Friday, May 5, 2017

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...

Where I'm Linking To


 

27 comments:

  1. Barselona mi je dugo na listi želja za ponovni obilazak, pošto ono sa ekskurzijom i ne računam da sam nešto vidio. Sagrada Familia mi je posebno fascinantna i velika mi je želja da je obiđem iznutra. Jeste li ulazili u nju?

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    1. Nažalost nismo zbig iznimno velikih redova i gužve. Čeka se i po 2 sata za ulazak pa smo radije obilazili pregršt drugih zanimljivih mjesta u gradu. Bili smo i poveća grupa pa je bilo teže natjerati svakoga da čeka.

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  2. Ich liebe Barcelona! War schon dreimal dort!
    Liebe Grüße

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    1. Und ich möchte gleich wieder meine Koffer packen :)

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  3. Love Barcelona so much.

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  4. A very lovely church. We look forward to visiting Barcelona maybe as soon as next year. Can't wait to see the rest of your trip photos.

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    1. I hope this travel series will be of use to you by then.

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  5. Wow wow and wow again these are absolutely gorgeous pictures all of them. I love the gold building with the tiny balconies and that narrow Narrow Street period I am with you the buildings are wonderful

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    1. You will see so much more of that in the upcoming posts.

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  6. Wow! So many great images, Mersad! Barcelona looks lovely.

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  7. I'm in awe of the Sagrada Familia. There are no words...

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    1. It's probably the most impressive church (along with the Cologne Cathedtal) that I have seen in my life.

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  8. I have visited BCN twice and I never get tired of seeing other people's photos of this beautiful city. I will tune in for more of your documentation.

    Worth a Thousand Words

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    1. Thanks so much. I hope you will enjoy the rest of this travel series.

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  9. I've heard about this spectacular church and enjoyed your photos.

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  10. It certainly is impressive. Your shots captured that aspect very well!

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  11. wow amazing. Loved to read your post.
    Awesome photos from Barcelona.
    ~ Have a nice weekend ~

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  12. What a beautiful city - great collection of shots too

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  13. This church is an amazing structure! It looks like you had beautiful weather for your visit to Barcelona. It looks so beautiful there.

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  14. The architecture there is amazing! Loved that first building, and the church is wonderfully different. Very striking! Lovely views of part of Barcelona on this sunny day!

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  15. wundervolle fotos von einer wundervollen stadt. ich war bereits 3 mal dort, allerdings ist das schon laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaange her.
    danke fürs mitnehmen
    liebe grüße
    gusta

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  16. It was the height of summer when I visited Sagrada Familia. Many of the local shops were closed so I did not get to see the local activity that you saw.

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  17. Barcelona is one of the most popular city of Europe. It is well known for its architectural monuments and it is internationally renowned as a tourist destination. Barcelona is one of the world's leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural centers also one of the world's major global cities. And for this more than 5 million people visit this city every year. Thanks for showing us this beautiful moment that you spend. I think people will inspire after seeing this. As it's rank for tourist spot is increasing day by day the cost of travel in Barcelona is also increasing. For this who are visitors I suggest them to plan your trip with a renowned Top Rated Barcelona Sightseeing Tours & Attraction Tickets. Because they will arrange your tour all most all the famous places of this city. And here you can save some penny than visiting alone. Hola BCN: 2,3,4 Or 5-Day Public Transport Ticket, Barcelona Hop-On Hop-Off Tour: 1 Or 2- Day Ticket, Sagrada Familia 2-Hour Guided Tour And VIP Tower Access Tickets, 360º SkyWalk: Land, Sea & Air Tickets, Fast Track Sagrada Familia With Towers Tickets, Palau De La Música Guided Tour Tickets these are some the better option as far as I know. If anyone want can compare themselves with others from http://www.tripindicator.com/tours/barcelona/best-sagrada-familia-skywalk-stadium-open-bus-taps-wine-tasting-tours-tickets.html . In my opinion I think they are the best in the matter of price and quality. Because last time I have experienced their one service. So who are new can follow this suggestion. Thanks and good luck.

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