Friday, September 18, 2026

Sagrada Familia

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia when we visited in 2024

I don’t have adequate words to describe La Sagrada Familia. It is completely unique!

It was completed in 2026 and is now the tallest church in the world, with its highest tower reaching 566 feet.

It has 18 towers, with the Jesus Christ Tower being the tallest.

We had purchased our entrance tickets ahead of time because we heard about the church’s popularity.

We also purchased tickets to the Passion Tower, which at the time of our visit in 2024 was the highest

tower in the Sagrada Familia.

Sagrada Familia was originally designed by Francisco de Paula del Villa in 1882. Only a year later, the project was taken over by famous architect Antoni Gaudi. He worked on the Sagrada Familia until his death in 1926. The basilica was scheduled to be completed 100 years after his death, in 2026. And it was.

Tickets to visit the basilica are 26 euro. To visit the basilica along with one of the towers - either the Nativity or the Passion Tower - costs 36 euro. This is definitely worth it! Don’t miss visiting one of the towers! You ride the elevator to the top, enjoy the view, and then you climb down the winding stairs all the way to the bottom (in the case of the Passion Tower, that is 426 steps). I am deathly afraid of heights, but this was still very worth it! We chose the Passion Tower, the higher of the two. I didn’t have any problems with vertigo, despite the height, and have probably never descended a winding staircase faster than that one!

The sun shines through the stained glass windows on the interior of the basilica and the result is so very beautiful.

The basilica is open beginning at 9 am Monday through Saturday, but 10:30 on Sundays. It closes at 6 p.m.

during the winter and 8 p.m. during the summer. Full information can be found at their official website here:

La Sagrada Familia

The famous Sagrada Familia

The detail and workmanship are incredible

The model of what Sagrada Familia will look like when completed in 2026

A worker on the exterior of Sagrada Familia

I could have taken hundreds of photos of all of the details on the exterior

The stained glass windows on the interior are amazing as well and create such a brilliant light show inside the basilica

workmanship on the ceilings

the beautiful windows

one of the towers not currently open to the public

beautiful staircase and stained glass windows - look at the reflection from the windows on the side of the staircase

This light effect may have been my very favorite

The columns are supposed to resemble tree trunks so that visitors feel they are standing in a forest. They branch out at the top to form an illusion of a canopy of trees.