The Sagrada Família, meaning the Holy Family in Spanish, is considered to be one of the most spectacular churches in the world. With its stunning details and grandeur, the Sagrada Família has become a symbol of Barcelona, reflecting the splendor of Catalonia.
The Sagrada Família is one of the most iconic sights in the whole of Barcelona, and despite the fact that it is still unfinished, construction continues to this very day. From humble beginnings over a hundred years ago, the imposing church has grown to impressive heights seen today by millions of visitors every single year.
Book your Sagrada Família tickets and get straight into Antoni Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece — one of the most ambitious and eccentric architectural projects of the past century.
Here’s all you need to know about Sagrada Família, one of the most exciting attractions in Barcelona.
There are several ways to experience the Basilica, whether you want to explore alone, on a guided tour or access the towers. It must be noted that you can buy your tickets to Sagrada Família from the official website or app.
Alternatively, you can use QR codes located around the basilica to purchase your tickets. The cost of your ticket goes toward the construction of Sagrada Família, the building of which is entirely funded through private donations.
You may find below all of the different ticket options, what they include, and how much they cost.
This ticket includes entry to Sagrada Família with a 25-45 minute audioguide that you can access on the downloadable app. The audioguide is available in 17 different languages.
This ticket includes entry to Sagrada Família with a 50-minute guided tour, as well as the audioguide. The guided tour is available in 6 different languages depending on the season.
This ticket includes an audioguide and access to one of the towers in Sagrada Família on either the Passion facade or Nativity facade. Please note the towers are not open to children under the age of 6 years old.
This combo ticket includes an audioguide, a 50-minute guided tour and access to one of the towers of Sagrada Família.
This ticket includes a standard Sagrada Família entry with an audioguide as well as entry into the Gaudí House Museum.
A few people are eligible for discounts for Sagrada Família tickets. Students and youth under the age of 30 receive a €2 discount on all tickets, while seniors may also purchase all ticket options at a discounted rate. Single-parent or large families are also eligible for a 50% discount on their tickets.
While disabled people and their companions may enter for free, companions must pay discounted rates of €4 for tickets that include a guided tour or €10 to access one of the towers.
If you are traveling on a tight budget, you may visit the Sagrada Família for free by attending the Sunday mass at 9 AM. Make sure to arrive early in order to claim your seats, dress appropriately and behave respectfully.
There are also certain conditions under which people may visit for free. Children under the age of 11 and people with disabilities may visit the Sagrada Família for free across all ticket types.
People who are registered as unemployed in Spain can visit for free on Wednesdays between 9 AM and 12 PM, but will have to pay €4 for a guided tour and €10 to access the towers.
Any members of religious orders are able to visit Sagrada Família for free and may access additional services for free too.
Members of ICOM and Barcelona Press Card holders can also enter Sagrada Família for free, but will have to pay discounted rates for additional services, including €4 for a guided tour and €10 for tower visit.
Make sure you have the relevant documentation ready and on hand to prove your eligibility for a discounted ticket.
It is highly recommended that you book your Sagrada Família tickets in advance. The basilica receives a high amount of visitors every year, approximately four million, and tickets sell out very quickly in the tourist season.
By booking your tickets in advance, you are able to secure a set time to visit the Sagrada Família and will not have to wait in queues to enter. You’ll also have more options in choosing times for your entry to Sagrada Família, your guided tour or your tower visit if you choose.
You can book your Sagrada Família tickets on the official website or app approximately two months ahead of your desired visit date. Booking in advance is your best chance of getting the optimal date and time of your visit, and the ticket of your choosing!
There are several reasons to book a Sagrada Família guided tour. Firstly, you’re guaranteed fast access. Sagrada Família is one of the most popular attractions in Spain, and guided tours ensure you have a timed slot ticket to visit and see the basilica for your desired date. You can simply skip the line and enjoy the tour!
You’ll also get exclusive access to the facilities. On a guided tour, visitors receive rare treats like access to places in the basilica that may not be open to the general public, such as the towers. You’ll also benefit from the knowledge of your guide, giving you a comprehensive experience of the basilica.
Here are some of the best tours available and what is included.
Discover the details, stories and secrets of Sagrada Familia on a guided group tour. Your expert guide will be able to give you an insider understanding of the design and construction of the Sagrada Família, from Antoni Gaudí’s vision to the hidden symbolism.
With so many details and symbols imbued in Sagrada Família, it’s easy to miss out on many of the intricacies of the basilica. Your guide will bring your attention to how the Sagrada Família represents periods of Jesus’ life and scenes from the bible, and the intention and thinking behind Gaudí’s design.
