How To Visit The Amazing Sagrada Família In Barcelona

I first learned about The Sagrada Familia in college. I had to choose a few electives, one of which had to be a humanities course. All of the classes I wanted to take were either full or at a time that didn’t work and I didn’t have the ability to hope this would change the next semester. This left me with the one class that fit requirements and my schedule. It was simply titled “Humanities”. I wasn’t really sure what that meant or what the class would entail. Turns out it’s a class about things humans make and was way cooler than I thought. 

One chapter was about architecture. I didn’t know before this class but apparently, I really have a thing for architecture. One architect that really stood out to me immediately was Gaudí. There is no one quite like him, one of his most famous buildings is the unfinished church, the Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona, Spain. It was in this class, reading this chapter I knew that I would one day see this church and the other works of Gaudí in person. 

It’s All Coming Together…

Fast Forward to last year when my boyfriend and I were discussing where our next adventure would be. His parents loved our Ireland adventure so much that they were keen on another one. David’s dad threw out, “Why not Spain?” which sparked a reminder in my boyfriend that he has just seen an email from Scott’s Cheap Flights that tickets to Spain were at an all-time low. Bam! We began planning the trip right away. 

You can read more about that here in our post about our trip to Spain. 

This meant that the goal I had set all those years back was going to be a reality, I was going to see the Sagrada Familia in person. 

The day finally came and it did not disappoint! 

The Sagrada Família

Getting off the subway and walking up to the street level you don’t see it right away, then you turn around and it is there, just a few yards away in all of its glory. I was awe struck to say the least. I had dreamed of seeing this structure and here I was standing in front of it. It was everything the pictures depicted and more. 

Gaudí has an aesthetic all of his own, he was inspired by nature feeling that there was no need to reinvent what natural all ready does so well. This is evident anywhere you look in and on The Sagrada Família.

Take time to look at the details in the doors and walls. Everything has a purpose and reason.

The stunning stained glass is placed in such a way to complement the sunshine coming through as it moves throughout the day and the huge pillars that hold up the church are reminiscent of huge trees.

The details give you a sense of being in nature while actually being in a stone structure. No photos can really do it true justice. Take time to look at all the details and see what you think inspired them. Take it all in, it’s an amazing and unique structure.  

Planning your visit to The Sagrada Família

You will want to plan at least an hour and a half to explore. So many details and things to see. Here are some other useful things for planning your visit to the Sagrada Familia. 

Getting There

Getting to The Sagrada Familia is fairly easy to get it, it’s located in the center of Barcelona. Depending on where you stay you could potentially walk there but if not the easiest way is the subway. The L2 has a stop that drops you off right in front of the Sagrada Família. 

Tickets to The Sagrada Família

Since it is often quite crowded, even in the shoulder season when we went, tickets to things sell out weeks or months in advance.  So I recommend you buy tickets online. You will need to plan in advance since you have to choose the time you want to visit when you purchase your tickets. 

Ticket pricing (As if 2019):

• Sagrada Família with Towers  32€
• Gaudí bundle: Sagrada Família and Gaudí House museum 27€ (these are the ones we bought)
• Sagrada Família with guided tour 26€
• Sagrada Família 25€
• Basic Ticket to Sagrada Família 17€
• Gaudí House museum 5,50€

Hours 

The Sagrada Familia is open pretty much every day of the year but the hours vary so keep them in mind when planning. This is the hours as of 2019:

November through February: 9 am to 6 pm.
March and October: 9 am to 7 pm.
April through September: 9 am to 8 pm.
25 and 26 December, 1 and 6 January: 9 am to 2 pm

More Information About The Sagrada Família

You can visit http://sagradafamilia.org for the most updated information. 

Happy travels!!