to do, you can join them. If you still want to spend your time in Barcelona on other entertainment, buy online tickets in advance!

Please note that during high season tickets sell out very quickly and well in advance of the visit. We recommend buying tickets to the Sagrada Familia immediately after the tickets to Barcelona.

You can buy online tickets in several places:

on the official website sagradafamilia.org

Choose the type of ticket – we need everything, including the tower, right? Then, in the calendar, indicate the date and, most importantly, the time for which you are signing up. You specify two times – for entering the temple and for climbing the tower. It is not necessary to print the ticket, it will be enough to present it on the phone screen.

If there are no tickets for the desired date or it is very difficult to understand, you can do it through official agents (websites in Russian):

Entrance tickets with audio guide without access to the towers
Entrance tickets with audio guide and access to the towers

You can buy in advance not only tickets to the Sagrada Familia, but also to other top places in Barcelona: Montjuic cable car, Barcelona Aquarium, Tibidabo amusement park.

Cathedral Observation Deck

I think from the photo you can already understand what awaits a tourist inside the Sagrada Familia. However, that’s not all. As I wrote above, the temple has two viewing platforms (towers) that can be reached by elevator. Moreover, when buying a ticket, you can choose which tower to climb. As I understand it, there is not much difference, and the views from them are about the same. To be honest, I no longer remember which tower I chose to visit. As soon as you climb the tower, you will need to go a little more up the stairs and you will find yourself on the observation deck, from which, I repeat, in my opinion, the best view of Barcelona.

View from the lookout

There is a small square below. Around the typical houses of Barcelona. I liked the observation deck because it is not too high and everything does not look tiny, as if you were photographing Barcelona from Park Güell or from Mount Tibidabo, an article about which you can also read on my blog.

me against the backdrop of Barcelona

You can easily think about life, be happy for yourself, how great it is that you can admire the view of the city, and then make a couple more takes of the same picture, so that later from the same frames it will be choice when uploading photos to Photoshop.

my favorite activity

Restoration work going on outside

Pay attention to the very interesting tops of the spiers of the Sagrada Familia, one of which is strawberry, and the second pistachio

“Edible” tops of the spires

just a beautiful photo ))

On this day we were not very lucky with the weather, I think on a sunny day the pictures would have turned out better, but at least there was no rain.

After descending from the tower, we again found ourselves in the Sagrada Familia. We decided to wander around the temple a little more. He certainly deserves it.

Mysterious Sagrada Familia

By the way, I had to go down from the observation deck on foot, the elevator serves only to lift tourists up! Here is such a not frail spiral staircase, however!

Down spiral staircase

Happy as an elephant

Interesting facts

Today, the Sagrada Familia is the most visited attraction in Spain and one of the most famous tourist destinations in Europe. However, many facts remain unknown to numerous visitors.

Russian-language guidebooks and articles often refer to the Sagrada Familia as the Sagrada Familia. This is mistake! Barcelona’s main Cathedral is La Seu in the Gothic Quarter. The Sagrada is a temple. Its construction is not overseen by the bishop and is carried out on land not owned by the church, with private donations.
Although incomplete, the Sagrada Familia is a functioning temple. In 2010 it was consecrated by the Pope. Church services are regularly held in the crypt. Anyone can attend absolutely free of charge. Masses are read in Spanish and Catalan. The schedule can be checked on the official website. The entrance to the crypt is located to the left of the main one.
Sagrada Familia is redemptive. Therefore, its construction is carried out only at the expense of individual donations. Neither the government nor business can participate in the financing. The proceeds from the sale of entrance tickets also go to the construction of the temple. To date, the Sagrada Familia has no shortage of funds.
The main reason for such a long construction is not funding at all, but the complexity of the structures. Each block requires individual processing. According to the project of Gaudi, the construction of the temple was originally designed for at least 300 years. It was common practice back then. Many European temples were built over the centuries. However, modern technologies differ from those of the 19th century, so the work is planned to be completed significantly ahead of schedule.
Antonio Gaudí is the generally recognized creator of the Sagrada Familia. Although, in fact, under his leadership, only 15% of the work was completed. However, the architect visited the Sagrada Familia most of his life, personally collected donations, and in the end even settled in the temple. For such devotion, he was buried inside his main brainchild – in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia.
After Gaudí’s death, throughout the construction of the Sagrada Familia, the question of its termination was periodically raised. Many artists believed that the Sagrada Familia could not be completed in the way that a great architect would have done. It is known that Gaudi was always personally present at the site and controlled the progress of work, making adjustments. Therefore, opponents of the construction urged to leave the temple as it is. But nevertheless, those who believed that it needed to be completed in memory of its author won.
When the Sagrada Familia is completed, it will be the tallest Christian church in the world!
Even in its unfinished state, Sagrada Familia has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2005.

