La Sagrada Família

If you only have time for one sightseeing outing, this should be it. La Sagrada Família inspires awe with its sheer verticality and, in the true manner of the great medieval cathedrals it emulates, it’s still not finished after more than 100 years. Work is proceeding apace, however, and it might be done between the 2020s and 2040s. If the work should be carried on is the subject of controversy, but Spain’s most visited monument was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI in late 2010. The main nave is now open for daily mass. Feathers were much ruffled by the high-speed train tunnel project, on which work began in 2010, that will pass in front of the church under Carrer de Mallorca. Church authorities fear that the tunnelling could damage the church’s foundations.
You could spend a couple of hours in here – the more you scrutinize decorative details, the more you see.
The church was the project to which Antoni Gaudí dedicated the latter part of his life. He stuck to a basic Gothic cross-shaped ground plan, but devised a temple 95m long and 60m wide, with capacity for 13,000 people. The completed sections and museum can be explored at leisure. Up to four daily guided tours (€4), lasting 50 minutes, are offered. You can enter from Carrer de Sardenya and Carrer de la Marina. Audioguides (€4) are available and it costs a further €2.50 per ride on the lifts that take you up inside one of the towers on each side of the church. Combined tickets with Casa-Museu Gaudí in Park Güell are available.

Hours
9am-8pm

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