Sagrada Familia - Skip The Line Tickets

The emblem of Barcelona is undoubtedly more spectacular on the inside than on the outside. Don't miss the chance to visit it, I'll tell you how!

Alex Grande

Alex Grande

11 min read

Sagrada Familia - Skip The Line Tickets

The Holy Family | ©Sung Shin

The Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's masterpiece and the most recognizable element of the Barcelona skyline. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world and it goes without saying that it is a must-see on your trip to Barcelona.

How to visit the Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia's wide angle
Sagrada Familia's wide angle

It's very easy to visit the Sagrada Familia as a tourist, but visiting it as a local has a few tricks that I'm going to detail you throughout the following paragraphs. Keep reading and write down my recommendations, you'll thank me later!

Tickets for the Sagrada Familia with optional access to a tower

The most comfortable and economical way to discover the most important building in Barcelona is to visit it at your own pace to dedicate the time you consider to each of the architectural and artistic details of Gaudi's great masterpiece. To do this, you can book for around 30 euros the basic option of tickets for the Sagrada Familia.

But if you want to add a plus, with the skip-the-line tickets with access to one of the towers you can also see the best views of Barcelona from there.

Thanks to the audio guide that you can download with the ticket you can learn about the history of this unique cathedral yet to be completed. But you also have access to the interior museum where you can learn more about its construction.

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

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Guided tour of the Sagrada Familia

Stained glass windows of the Sagrada Familia| ©Ted & Dani Percival
Stained glass windows of the Sagrada Familia| ©Ted & Dani Percival

This guided tour will give you access to the imposing Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and inside you will enjoy the narration of an expert guide on this iconic Basilica. You will learn about Gaudi' 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 Gaudi museum, inside the same enclosure and where you will discover more drawings and photographs of the artist's life and works. Of course, it includes tickets to the Sagrada Familia.

  • 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.

Book your visit to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Guided tour of the Sagrada Familia

with access to the tower

Sagrada Familia Tower
Sagrada Familia Tower

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

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

As in the previous experience, you will have the narration of a guide who knows the Sagrada Familia from top to bottom and can tell you in detail the history of this impressive church. Entrance fees are included.

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

Book your visit to the Sagrada Familia and the tower

Saving pack: Park Güell and Sagrada Familia Tour

Park Güell
Park Güell

This is the most complete tour of Barcelona, as it includes entrance to the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell. You will get to know in depth two of the city's must-see sites, Park Güell, along with a visit to 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 transfer by private vehicle to Park Güell and Sagrada Familia. Entrance fees to both sites are included.

  • Duration: 3 hours and a half
  • Recommended: If you are visiting Barcelona in a group or if you can't stand crowded tours for tourists.

What you will see

  • Park Güell
  • Sagrada Familia
  • Gaudí House Museum
  • Hill of the Three Crosses
  • La Lavandera Portico

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We compare the options

  • Sagrada Familia Tickets
  • From 38
  • At your own pace
  • Tickets for the Sagrada Familia
  • Audioguide
  • Without guide
  • Book now
  • Barcelona Sagrada Familia Tickets with Tower Access
  • From 52
  • At your own pace
  • Tickets for the Sagrada Familia
  • Access to a tower
  • Without guide
  • Book now
  • Barcelona Sagrada Familia Guided Tour
  • From 61
  • 1 hour and 30 min
  • Guided tour of the Sagrada Familia
  • Option to include Tower
  • With guide
  • Book now
  • Combo: Barcelona Park Güell and Sagrada Familia Tour
  • From 121
  • 3 hours and 30 min
  • Guided tour of the Sagrada Familia
  • Guided visit to Park Güell
  • With guide
  • Book now

Details of interest about the entrance tickets to the Sagrada Familia

Detail of the roof of the Sagrada Familia| ©Vojtěch Bulant
Detail of the roof of the Sagrada Familia| ©Vojtěch Bulant

The Sagrada Familia receives more than 4 million visitors a year, so it's important to know a few things about its entrances so that your experience doesn't turn into chaos.

Types of tickets

To avoid crowds, all entrances have a fixed time, with a 15-minute interval between each distributed entrance. Once inside, you can stay in the Sagrada Familia for as long as you like.

  • Basic ticket: With it you can access the interior of the Sagrada Familia and tour its floor. It is only available during the last two opening hours of the basilica, so if you visit at any other time of the day you will have to choose one of the other tickets.
  • Combined ticket: You can combine the entrance to the Sagrada Familia with an entrance to Park Güell, as you can do in one of the tours that I have recommended before.
  • Entrance with access to the tower: It allows you to enter the Sagrada Familia and access one of the towers of the church, which you can ascend to a small viewpoint from which you can see part of Barcelona.
  • Free entrance: There is no free entrance to the Sagrada Familia as such, but going to mass in the church does not require an entrance fee. It starts around 9 am on Sundays. Spaces are limited and entry is on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want to attend mass I recommend waiting at the entrance near the Nativity façade before 8:30 am for the Sunday service.