They will also provide you with the historical context of the construction of the Sagrada Família, and explain the influence of nature in Gaudí’s work.
After your guided tour, you will be able to visit the Sagrada Família museum located in the basilica. Here, you will see models and drawings of the basilica that illustrate its construction over the past century.
You’ll also have free time to continue exploring on your own, and may even take the opportunity to reflect or meditate in this spiritual sanctuary.
Depending on your tour option, you may also have access to one of the iconic towers on either the Nativity facade or Passion facade. You can take a lift up to the top for breathtaking views of Barcelona before walking back down again.
For a comprehensive understanding of Gaudí’s life and works, you can embark on a group tour that visits some of his most famous creations in Barcelona, including his magnum opus Sagrada Família.
Seven of Gaudí’s buildings form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you’ll be able to see five of them on this tour with a highly knowledgeable art historian for a guide.
You’ll start the tour with a visit to the stunning Casa Batlló, known as the “House of Masks” for the shape of its balconies. Gaudí renovated the building in 1906, creating one of the most brightly colored and unique locations in Barcelona.
From here, you’ll move on to Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera, or stone quarry. While starker in appearance, Casa Milà is characteristic of Gaudí’s style with its organic shapes and ornate details. It was regarded as a groundbreaking piece of architecture for its time.
Next, stop at Casa Vicens which is regarded as Gaudí’s first major project before heading to Park Guell. This is one of Gaudí’s most renowned works, and is an expansive park situated in the middle of Barcelona, connecting Gaudí’s art and design with the natural world he so revered.
Your final stop will be at Gaudí’s final and incomplete masterpiece — Sagrada Família. Gaudí only lived to see parts of the basilica finalised, but today his crypt and Nativity facade form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tour the interiors of the basilica with your guide as well as the museum. From here, you’ll also be able to see Gaudí’s tomb, rounding off your tour into Gaudí’s life and art.
If you’d like to enjoy a more personal experience, you can opt to join a private tour to visit Sagrada Família. With just your select group, you can enjoy a more intimate guided tour of Sagrada Família and benefit from your guide’s wealth of knowledge and personalized attention.
Some private tours of Sagrada Família last up to 2 hours, giving you plenty of time to immerse yourself in the basilica and absorb as many details as you can. The added time of a private tour enables you to ask as many questions as you like, and deepens the experience of Sagrada Família.
Some tour options also offer private transportation to and from your hotel, along with additional stops to other buildings by Gaudí, including Casa Milà and Casa Batlló, giving you a comprehensive view of the architect’s work.
You can also add to your exploration of Barcelona with private tours that stop at other notable locations in the city, or even embark on a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter, which dates back to medieval times and is now a bustling hub.
There are a few ways to package access to Sagrada Família with other attractions in Barcelona. This is a great way of seeing some of the sights of the city and beyond in a short amount of time and within a small budget. You may find below the most popular combined offers.
The Sagrada Família is without a doubt one of the most impressive and popular places to visit in Barcelona, and it is the building that everyone thinks of when they picture the city.
Still unfinished over 100 years later, yet highly impressive, the Sagrada Família has a real fairytale and gothic feel to it, with its huge towers shooting high into the sky and jaw-dropping detail on the outer facades.
Gaudí was very aware that a construction of this scale was going to last years, centuries even, which is why the outer and front sections were the first to be constructed.
It was hoped that the sheer wonder of the starting point would encourage people to donate to the building, ensuring construction continued throughout the decades and centuries to come. It worked!
Visiting Sagrada Família gives you an idea of how much the basilica means to the modern splendor of Catalonia. It is among the most visited attractions in Spain for its stunning design, and even the story of its construction.
Very few places on earth leave you as awestruck as gazing up at the massive basilica, a true feat of architecture.
Here are some of the details you will uncover about Sagrada Família on your visit here, and other notable attractions.
The exterior of Sagrada Família is made of three facades — the Nativity facade, Passion facade and Glory facade. Each facade depicts different stages in the life of Jesus Christ, and is imbued with detail and symbolism that you can uncover on a guided tour.
Gaudí oversaw the creation of the Nativity facade when he was still alive, and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to his works. The Nativity facade depicts the early life of Jesus, and is replete with intricate details and natural symbolism, featuring ducks, dragonflies and bees among others.
The Passion facade is another very popular section of the church, but contrasts the Nativity facade in style. Started in 1954 and completed in 2018, the Passion facade depicts the death of Christ and features angular lines and an austere mood.
As this facade was created after Gaudí’s death, the building was guided by his detailed drawings and led by the sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs.
