Sagrada Família: Tickets, Hours, and Must-See Highlights

Sagrada Família is Gaudí’s iconic and unfinished basilica, with breathtaking architecture and intricate details. Book your tickets online to avoid long lines and fully appreciate this marvel.

Sagrada Familia is Barcelona’s most popular tourist attraction, and this UNESCO World Heritage site attracts no less than 5 million tourists annually.

This basilica is the pet project of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, renowned for his dislike of straight lines in design and construction.

It has been under construction since 1882 and will be ready by 2026—that’s a whopping 144 years!

Here’s everything you need to know before buying your Sagrada Familia tickets.

Top Tickets

# Fast-track tickets to Sagrada Família
# Sagrada Familia with Tower Access
# Guided tour of Sagrada Família

It’s highly recommended to book your Sagrada Família tickets in advance. These tickets sell out quickly, so securing your spot early ensures you don’t miss out on this unforgettable experience.

Key Takeaways

The Sagrada self-guided entry ticket is the cheapest and most popular way to explore the basilica. You can combine this with a visit to the tower as well. You can also opt for a guided tour, which comes with and without tower access

The basilica gets almost 5 million visitors each year, so it is best to book your tickets online to get your preferred timeslot and avoid long wait times at the attraction

The basilica opens at 9 am and closes at 6 pm. Mondays are usually the least crowded day of the week. Most tourists spend around 90 minutes to 2 hours exploring the basilica

Since it is an active church, Sagrada Familia enforces a strict dress code. The acceptable length of shorts and skirts is mid-thigh

What’s ahead

Things to know before booking tickets

When you buy Sagrada Familia tickets online, they are cheaper than those purchased at the venue because there is no ‘ticketing window surcharge’ on online tickets. You also save time because you don’t need to stand in line to buy tickets. The attraction’s tickets get delivered to your inbox when you purchase them. All you need to do on the day of your visit is show the ticket in your email and walk in. No need for printouts! Also, make sure you are at the attraction at least 15 minutes before the time mentioned on your ticket.

Fun Fact
The construction of the Sagrada Familia is more of a Pan-European effort, with its sandstone and granite coming from Galicia and Cantabria (Spain), England, Scotland, and France.

Sagrada Familia tickets

Sagrada Familia ticketPin
Image: Placestotravel.com

There are many Sagrada Familia tickets, each offering a unique experience at the church.

Ticket/tourCost
Sagrada Familia fast track tickets€34
Sagrada Familia with Tower access€47
Guided tour of Sagrada Familia€55
Sagrada Familia guided tour + Tower access€74
Guided tour of Sagrada Familia & Park Guell€89
Guided tour of Sagrada & Montserrat€133
Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia in French€50
Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia in Italian€50
Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia in German€50
Guided Tour of Sagrada Familia in Spanish€50

Did You Know?
The cost of your Sagrada Familia ticket funds the work still needed to complete the Sagrada Familia, making you a co-creator in Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece!

Fast Track entry tickets

Sagrada Familia’s Fast Track tickets are the cheapest and most popular way to explore this attraction.

More than 90% of visitors opt for the Fast Track ticket, which gives you access to the church and museum but not the towers.

These tickets help you save up to 90 minutes waiting in the ticketing counter queues and include an audio guide available in 17 languages.

The entry timeslots start from 9 am and go up to 5.15 pm. There’s a slot available every 15 minutes.

Ticket Price

Adult (30 to 64 years): €34
Senior (65+ years): €27
Youth (11 to 29 years): €31
Student (with valid ID): €31

Buy This Ticket

Note: Kids younger than 10 years can enter for free, but you must add a free ticket during ticket purchase.

Sagrada Familia entry + Tower access

This ticket is the cheapest option if you want to climb one of the Towers (Nativity or Passion) in addition to exploring the Sagrada.

This is a self-guided ticket, so you can explore everything by yourself.

It also gives you access to Museum Sagrada Familia on the ground floor under the Passion facade.

These tickets are perfect if you are interested in Gaudi’s work and want to climb one of the Towers but don’t want to spend too much on a guided tower tour. 

Visitors must take the lift up to the Tower and walk the stairs down. Just so you know, these lifts are quite narrow in width, but you’ll love the view once you step outside.

Only children over six years can visit the towers, and an adult must accompany kids under 16 years of age.

Ticket Price

Adult (30 to 64 years): €47
Senior (65+ years): €40
Youth (11 to 29 years): €44
Student (with valid ID): €44

Buy This Ticket

Gaudi Immortalized!
There are sculptures portraying Sagrada’s architect, Antoni Gaudí, on the church’s two completed façades. Gaudí is depicted as Saint Joseph on the Nativity façade and as Jesus’ beloved disciple, Saint John, on the Passion façade.


Recommended


Guided tour of Sagrada Familia

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Image: Reddit.com

When you book a guided tour of Sagrada Familia, a Gaudi expert takes you around Sagrada Familia.

Learn about the rich history of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral and its creator, Antoni Gaudi, with a local expert fluent in English and Spanish, making your 90-minute trip all the more exciting.

Once the tour ends, you can explore the basilica for as long as possible. This tour has a maximum of 30 tourists.

Do note that despite this being a guided tour, you cannot access the Nativity or Passion Towers; there’s a separate guided tour with a tower access ticket for it.

Ticket Price

Adult ticket (11+ years): €55
Child ticket (4 to 10 years): €31
Infant ticket (up to 3 years): Free entry

Buy This Ticket

Guided tour with Tower Access

This tour of Sagrada Familia with Tower access includes an official guide fluent in English, Spanish, German, and French.

Being a highly-rated experience, it is almost 2 hours long as your guide takes you through Sagrada Familia’s famous interiors and up one of the Towers.

