Visiting Barcelona [Part 1/5]: Sagrada Familia

Barcelona came as a surprise destination for this spring, since we wanted to initially visit a different part of Spain. As those plans shifted we booked a direct flight from Dubrovnik to Barcelona and after a bit of planing we were off on a new adventure. My travel group consisted of family and friends, all eager to explore this wonderful part of Spain. In this travel series I will show you our 6 days spent in Barcelona, what we did and how we did it. I will also try to include some insider tips and places to have a drink or dinner. So I hope you will come along on this new journey.

 
This is only a part of a 5-part travel series to Barcelona:
Part 1: Sagrada Familia
Part 2: La Rambla, Old Town and Park Guell
Part 3: Montjuic Castle and Port Olimpic
Part 4: Casa Mila, Casa Batllo and Park Ciutadella
Part 5: Sunset on Barceloneta Beach

A Morning Walk

We booked our stay in the Hotel Ronda Lesseps, which was a nice hotel and included breakfast as well. It's located a bit off center but there is a metro station nearby, which makes all parts of the city easily accessible. But for the first morning we gathered for a morning walk to Sagarda Familia, which took us through some beautiful, non-tourist spots of the city. From the hotel it's a 1,6 km (cca 1 mile) walk to the famous church.

As you can see in these morning shots the light in the city is somewhat special, and there is so much to see. I loved gazing at the buildings mostly, with the small balconies, flowers, as well as the many fruit and vegetable displays.

La Sagarda Familia

The Sagarda Familia Church is probably the most iconic and famous sight of Barcelona (but also Spain in general. It was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. His part of the work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Construction of the chruch started in 1882 by architect Francisco Paula de Villar with Gaudi becoming involved in 1883 after Francisco resigned as the head architect. Taking over the project, Gaudí transformed it with his architectural and engineering style, which is felt throughout whole Barcelona. Gaudi devoted his last years to the project, and at the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.

Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly, as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed the midpoint in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026, the centenary of Gaudi's death. The Church will have three grand facades: the Nativity facade to the East, the Passion facade to the West, and the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed).

Visiting La Sagarda Familia

Visitors can access the Nave, Crypt, Museum, Shop, and the Passion and Nativity towers. While visitors could previously access the towers directly at no cost, their access currently is possible only by lift and a walk up the remainder of the towers, over the bridge between the towers and descent via the opposite tower by spiral staircase. You have to arrive extremely early to get in though, as lines become longer and longer as the day wears on. Tickets can be purchased outside the church as single and group tickets (groups are 10+ people).

Construction on Sagrada Familia is not supported by any government or official church sources. Private patrons funded the initial stages. Money from tickets purchased by tourists is now used to pay for the work, and private donations are accepted through the Friends of the Sagrada Familia.

Together with six other Gaudi buildings in Barcelona, part of la Sagrada Familia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as testifying "to Gaudi’s exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology", "having represented el Modernisme of Catalonia" and "anticipated and influenced many of the forms and techniques that were relevant to the development of modern construction in the 20th century". The inscription only includes the Crypt and the Nativity Facade.

Continuing on...

After we visited the Sagarda Famila church and lingered in the nearby park we continued walking towards La Rambla, the main walking lane of the city located in the Old Town district. Many new things would wait for us there, but more on those in the second part of this travel series to Barcelona.

I hope you enjoyed the sights so far, as always as the series progresses, the sights become more and more engaging and interesting, so I hope to see you along for the ride.

End of Part One

To be continued...

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