The final facade, the Glory facade, is still under construction, which only began in 2002. This section is dedicated to the glory of Jesus, and will bring the story of Sagrada Família full circle.
One of the defining features of Sagrada Família is its monumental towers. On completion, the basilica is expected to be the tallest church building in the world. With 18 towers included in the final design, only a few remain to be completed.
The towers are divided to represent the 12 apostles, the four evangelists Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. The final two towers represent the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ respectively.
Recently, the tower of the Virgin Mary was completed, finished with a large star at the top that is lit up at night. The tower of Jesus Christ will be the tallest of them all, standing at 172 meters high.
The towers of the Sagrada Família can be visited as well. However, be aware that the entrance tickets to the towers of the Sagrada Família are different from the main entrance. It is recommended to book these tickets in advance because they sell out very fast.
With advance tickets, you’ll be able to pick what time you visit the tower and whether you visit a tower on the Passion facade or the Nativity facade. You can take a lift to the top of the tower, but will have to walk the stairs down.
The view from the top of the towers across the city of Barcelona is breathtaking and well worth it!
However, keep in mind that the towers are quite high up and the staircase is fairly narrow. If you are afraid of heights or claustrophobic, a tower visit may not be for you.
The interior of the Sagrada Família is truly mind-blowing, with huge religious significance. The arches, the keystones, the main vault, the stained-glass windows, the naves, are all designed to be one of the most opulent of its kind — and it certainly is.
With towering columns symbolic of trees and stained glass colors specifically chosen to represent aspects of the life of Jesus Christ, each detail of the interiors has been carefully considered.
Gaudí even designed an entirely new type of column for Sagrada Família, the double-twist column. Four of these at the center of the basilica reference the four Evangelists, with each displaying specific symbols for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The effect is spectacular, creating one of the most awe-inspiring modern churches in the world. As the light streams through the stained-glass windows, you will appreciate the sacred space that Gaudí envisioned as “God’s architect”.
You can immerse yourself inside Sagrada Família during one of the free masses held once a week. It must be noted that as an active church, there is a strict dress code for entering Sagrada Família.
You may not wear anything see-through, and your pants must cover your legs up to mid-thigh. If you do not meet the requirements, you may be asked to leave.
Located within the Sagrada Família is a museum dedicated to its construction. Filled with models, papers and images that document its build over the past century, this museum is an excellent add-on to understanding and appreciating the magnitude of building Sagrada Família.
Many guided tours include a stop at the museum in their itineraries, and it’s also possible to see Gaudí’s tomb from here. In 1926, after dedicating the remainder of his life to the construction of Sagrada Família, Gaudí tragically died after a tram accident.
He was buried within the walls of his masterpiece, and is remembered today as “God’s architect”.
A popular option on your tour to Sagrada Família is to include a visit to the Gaudí House Museum. Located in Park Güell, the Gaudí House Museum is dedicated to the personal life of Gaudí and displays many of his furniture designs and other objects.
While completing construction of Park Güell, Gaudí moved into this model house with his father and niece, who both later died. Gaudí himself spent the last year of his life living in the workshop of Sagrada Família as he was so dedicated to seeing through the constructions.
You can combine your tickets to Sagrada Família with tickets to the Gaudí House Museum. It must be noted that you will require tickets to Park Güell in order to enter the Gaudí House Museum.
Sagrada Família is located centrally within the city of Barcelona and is easily accessible. The best way to reach it would be by public transport. You can travel to Sagrada Família by train on the Metro L2 and L5, and the stations are located directly on the streets outside the basilica.
If traveling by bus, you can easily stop at the station outside of Sagrada Família, and take the bus 19, 33, 34, D50, H10 or B24. On arrival, you will enter at Carrer de la Marina.
The opening hours of Sagrada Família depend on the season. From November to February, Sagrada Família is open from 9 AM to 6 PM from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays it’s open from 10:30 AM to 6 PM.
In March and October, the basilica is open Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 7 PM. On Sundays it’s open from 10:30 AM to 7 PM.
From April to September, Sagrada Família is open from 9 AM to 8 PM from Monday Saturday. On Sundays it’s open from 10:30 AM to 8 PM.
Sagrada Família is only open from 9 AM to 2 PM on Dec. 25, Dec. 26, Jan. 1 and Jan. 6.
In order to avoid crowds, the best time to visit Sagrada Família is in the early morning or late afternoon or evening.
However, late afternoon or evening may be preferable as this is when the sunlight streams through the stained-glass windows of the basilica, creating a heavenly scene and an excellent photo opportunity!