The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia stands proudly over Barcelona as one of its most admired and intricate landmarks. In fact, it’s one of the world’s most famous churches – and with good reason. On this guided tour, which includes a trip up one of the towers, you’ll get to know Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece and learn about how the history, spiritual symbolism and natural influences in his work make this a special place, worthy of the top spot on your must-see list for Barcelona.
There are three intricate facades to this deeply spiritual monument, each representing a key moment in the life of Christ, as well as 18 towers. Your experienced guide will start with the Nativity Façade, a celebration of life that’s full of animals, plants and biblical figures. As you enter the nave you’ll find a vast space, filled with natural light. You can wander freely here while listening to your guide’s commentary on a headset. Look up to see a vaulted ceiling that looks like the canopy of a forest, with tree-like columns reaching up from the ground and branching out. Gaudi believed that nature was God’s perfect architecture, and your guide will point out evidence of this all the way through this incredible structure. One of the most impressive examples are the spiral staircases that lead to the towers. These snail shell-like staircases have a central void and use nature’s geometry to create a strong and distinctive feature.
After seeing the other main features, like the altar and Passion façade, you can visit the museum. There’s an exhibition of drawings, models and pictures that narrates the story of the Basilica, as well as displays sharing insights into Gaudí’s life, career and influences. At the end of the tour, you’ll have the chance to head up one of the towers on your own for wow-worthy views over the city. Your guide will lead you to the lift which takes you part way up to a viewing platform and you can then climb the rest of the way up. Coming down, it’s the tightly winding snail shell staircase all the way, so take your time to avoid a dizzy end to your trip.
Your options for this tour are between a multilingual tour in English, Spanish or French, where your guide will speak in multiple languages to the varied audience, or you can go for a monolingual tour where your guide will speak only English.