Thus, the Sagrada Familia is one of the most unique buildings on the planet and, of course, the main must-see in Barcelona, even if you come just for one day!

THIS FAMOUS CITY CENTER ROMAN CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL WAS DESIGNED BY ANTONI GAUDI, THE MOST FAMOUS SPANISH ARCHITECT AND RESIDENT OF BARCELONA.

Construction of the church began in 1882, but it wasn’t until 1883 that Gaudí began his work, combining gothic and modernist styles, building the building in his signature style. Currently, the Sagrada Familia is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 it was consecrated by the Pope and proclaimed a Minor Pontifical Basilica.

Tourists and visitors to Barcelona come to the Sagrada Familia every day to view all its riches, but this leads to long lines, waiting in which can last up to 2 hours. It’s a shame to waste your precious time in this amazing city, so we recommend buying your tickets online. When you arrive at the Sagrada Familia, simply show the tickets on your mobile phone and you can quickly get through. This means that you can spend time in the Sagrada Familia with pleasure and without any problems!

How does it work?

To visit the Tower, simply select a time to enter. There is no time limit, you can stay inside the Sagrada Familia as long as you like and you will be provided with an audio guide at the entrance.

Along with the selected entrance time, you will also receive the entrance time to the Tower. The choice of one or another Tower to visit depends on their workload. As a rule, the Tower of Passion is offered to visit, however, if there are no free tickets to visit it, you will receive a ticket to the Tower of the Nativity.

The audio guide is available in the following languages: Catalan (CA), Spanish (ES), English (EN), French (FR), German (DE), Italian (IT), Chinese (ZH), Japanese (JA), Portuguese ( PT), Russian (RU), Hungarian (HU), Korean (KO), Swedish (SV), Finnish (FI), Dutch (NL) and Polish (PL).

Important information:

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Location:

C/ Mallorca, 40108013 Barcelona. Metro: Sagrada Familia (Blue Line, L5) and (Purple Line, L2). The Sagrada Familia also has a Hop On, Hop Off bus stop.

Opening hours:

From November to February: 9:00 – 18:00

March and October: 09:00 – 19:00

April to September: 09:00 – 20:00

December 25 and 26, January 1 and 6: 09:00 – 14:00

Tickets are non-refundable

Ticket prices for the Sagrada Familia in 2019

Russian) to make your visit interesting and informative.

Audio-guided visit to the cathedral and viewpoints on the towers
- Full ticket – 32 euros
- Children up to and including 10 years old – free of charge
Cathedral visit with audio guide
- Full ticket – 25 euros
- Children up to and including 10 years old – free of charge
Visiting the Cathedral without an audio guide
- Full ticket – 17 euros
- Children up to and including 10 years old – free of charge

Children under 6 years old are not allowed on the observation decks on the towers. Children under 16 years of age can visit the viewing platforms only when accompanied by an adult.

The main thing about the Sagrada Famlia

The construction of the Sagrada Famlia began in 1882, unfortunately it has not yet been completed. Construction is planned to be completed by 2026, but unfortunately it is impossible to predict what might happen …

The creator of Sagrada Famlia is Antonio Gaudí, the author of many other famous monuments, such as Parc Güell or La Casa Batlló. Some of the works designed by Gaudí are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition, the Sagrada Famlia was one of the candidates for the New Seven Wonders of the World.

