Barcelona Sagrada Familia Tickets and Visits

The Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's masterpiece and the most recognizable element of the Barcelona skyline. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world and it goes without saying that it is a must-see on your trip to Barcelona.

It's very easy to visit the Sagrada Familia as a tourist, but visiting it as a local has a few tricks that I'm going to detail you throughout the following paragraphs. Keep reading and write down my recommendations, you'll thank me later!

The most comfortable and economical way to discover the most important building in Barcelona is to visit it at your own pace to dedicate the time you consider to each of the architectural and artistic details of Gaudi's great masterpiece. To do this, you can book for around 30 euros the basic option of tickets for the Sagrada Familia.

But if you want to add a plus, with the skip-the-line tickets with access to one of the towers you can also see the best views of Barcelona from there.

Thanks to the audio guide that you can download with the ticket you can learn about the history of this unique cathedral yet to be completed. But you also have access to the interior museum where you can learn more about its construction.

• Duration: As long as you want
• Recommended: If you prefer to visit the monuments at your own pace and do not want to miss the incredible views of Barcelona from the tower of the Sagrada Familia.

This guided tour will give you access to the imposing Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and inside you will enjoy the narration of an expert guide on this iconic Basilica. You will learn about Gaudi' s architectural genius and the deep religious passion behind each piece that makes up the temple.

The great advantage of this tour is that you will also have access to the Gaudi museum, inside the same enclosure and where you will discover more drawings and photographs of the artist's life and works. Of course, it includes tickets to the Sagrada Familia.

• Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Recommended: If you want to skip the queue for the Sagrada Familia and visit the highlights of its interior with a local guide.

with access to the tower

If you want to extend your visit to the Sagrada Familia with an access to the tower, this is the tour for you. You will be able to visit all the accessible places inside the temple, and enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of Barcelona from the top of one of the towers open to the public of the Sagrada Familia.

In return, the tour group is a little larger, maximum 30 people, although fortunately the visiting hours are specially chosen to access the Sagrada Familia when there are fewer tourists, around lunchtime.

As in the previous experience, you will have the narration of a guide who knows the Sagrada Familia from top to bottom and can tell you in detail the history of this impressive church. Entrance fees are included.

• Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Recommended: If you have already visited the Sagrada Familia on another occasion and want to extend the typical tour.

This is the most complete tour of Barcelona, as it includes entrance to the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell. You will get to know in depth two of the city's must-see sites, Park Güell, along with a visit to its most important building, the Sagrada Familia.

In addition to the full attention of a local Barcelona guide for you and your group, this tour includes transfer by private vehicle to Park Güell and Sagrada Familia. Entrance fees to both sites are included.

• Duration: 3 hours and a half
• Recommended: If you are visiting Barcelona in a group or if you can't stand crowded tours for tourists.

What you will see

The Sagrada Familia receives more than 4 million visitors a year, so it's important to know a few things about its entrances so that your experience doesn't turn into chaos.

Types of tickets

To avoid crowds, all entrances have a fixed time, with a 15-minute interval between each distributed entrance. Once inside, you can stay in the Sagrada Familia for as long as you like.

The queue

The line to buy tickets to the Sagrada Familia at the ticket office is one of the most impressive I've ever seen at a tourist attraction. Admittedly, the last time I went to Barcelona it was in the middle of July and I passed by the church at noon, but even so the queues that form at almost any time of the day can easily wear out your patience.

Access to the Sagrada Familia is through the Nativity façade, on Carrer de la Marina. There is a small crowd to enter the temple, but it is not comparable to the queue to buy tickets.

In no way do you think of waiting to buy tickets to the Sagrada Familia at the box office: the queues are endless and being subject to a fixed time it is possible that once you go to buy them you find that there are no slots for the time you want and you have to buy them for the next day.

Tickets for a specific date are available online up to two months before, so my recommendation is that you book them as far in advance as you can. Since the only advantage of buying them at the time would be the flexibility that would give you choose at the time, but in this case you lose all the guarantees to ensure your ticket for the day and time you want, buying in advance is the smartest option.

How to get to the Sagrada Familia

The best way is to go by metro to the Sagrada Familia stop (L2), but you can also take bus 50 if you are around Paseo de Gracia or several buses from Plaza Catalunya.

Other buses that take you to the Sagrada Familia are lines 19, 33, 34, 43, 44, 51, B20 and B24. Not all of them leave you in a street adjacent to the temple, so check the route before you get on, check Google Maps, or just ask the driver. In any case, most lines will get off at the Sagrada Familia stop, so you will know which one it is.

Days and opening hours of the Sagrada Familia

The Basilica is open to the public 365 days a year, but opening times vary depending on the time of year:

Duration of the visit

It usually takes between 45 minutes and an hour to visit the interior of the Sagrada Familia, if you only visit the ground floor of the basilica. If you go up to the tower, it will take you longer because between the ascent, the descent, and the time you spend enjoying the views, you will be in the basilica for at least an hour and a half.

We assume that near the Sagrada Familia you will find mostly restaurants for tourists, but it is possible to find some gems where some will end up by chance, but you can go because you know they are worth it. Here are three recommendations:

As it is such a touristy area, there are fast food restaurants of all kinds near the Sagrada Familia, so if you prefer them you also have this option (which is not the same as my approval, it is a crime to eat at a McDonald's while on vacation in Barcelona!)

Dress code

There is a dress code for access to the Sagrada Familia, which requires you to remove any head covering (except for religious or medical reasons) and wear clothing that covers the shoulders, back and chest. Pants and skirts must cover up to the knee and no see-through clothing or cleavage is allowed, as well as no shoes.

Although dress codes are often not strictly enforced due to the very high number of visitors to the Sagrada Familia, it is best to try to comply with etiquette so as not to risk being turned away.

Photography inside

You are allowed to enter the Sagrada Familia with a camera and take pictures inside, so remember to take it with you if you want to have some souvenirs of the temple. And finally, my most important recommendation is that, although the interior is impressive and well worth staying a long time admiring it, the exterior facades of the Sagrada Familia are crazy.

Exterior details

The temple has three facades and each one represents a stage in the life of Jesus: Birth, Passion and Glory. The Nativity façade, in Catalan modernist style, has enough detail to get lost with your eyes for hours, while the Passion façade is almost the opposite, clean and minimalist but full of symbolism. The Glory façade is still unfinished, so it doesn't offer the interest of the other two.

Alex's Traveller Tip

The Sagrada Familia has two towers that you can climb. If you have a choice, climb the Nativity Tower as you can get a close-up view of the façade from the top.

If we talk about Barcelona, it is almost essential to immerse yourself in Gaudí's architecture and urbanism. One of his most outstanding works in the city is the Park Güell, and to visit it I recommend you to read our guide of Park Güell in Barcelona Tickets and Tours where I tell you all the tricks to visit it.

Likewise, you don't want to miss the most iconic buildings of the artist, so here you have my guide from La Pedrera in Barcelona Tickets and Tours and my guide to Barcelona Casa Batlló Tickets and Visitswith the best tips to organize your visit.

For soccer fans, visiting the Camp Nou is an experience that can be very interesting because in the Camp Nou Experience you can explore the trophy gallery, a space dedicated to Messi, a very interesting audiovisual area and of course the stands, the locker rooms, and the press room. You have in this guide all the details: Barcelona Camp Nou Stadium Visits.

And finally, you have my guide of Barcelona Museums that will help you choose the most interesting collection and make sure you get the most out of your trip.