Basilica of the Sagrada Familia – Opening times and tickets

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Španija

Website of the Sanctuary

+34 932 080 414

Every day: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm

 Worship at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia

The House of God is open to absolutely everyone. The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia is also a place of worship. Within the visitable area, in the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and Penitence, is a space specially reserved for worship and contemplation.

If you would like to attend one of the Masses held regularly in the basilica, you can obtain a free invitation at the Barcelona Conciliar Seminary a week before the event (C/ Diputació 231, open 10 am-2 pm, 4 pm-8 pm).

It is expected that the building will be finished by 2026, on the centennial of the architect’s death.

Sagrada Familia Opening times

  • November to February: 9 am to 6 pm
  • March: 9 am to 7 pm
  • April to September: 9 am to 8 pm
  • October: 9 am to 7 pm
  • December 25, 26, January 1 and 6: 9 am to 2 pm

Sagrada Familia tickets

Sale of tickets finishes 15 minutes before closing time.

Basilica of the Sagrada Familia - Opening times and tickets

The times and days when the Sagrada Familia is open to the public may occasionally be modified by the management due to special events taking place inside the basilica.

Guides and tours in Barcelona:

The building of the Towers continue

Basilica of the Sagrada Familia is an outstanding temple not only because of its origin and foundation but due to its purposes as well. Conceived in the XIX century.

It is a church grounded on the traditional schemes of the Middle Age cathedrals that Gaudí continuously modified by introducing new building solutions. These solutions were based on ruled geometry and double twist. He enriched it afterwards with sculpture elements that are alluding explicitly to the Christian mystery.

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Basilica of the Sagrada Familia - Opening times and tickets

The Temple is currently under construction and, still, today is being built according to the guidelines of its creator, which are supervised by the works director and coordinator, Jordi Faulí. However, construction new technologies are being added.

As years go by, Basilica of the Sagrada Familia has become a Barcelona’s identity symbol recognizable at a worldwide stage.

Architecture

«The temple as a whole, as well being a place for divine worship, will artistically represent the truths of religion and the glorification of God and His Saints.» A. Gaudí

Gaudí’s conception of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia was based on the traditions of Gothic and Byzantine cathedrals. His intention was to express Christian belief through the architecture and the beauty of the building and communicate the message of the Evangelists.

He achieved a symbiosis between form and Christian iconography, with a personal architecture generated via new but thoroughly logical structures, forms, and geometries inspired by nature, with light and color also playing a central role.

The meaning of the Sagrada Familia is communicated through the form and expressivity of its architecture and the iconography of its sculpture.

Basilica of the Sagrada Familia - Opening times and tickets

GAUDÍ: 1883-1926

After taking over the project in 1883, Gaudí continued work on the crypt, which was finished in 1889. Later he began work on the apse, while donations were received at a steady rate. After receiving a substantial anonymous donation, Gaudí proposed a new and grander design.

He proposed abandoning the old Neo-gothic plan in favor of a design that was more monumental and innovative, both in regard to the form and structure as well as the construction.

Gaudí’s design consisted of a large church with a floor plan based on a Latin cross and soaring towers. It was to be immensely symbolic, both architecturally and sculpturally, and convey the teachings of the Gospels and the Christian Church.

In 1892 the foundations for the Nativity facade were started. This facade was built first because, as Gaudí himself put it, “If, instead of building this decorated, richly ornamented facade, we had started with the hard, bare and skeletal Passion facade, people would have rejected it.”

In 1894 the apse facade was finished, and the Rosary portal, one of the entrances to the cloister on the Nativity side, was finished in 1899.

Basilica of the Sagrada Familia - Opening times and tickets

In 1909 Gaudí built the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia provisional school buildings, for children of Sagrada Familia workers and local children, on the south-west corner of the site.

In the following year, 1910, a model of the Nativity facade was displayed at the Grand Palais in Paris in an exhibition featuring Gaudí’s work organized by his friend and patron Eusebi Güell.

The Pasion facade was designed in 1911. In 1914 Gaudí decided to concentrate exclusively on the construction of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia, a fact which explains why he did not undertake any other major work in the later years of his life.

He became so involved that he lived his final months close by his studio workshop; a space located next to the apse used for producing scale models, drawings and designs, sculptures and for taking photographs, amongst other activities.

In 1923 he produced the final design for the naves and roofs. Construction work however progressed slowly. The first bell tower on the Nativity facade, 100 metres high and dedicated to Saint Barnabus, was finished on 30 November 1925.