The interiors of the temple are impressive. Lots of architectural details, natural light. The height of the building and its shape is breathtaking. The same applies to external facades. When completed, the church’s tallest towers are expected to be 172 meters high, making the Sagrada the tallest temple in the world. Currently, the temple has 8 towers, and eventually it is expected that there will be 18.

Each of the facades of the temple has its own name, and of course, symbolizes something. The most important of these, the birth façade, represents the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ. It consists of three portals – Faith, Hope and Love. It is this façade that attracts the most interest. It is full of all sorts of details, symbols, sculptures that look like they are made of wet sand.

The main entrance to the temple is located at the front of the Passion of Christ.

The façade was completed relatively recently, in 1990. It is located on the opposite side of the Nativity façade and is completely different in style from it. Its creator is another architect, J. Subirachs.

The history of the Sagrada Famlia began when Josep Maria Bocabella, on a pilgrimage to Rome, decided to devote himself to spreading Christian values, which, in his opinion, found a place in the life of the Holy Family. To this end, Bocabella founded the Association of Friends of St. Jozef and began to raise funds for the construction of the church.

Originally, a neo-gothic temple was to be built in Barcelona, not too different from other churches built at that time. Nevertheless, misunderstandings with the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar forced the Sagrada to entrust the work to Gaudí. Over the years, the church’s vision of what a temple should look like matured in a young artist who didn’t devote too much time to it. Only years later Sagrada Famlia became his life’s work.

The concept of the temple changed dramatically when Gaudí turned to ancient art, looking for inspiration in Catalan Gothic and medieval symbolism. But this is not the end – the temple was supposed to be one living organism, and its elements belonged to nature. Each of them was created separately and could not be identical.

Sagrada, as the personification of nature – the greatest work of God – contains symbols related to the four “kingdoms”:

plants (stone forest of columns),
animals (decoration),
minerals (stained glass),
man (sculptures and columns symbolizing ribs).

All 18 towers of different heights symbolize:

12 apostles,
4 evangelists,
and the other two are Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

Why is the temple still not completed?

The problem with the construction of the temple, which has not yet been completed, is due to several reasons. First, Gaudí did not consult or share ideas with his students. Therefore, when his office and notes were destroyed by the Catalan anarchists, all the sketches of the architect were lost.

Secondly, according to Gaudí’s wish, money for the construction of the church can only come from donations. Sagrada cannot be funded by the state. Thirdly, the continuation of construction causes a lot of controversy. It is noteworthy that her new elements are slightly different (for example, in color) from Gaudi’s view, although the artist himself believed that the temple could be given a style that his followers would like.

Nowadays, computers are used to recreate the vision of a great architect. Completion is scheduled for 2026, the 100th anniversary of the death of its chief architect. In 2005, elements of the church created by Gaudí were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

History

The idea to build the Expiatory Church of the Holy Family arose in the 70s of the XIX century. Donations were collected, land was purchased (at that time on the outskirts of the city), a project was developed and 19March 1882 construction began. The architect was Francisco del Villar. According to his idea, it was to be a neo-Gothic building in the form of a Latin cross. However, as soon as the foundation of the future temple was laid, Villar had disagreements with the customers and he refused to continue work. The then young and little-known architect Antoni Gaudí was invited to take his place. He was engaged in the construction of the Sagrada Familia for over 40 years, until his death. Gaudi significantly altered the original project, or rather developed his own unique idea of how the Temple should look like. According to his drawings and models, the Sagrada Familia is still being built (albeit under the guidance of other architects). The master himself during his lifetime managed to realize only one of the planned facades – the facade of the Nativity of Christ.

After the tragic death of Gaudí in 1926, work on the Temple continued and led it until his death (in 1938) by his student Dominic Sugranes (Domenec Sugranes). The civil war that began soon interrupted the construction of the Sagrada Familia for several years. It was renewed only in 1952. In 1954, the construction of the next facade was started – the facade of the Passion of Christ. And in 1961, a museum dedicated to Gaudí’s project was opened in the building of the crypt. In general, for 50 years, the lion’s share of the work on the Temple has been done. And in 2000, the construction of the last facade – the facade of Glory – began. The estimated completion date for the Sagrada Familia is 2026. This is how the expiatory Sagrada Familia should look like according to the project.