Barcelona Sagrada Familia Tickets and Tours

The Sagrada Familia is Gaudí's masterpiece and the most recognisable feature of Barcelona's skyline. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world and, needless to say, an essential stop on your trip to Barcelona.

The most convenient and economical way to discover the most important building in Barcelona is to visit it at your own pace and spend as much time as you like admiring the architectural and artistic details of Gaudí's great masterpiece. To do so, you can book the basic option of skip-the-line tickets for the Sagrada Familia for around £25.

But if you want to add a little extra, with skip-the-line tickets that include access to one of the towers, you can also enjoy the best views of Barcelona from up there.

Thanks to the audio guide that you can download with your ticket, you can learn about the history of this unique cathedral, which is still unfinished. You also have access to the museum inside, where you can learn more about its construction.

• Duration: As long as you like
• Recommended: If you prefer to visit monuments at your own pace and don't want to miss the incredible views of Barcelona from the tower of the Sagrada Familia.

This guided tour will give you access to Barcelona's imposing Sagrada Familia, where you can enjoy the commentary of an expert guide on this iconic basilica. You will learn about Gaudí's architectural genius and the deep religious passion behind each piece that makes up the temple.

The great advantage of this tour is that you will also have access to the Gaudí Museum, located within the same complex, where you will discover more drawings and photographs of the artist's life and works. Of course, admission to the Sagrada Familia is included.

• Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Recommended: If you want to skip the queue for the Sagrada Familia and visit the highlights of its interior with a local guide.

with access to the tower

If you want to extend your visit to the Sagrada Familia with access to the tower, this is the tour for you. You will be able to visit all the accessible areas inside the temple and enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of Barcelona from the top of one of the towers open to the public at the Sagrada Familia.

In exchange, the tour group is a little larger, with a maximum of 30 people, although fortunately the visiting hours are specially chosen to allow access to the Sagrada Familia when there are fewer tourists, around lunchtime.

As with the previous experience, you will be accompanied by a guide who knows the Sagrada Familia inside out and will be able to tell you all about the history of this impressive church in great detail. Tickets are included.

• Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Recommended: If you have already visited the Sagrada Familia on another occasion and would like to extend the typical tour.

This is the most comprehensive tour of Barcelona, as it includes admission to the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell. You will get to know two of the city's must-see attractions in depth: Park Güell and its most important building, the Sagrada Familia.

In addition to the full attention of a local Barcelona guide for you and your group, this tour includes private transport to Park Güell and the Sagrada Familia. Entrance tickets to both sites are included.

• Duration: 3.5 hours
• Recommended: If you are visiting Barcelona in a group or if you can't stand tourist tours with large crowds.

What you will see

The Sagrada Familia receives more than 4 million visitors a year, so it is important to know a few things about its tickets to ensure that your experience is not chaotic.

• To avoid crowds, all tickets have a fixed time, with a 15-minute interval between each ticket distribution. Once inside, you can stay in the Sagrada Familia for as long as you like.
• The queue to buy tickets for the Sagrada Familia at the ticket office is one of the most impressive I have ever seen at a tourist attraction. Admittedly, the last time I went to Barcelona was in the middle of July and I passed by the church at midday, but even so, the queues that form at almost any time of day can easily try your patience.
• Access to the Sagrada Familia is via the Nativity façade on Carrer de la Marina. There is a small crowd to enter the temple, but it is nothing compared to the queue to buy tickets.

Don't even think about waiting to buy tickets for the Sagrada Familia at the ticket office: the queues are endless and, as they are subject to a fixed time, you may find that when you go to buy them there are no slots left for the time you want and you have to buy them for the next day.

Tickets for a specific date are available online up to two months in advance, so I recommend booking them as far in advance as possible. The only advantage of buying them on the spot is the flexibility it gives you to choose when you want to go, but in this case you lose all guarantees of securing your ticket for the day and time you want, so buying in advance is the smartest option.

How to get to the Sagrada Familia

The best way to get there is by metro to the Sagrada Familia stop (L2), but you can also take bus 50 if you are near Paseo de Gracia or several buses from Plaza Cataluña.

Other buses that take you to the Sagrada Familia are lines 19, 33, 34, 43, 44, 51, B20 and B24. Not all of them stop on a street adjacent to the temple, so check the route carefully before getting on, check Google Maps, or simply ask the driver. In any case, most lines will have many people getting off at the Sagrada Familia stop, so you will know which one it is.

Sagrada Familia opening days and times

The Basilica is open to the public 365 days a year, but opening hours vary depending on the time of year:

Duration of the visit

It usually takes between 45 minutes and an hour to visit the interior of the Sagrada Familia, if you only visit the floor of the basilica. If you go up the tower, it will take longer, as the climb up, the climb down, and the time you spend enjoying the views will mean that you will be in the basilica for at least an hour and a half.

We assume that near the Sagrada Familia you will find mainly restaurants for tourists, but it is possible to find some hidden gems that some people stumble upon by chance, but you can go because you know they are worth it. Here are three recommendations:

As it is such a touristy area, there are fast food restaurants of all kinds near the Sagrada Familia, so if you prefer, you also have this option (which is not the same as my approval; it's a crime to eat at McDonald's while on holiday in Barcelona!).

Dress code

There is a dress code for entering the Sagrada Familia, which requires you to remove any clothing that covers your head (except for religious or medical reasons) and to wear clothing that covers your shoulders, back and chest. Trousers and skirts must cover the knees, and transparent clothing, low-cut tops and bare feet are not permitted.

Although the dress code is not always strictly enforced due to the large number of visitors to the Sagrada Familia, it is best to try to comply with the rules to avoid being refused entry.

Photography inside

You are allowed to enter the Sagrada Familia with a camera and take photos inside, so remember to bring yours if you want to take home some memories of the temple. And finally, my most important recommendation is that, although the interior is impressive and well worth spending a long time admiring, the exterior façades of the Sagrada Familia are mind-blowing.

Exterior details

The temple has three façades, each representing a stage in the life of Jesus: Birth, Passion and Glory. The Birth façade, in Catalan modernist style, has enough details to lose yourself in for hours, while the Passion façade is almost the opposite, clean and minimalist but full of symbolism. The Glory façade is still unfinished, so it is not as interesting as the other two.

Alex's Traveller Tip

The Sagrada Familia has two towers that you can climb. If you have the choice, go up the Nativity Tower, as you will be able to see the façade up close from the top.

When talking about Barcelona, it's almost essential to immerse yourself in Gaudí's architecture and urban planning. One of his most outstanding works in the city is Park Güell, and to visit it, I recommend reading our guide Park Güell in Barcelona Tickets and Tours where I tell you all the tricks for visiting it.

Similarly, you won't want to miss the artist's most iconic buildings, so here's my guide to La Pedrera in Barcelona Tickets and Tours and my guide Barcelona Casa Batlló Tickets and Tours, with the best tips for organising your visit.

For football fans, visiting Camp Nou is an experience that can be very interesting, as at the Camp Nou Experience you can explore the trophy gallery, a space dedicated to Messi, a very interesting audiovisual area and, of course, the stands, the changing rooms and the press room. You can find all the details in this guide: Barcelona Spotify Camp Nou Stadium Tours

And finally, you have my guide The 10 Best Museums in Barcelona that will help you choose the collection that interests you most and ensure that you get the most out of your trip.