This was the only tower Gaudí saw completed. On 10 June 1926, he died as a result of injuries sustained three days earlier when he was tragically knocked down by a tram.

On 12 June he was buried in the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the crypt of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, where his mortal remains rest to this day. Overall these years a sizable group of architects, draughtsmen, sculptors, and modelers collaborated with Gaudí on the construction.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Architecture

«The temple as a whole, as well being a place for divine worship, will artistically represent the truths of religion and the glorification of God and His Saints.» A. Gaudí

Gaudí’s conception of the Sagrada Familia was based on the traditions of Gothic and Byzantine cathedrals. His intention was to express Christian belief through the architecture and the beauty of the building and communicate the message of the Evangelists. He achieved a symbiosis between form and Christian iconography, with a personal architecture generated via new but thoroughly logical structures, forms and geometries inspired by nature, with light and colour also playing a central role.
The meaning of the Sagrada Familia is communicated through the form and expressivity of its architecture and the iconography of its sculpture.

The various architectural elements are imbued with hierarchically organised Christian symbolism. Thus, each of its 18 towers has a special significance. In the middle is the tower dedicated to Jesus Christ and around it are four towers representing the Gospels; the books containing the life and teachings of Jesus. The tower above the apse, crowned by a star, represents his mother the Virgin Mary, while the remaining 12 towers represent the 12 Apostles, witnesses to his words and deeds.
From wherever they are seen, once finished, these 18 towers will be an extraordinary sight and provide a sense of elevation to the central tower dedicated to Jesus Christ.

In fact this verticality is a characteristic of the building chosen by Gaudí to symbolise elevation towards God. This is achieved with the rising pyramidal design outside, the loftiness of its naves, and the pinnacles on top of the towers that seem to fuse with the sky. The life and teachings of Jesus are represented on portals of the three facades. Each one represents one of the three crucial events of Christ’s existence: his birth: his Passion, Death and Resurrection; and his present and future Glory. As the sun moves across the sky, its light further emphasises the qualities (generosity, harmony, or drama) of each facade.

Gaudí planned for the light inside the Sagrada Familia to be harmonious and to accentuate the plasticity of the nave, but above all to be conducive to introspection. The branching columns, as well as having a structural function, reflect Gaudí’s idea that the inside of the temple should be like a wood that invites prayer and is fitting for celebrating the Eucharist. To lessen the load of the roofing and bring light into the building he designed lucarnes or skylights in between the columns, based on hyperboloids, built using pieces of golden and green glass and tiles to reflect daylight inside. All the stained glass in the apse follows a plan of graduated tones to create an atmosphere suitable for introspection. «The intimacy and depth is that of a wood, which will be the interior of the Temple of the Sagrada Familia.» A. Gaudí

«It is not a disappointment that I will not be able to finish the temple. I will grow old, but others will come after me. What must be always preserved is the spirit of the work; its life will depend on the generations that transmit this spirit and bring it to life.» A. Gaudí

There were many helpers and followers of Gaudí who collaborated with him during his lifetime, including Francesc Berenguer, Josep Maria Jujol, Josep Francesc Ràfols, Cèsar Martinell, Joan Bergós, Francesc Folguera, Josep Canaleta and Joan Rubió.

After Gaudí’s death in 1926 the construction of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia was continued by architects and craftsmen who had worked with him, according to his plans and plaster models. After his death another of his followers, Domènec Sugrañes, took over and completed the construction of the last three towers on the Nativity facade. Sugrañes was succeeded upon his death after the Civil War by Francesc de Paula Quintana who worked closely with Isidre Puig i Boada and Lluís Bonet i Garí, especially on the construction of the Passion facade, following the directions and documents left by Gaudí. In 1966 Puig i Boada and Bonet i Garí took over from Quintana as directors of works until 1983, when Francesc Cardoner was appointed to the position.

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In 1985, Jordi Bonet i Armengol was entrusted with the building’s management. He brought together a team comprising of Carles Buxadé, Joan Margarit, Josep Gómez, Jordi Coll, Mark Burry and Jordi Faulí, whose main task was to design and build the naves. In 2012 Jordi Faulí became chief architect and director of works on the temple. Despite not being understood by many of his contemporaries, Gaudí developed an architectonic language that has made him world-famous. Today no one contests his place in the pantheon of 20th century architects. Gaudí’s methods continue to be considered revolutionary, a century after he devised them

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Main access
The main access is on C/Marina, in front of the Nativity facade.

