Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sagrada Família
Nothing quite prepares you for the impact of the Sagrada Família up close. A
fantastical
tour de force
of the imagination, Antoni Gaudí's ambitious church has
provoked endless controversy. After a lifetime of dedication, the church was only
partially complete when Gaudí died in 1926 and, as a work in progress, it offers
the unique chance to watch the eighth wonder of the world in the making. During
the last 80 years and at incalculable cost, sculptors and architects have added
their own touches to Gaudí's dream. Now financed by over a million visitors each
year, it is estimated the project will be complete by 2030.
Top 10 Features
1 Nativity Façade
2 Passion Façade
3 Spiral Staircases
4 Spires
5 Hanging Model
6 Nave
7 Rosedoor Cloister
8 Crypt Museum
9 Apse
0 Unfinished Business
Passion Façade
Try sitting in a
terrace bar on nearby
Avinguda Gaudí and
drinking in the view
of Gaudí's master-
piece illuminated
at night.
For the best photos,
get to the temple
before 8am: the light
on the Nativity
Façade is excellent
and the tour buses
haven't yet arrived.
!
Nativity Façade
Gaudí's love of nature is
visible in this façade
(above)
. Up
to a hundred plant and animal
species are sculpted into the
stone, and the two main columns
are supported by turtles.
Look out for the
cryptogram on the
Passion Façade,
where all the
numbers add up to
the age of Christ at
the time of his death.
@
Passion Façade
Started in 1978 and comple-
ted in 2002, this façade by Josep
Subirachs represents the pain
and sacrifice of Jesus. The
difference between the Gothic
feel of Subirachs' style and the
intricacy of Gaudí's original work
has not been without polemic.
• Entrances: C/Marina
& C/Sardenya
•
Map G2
• 93 207 30 31
•
www.sagradafamilia.org
• Metro: Sagrada Família.
•
Open: Oct-Mar: 9am-
6pm daily; Apr-Sep:
9am-8pm daily
• Adm: €11 • Guided
tours: May-Oct: 11am,
1pm, 3pm & 5pm daily;
Nov-Apr: 11am & 1pm
daily • €4
•
Limited DA
$
Spires
For a close-up
look at the gargoyles
and mosaic tiling on
the spires
(left)
, scale
the bell tower stairs -
or ride up in a
lift. The views
are equally
spectacular
(see p55)
. Not
for sufferers of
vertigo.
£
Spiral
Staircases
These helicoidal stone
stairways, which wind
up the bell towers,
look like snail shells.
They allow access
to the towers.
8
For more churches in Barcelona
See pp38-9