The queue

The line to buy tickets to the Sagrada Familia at the ticket office is one of the most impressive I've ever seen at a tourist attraction. Admittedly, the last time I went to Barcelona it was in the middle of July and I passed by the church at noon, but even so the queues that form at almost any time of the day can easily wear out your patience.

Access to the Sagrada Familia is through the Nativity façade, on Carrer de la Marina. There is a small crowd to enter the temple, but it is not comparable to the queue to buy tickets.

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Is it better to buy tickets to the Sagrada Familia in advance?

Arc de Triomphe Barcelona| ©Juanedc
Arc de Triomphe Barcelona| ©Juanedc

In no way do you think of waiting to buy tickets to the Sagrada Familia at the box office: the queues are endless and being subject to a fixed time it is possible that once you go to buy them you find that there are no slots 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 before, so my recommendation is that you book them as far in advance as you can. Since the only advantage of buying them at the time would be the flexibility that would give you choose at the time, but in this case you lose all the guarantees to ensure your ticket for the day and time you want, buying in advance is the smartest option.

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Organize your visit to the Sagrada Familia

Views of the Sagrada Familia
Views of the Sagrada Familia

How to get to the Sagrada Familia

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

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

Days and opening hours of the Sagrada Familia

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

  • March: 09:00 - 19:00
  • From April to September: 09:00 - 20:00
  • October: 09:00 - 19:00
  • From November to February: 09:00 - 18:00
  • December 25th and 26th and January 1st and 6th: 09:00 - 14:00

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 ground floor of the basilica. If you go up to the tower, it will take you longer because between the ascent, the descent, and the time you spend enjoying the views, you will be in the basilica for at least an hour and a half.

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Where to eat near the Sagrada Familia

Paella in Barcelona| ©Mikael Leppä
Paella in Barcelona| ©Mikael Leppä

We assume that near the Sagrada Familia you will find mostly restaurants for tourists, but it is possible to find some gems where some will end up by chance, but you can go because you know they are worth it. Here are three recommendations:

  • Casa Angela - The tapas are really good and they have croquettes of various kinds, perfect for ordering a selection. The rice dishes are homemade and with good products, hence the paellas taste like paella and not frozen. In addition, you can eat on the terrace overlooking the Sagrada Familia which is a privilege.
  • Can Pizza - Not everything in Barcelona is served in paella and although it is true that a pizza is far from being a local dish, in this restaurant they prepare them in luxury and that is why I recommend you try them.
  • Casa Mariol - Back to the product of the land in Casa Mariol, where you can get up to the top of typical tapas like cocas, olives, anchovies, sausages ... all accompanied by the best wines of the region.

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

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Tips for your visit to the Sagrada Familia

The Three Wise Men, detail of the Sagrada Familia| ©NH53
The Three Wise Men, detail of the Sagrada Familia| ©NH53

Dress code

There is a dress code for access to the Sagrada Familia, which requires you to remove any head covering (except for religious or medical reasons) and wear clothing that covers the shoulders, back and chest. Pants and skirts must cover up to the knee and no see-through clothing or cleavage is allowed, as well as no shoes.

Although dress codes are often not strictly enforced due to the very high number of visitors to the Sagrada Familia, it is best to try to comply with etiquette so as not to risk being turned away.

Photography inside

You are allowed to enter the Sagrada Familia with a camera and take pictures inside, so remember to take it with you if you want to have some souvenirs of the temple. And finally, my most important recommendation is that, although the interior is impressive and well worth staying a long time admiring it, the exterior facades of the Sagrada Familia are crazy.

Exterior details

The temple has three facades and each one represents a stage in the life of Jesus: Birth, Passion and Glory. The Nativity façade, in Catalan modernist style, has enough detail to get lost with your eyes 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 doesn't offer the interest of the other two.

Alex's Traveller Tip

The Sagrada Familia has two towers that you can climb. If you have a choice, climb the Nativity Tower as you can get a close-up view of the façade from the top.

Other attractions that may interest you

The Pedrera| ©Tokyographer
The Pedrera| ©Tokyographer

If we talk about Barcelona, it is almost essential to immerse yourself in Gaudí's architecture and urbanism. One of his most outstanding works in the city is the Park Güell, and to visit it I recommend you to read our guide of Barcelona Park Güell Tickets and Tours where I tell you all the tricks to visit it.

Likewise, you don't want to miss the most iconic buildings of the artist, so here you have my guide from Barcelona La Pedrera Tickets and Tours and my guide to Barcelona Casa Batlló Tickets and Tourswith the best tips to organize your visit.

For soccer fans, visiting the Camp Nou is an experience that can be very interesting because in 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 locker rooms, and the press room. You have in this guide all the details: Spotify Camp Nou Experience Tickets.

And finally, you have my guide of Barcelona Museums that will help you choose the most interesting collection and make sure you get the most out of your trip.

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