Group Entrance
Group leaders must collect tickets before the visit begins from the Group Visitor Services Centre (c/ Marina).

School Entrance
– Guided tours for school groups

Primary and secondary school groups (not including baccalaureate students): entrance on c/ Sardenya. Group leaders must identify themselves before the tour begins at the Visitor Point, on the same street.
Baccalaureate: entrance on c/ Marina. Group leaders must collect tickets before the visit begins from the Group Visitor Services Centre (c/ Marina).
– Self-guided tours for school groups
Entrance on c/ Marina. Group leaders must collect tickets before the visit begins from the Group Visitor Services Centre (c/ Marina).

Ticket Sales/Office
c/Sardenya

Exceptions:
– Friends of the Church
– People with disabilities and their companions
Go to the Group Visitor Services Centre (c /Marina)

More information on Basilica entrances:
Visitor Attention
(+34) 932 080 414
[email protected]

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

INTERNATIONAL MASS (Every Sunday and holy days of obligation)

The Archdiocese of Barcelona will be holding an international mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Família every Sunday and on holy days of obligation from 9 July.

The mass will be held at 9:00 am in several languages. There is no charge for attending mass but capacity is limited. The entrance to the Basilica is on the Nativity façade, Carrer de la Marina, from 8:30 am to 9:00 am.
Visitors are asked to dress appropriately and behave respectfully.
For groups of more than 25, please fill in the following FORM*

For any other questions regarding the international masses, please contact the liturgical head of masses at
[email protected].

DATE: every Sunday and holy days of obligation.
TIME: 9 am.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: space limited. No invitation required.

EXTRAORDINARY MASSES

The Sagrada Família hosts extraordinary masses.

See the calendar of masses for the upcoming extraordinary masses.

To join in these masses and events, have a look at the information on how to get tickets when they are posted.

Some of the extraordinary masses can be watched live online. See the calendar for the upcoming live broadcasts.

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UPCOMING MASSES:

Palm Sunday Mass
March 25 at 12 p.m.

Closing mass of the International Congress of Pueri Cantores
15 July at 9:00 am

Thanksgiving Mass celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary
7 October at 6:00 pm

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

BEGINNINGS: 1866-1883

The beginnings of the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family, known as the Sagrada Familia, go back to 1866 when Josep Maria Bocabella i Verdaguer founded the Spiritual Association of Devotees of Saint Joseph, which in 1874 began campaigning for the construction of an expiatory temple dedicated to the Holy Family. In 1881, enabled by various donations, the Association purchased a 12,800m² plot of land, located between the streets of Marina, Provença, Sardenya, and Mallorca, to build the temple on.
The first stone was laid on St Joseph’s day, 19 March, 1882, in a ceremony presided over by the Bishop of Barcelona, Josep Urquinaona. It signalled the start of construction, first in the crypt located under the apse, following the Neo-gothic design drawn up by the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, the Sagrada Familia’s first architect. After a short while, due to disagreements with the promotors, he resigned from the post of chief architect and the job fell to Antoni Gaudí.

GAUDÍ: 1883-1926

After taking over the project in 1883, Gaudí continued work on the crypt, which was finished in 1889. Later he began work on the apse, while donations were received at a steady rate. After receiving a substantial anonymous donation, Gaudí proposed a new and grander design. He proposed abandoning the old Neo-gothic plan in favour of a design that was more monumental and innovative, both in regard to the form and structure as well as the construction. Gaudí’s design consisted of a large church with a floor plan based on a Latin cross and soaring towers. It was to be immensely symbolic, both architecturally and sculpturally, and convey the teachings of the Gospels and the Christian Church.

In 1892 the foundations for the Nativity facade were started. This facade was built first because, as Gaudí himself put it, “If, instead of building this decorated, richly ornamented facade, we had started with the hard, bare and skeletal Passion facade, people would have rejected it.” In 1894 the apse facade was finished, and the Rosary portal, one of the entrances to the cloister on the Nativity side, was finished in 1899.

In 1909 Gaudí built the Sagrada Familia provisional school buildings, for children of Sagrada Familia workers and local children, on the south-west corner of the site. In the following year, 1910, a model of the Nativity facade was displayed at the Grand Palais in Paris in an exhibition featuring Gaudí’s work organised by his friend and patron Eusebi Güell. The Pasion facade was designed in 1911. In 1914 Gaudí decided to concentrate exclusively on the construction of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia, a fact which explains why he did not undertake any other major work in the later years of his life. He became so involved that he lived his final months close by his studio workshop; a space located next to the apse used for producing scale models, drawings and designs, sculptures and for taking photographs, amongst other activities.

In 1923 he produced the final design for the naves and roofs. Construction work however progressed slowly. The first bell tower on the Nativity facade, 100 metres high and dedicated to Saint Barnabus, was finished on 30 November 1925. This was the only tower Gaudí saw completed. On 10 June 1926 he died as a result of injuries sustained three days earlier when he was tragically knocked down by a tram. On 12 June he was buried in the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia, where his mortal remains rest to this day. Over all these years a sizable group of architects, draughtsmen, sculptors and modellers collaborated with Gaudí on the construction.

HANDOVER: 1926-1938

After the death of Gaudí, his close collaborator Domènec Sugrañes took over the management of the works until 1938. In 1930 the bell towers on the Nativity facade were finished, and in 1933 the Faith portal and central cypress tree were also completed. In July 1936, after the military uprising and the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, revolutionaries set fire to the crypt, burnt down the provisional school of the Sagrada Familia and destroyed the studio workshop. Original plans, drawings and photographs were lost and many large-scale plaster models were broken. It should be pointed out that, from when Gaudí took the helm in 1883 and despite these acts of vandalism, work on the Sagrada Familia, although disrupted, never came to a complete stop, and has always gone ahead according to the architect’s original concept.

HERITAGE: 1938-1999

After the Spanish Civil War building resumed on the Sagrada Familia and it continued to slowly rise. Between 1939 and 1940 the architect Francesc de Paula Quintana i Vidal, who had started working with Gaudí in 1919, restored the fire-damaged crypt and repaired many of the broken models, which were then used to continue construction according to Gaudí’s original plan. The next directors were also men who had known and collaborated with Gaudí, Isidre Puig-Boada and Lluís Bonet i Garí, who were in charge of works until 1983. They were succeeded by Francesc de Paula Cardoner i Blanch, Jordi Bonet i Armengol, and lastly Jordi Faulí i Oller, who has currently been in charge since 2012.

In 1952 the 35th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Barcelona and several events took place in the Sagrada Familia to mark the occasion. In the same year the steps to the Nativity facade were built and the facade was floodlit for the first time. This lighting became a permanent feature in 1964 thanks to the Barcelona City Council.

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Work continued at a steady pace and in 1954 the foundations to support the Passion facade were started, based on several studies Gaudí had carried out between 1892 and 1917. After the foundations were laid the Passion facade crypt was built on them, and in 1961 a museum was opened in the crypt to provide visitors with information about the history and technical, artistic and symbolic aspects of the temple. The four bell towers on the Passion facade were completed in 1976.

1955 was a significant year for the Sagrada Familia; it was the year of the first fund-raising drive to raise money to pay for the building works. The initiative was so successful that it has been repeated every year since, and is a way of allowing society as a whole to participate in the construction of the temple.

21st CENTURY 2000 – 2015

In 2000 the vaulting in the central nave and the transepts was built, and the foundations of the Glory facade were started. In the same year, to mark the new millennium, a Mass was held inside the temple which showcased the grandeur of the building. In 2001 the central window of the Passion facade was finished and stained glass by Joan Vila-Grau representing the Resurrection was installed. The four columns of the crossing were also finished.

Gaudí and his work were celebrated in 2002, with the Barcelona City Council sponsoring International Gaudí Year to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth. The Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia participated with various initiatives, including the restoration, relocating and opening of the Sagrada Familia schools building. In 2002 the sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs completed the wall of the Patriarchs and Prophets which Gaudí had envisaged for the top of the porch on the Passion facade, and in 2005 the sculpture representing the Ascension was positioned between the towers of this same facade. In the same period the windows in the central nave were installed and the Eucharistic symbols for bread and wine were completed by the Japanese sculptor Etsuro Sotoo.

In 2006 the choir inside the Glory facade was constructed, based on models by Gaudí. The vaulting in the ambulatory around the apse was finished in 2008. The vaulting in the crossing and the apse was finished between 2008 and 2010. 2010 was a milestone in the history of the Sagrada Familia: the temple was consecrated as a place of worship by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

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