While inside, find out why the church’s designs incorporate plants, animals, and symbols of astrology pertaining to Christian ideology.

If money isn’t a concern, we recommend booking this tower ticket as it offers you an all-around experience, unlike the other Sagrada tours.

Till early 2019, it was possible to choose the Tower you wanted to go up on—Nativity or Passion—but this provision has since then been revoked.

Only children over six years can visit the towers, and an adult must accompany all kids under 16 years of age.

Ticket Price

Adult (11+ years): €74
Child (6 to 10 years):
€54

Buy This Ticket

Guided tour of Sagrada Familia and Park Guell

This ticket offers the best of both worlds, as you get to tour two of Gaudí’s most impressive works, Sagrada Familia and Park Guell.

The tour starts at Park Güell, and after a break for lunch, the group moves to Sagrada Familia. The total duration of this guided tour with skip-the-line-access is 4 hours 30 minutes.

Transportation between the two UNESCO World Heritage sites is included with the ticket.

All participants get a headset so that they can hear the guide better, who is fluent in English, Spanish, and German.

Ticket Price

Adult (11+ years): €89
Child (4 to 10 years):
€54
Infant (up to 3 years): Free

Buy This Ticket

Did You Know?
The interiors of Sagrada Familia are designed to represent Nature, with columns as trees and various creatures hidden throughout the church.

Visiting Sagrada Familia for free

Visitors who meet certain conditions can enter Sagrada Familia for free throughout the year. They are:

  • Kids 10 years and below
  • People with a disability of 65% or more and their companion
  • Visitors with Barcelona Press Card 
  • Those who have a valid unemployment ID (only on Wednesdays, from 2 pm onward)

Note: Visitors who have bought a Barcelona City Pass can also explore Sagrada Familia for free.

Free entry for Mass

Tourists don’t need tickets to attend Sunday Masses at the Sagrada Familia. 

If you don’t mind the religious sermon, this is a great way to enter Antoni Gaudi’s church for free. 

However, you are expected to respect the gathering and the occasion and not take photographs or explore other parts of the attraction. 

Sagrada Familia audio guide

If you love to explore the church at your own pace, you should opt for Sagrada Familia’s audio guide.

The audio guides come free with Sagrada Familia’s Fast Track tickets.

The routes in the audio guide explain the towers, the facades, and the insides of the church.

The 45-minute-long audio guide is available in Catalan, Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and Hungarian.

Note: Audio guides are not available for kids below 12 years of age.

Did You Know?
Once the final Spire (crowned by a cross and dedicated to Jesus Christ) of the Sagrada Familia is complete, it will be the tallest church in the world (566 ft/172 m), beating the current record holder, Germany’s Ulm Munster (530 ft/162 m).

Sagrada Familia entrances

Sagrada Entrance MapPin
Map Courtesy: Sagradafamilia.org

If you see the map above, you can spot three Sagrada Familia entrances:

  • General Entrance for regular tourists
  • Group Entrance, for tour groups
  • The Entrance for school kids

We recommend you follow this link to get directions to the General Entrance.

Sagrada Familia hours

Sagrada Familia opens at 9 am from Monday to Saturday and at 10.30 am on Sundays. Its closing time varies based on the season at hand.

During the peak season of April to September, it closes at 8 pm, and in the shoulder months of March and October, it closes at 7 pm.

During winter (November to February), the church closes at 6 pm.

MonthsWeekdaysSundaysClosing time
Nov to Feb9 am10.30 am6 pm
Mar9 am10.30 am7 pm
Apr to Sep9 am10.30 am8 pm
Oct9 am10.30 am7 pm

Regardless of the season, the last entry to the basilica is always half an hour before closing time.

Note: On special occasions like Christmas Day (December 25), Saint Stephen’s Day (December 26), New Year’s Day (January 1), and Epiphany (January 6), Sagrada Familia opens at 9 am and closes at 2 pm.

How long does the tour take

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Image: GetYourGuide.com

Most tourists explore Sagrada Familia within 90 minutes or, at times, 2 hours. 

You need 45 minutes to walk around the church and another 45 minutes to step inside Sagrada Familia and relish its stunning interiors.

If you decide to climb one of the towers—the Nativity or Passion tower—you will need an additional 30 minutes. 

The best part is that there is no time limit: Once inside, you can stay for as long as you want.

Don’t forget to visit the museum on the ground floor of the church: It is dedicated to the history and construction of Sagrada Familia.

How to avoid crowds

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Image: Famagusta.news

Nobody likes to waste time in long lines while on holiday, but unfortunately, this happens quite often at Sagrada Familia if you don’t plan your trip in advance.

Here are three sure-shot ways to avoid the Sagrada Familia crowd and save your time and energy.

Buy Sagrada Familia tickets online

You must stand in two queues when you visit Sagrada Familia: The first is at the ticketing counter (to buy entry tickets), and the second is at the gates to enter Sagrada Familia.

During high-season weekends, office holidays, etc., waiting time in these queues can go up to two hours!

It is thus best to buy tickets for Sagrada Familia online. This way, you can skip the long lines, select your preferred time, and pay less.

Get the time slot right

While booking Sagrada Familia tickets, most tourists opt for the ’round’ timings, i.e., 10 am, 10.30 am, 11 am, etc. These slots are often the most crowded (200 tourists per slot).

Surprisingly, most tourists ignore the in-between slots, such as 9.15 am, 9.45 am, 10.15 am, etc., with smaller crowds. We suggest booking in-between slots for a less crowded experience.

Pro tip: Book your tickets at either mid-morning or mid-to-late afternoon when direct sunshine streams in through the church’s large stained-glass windows.

Plan your visit on a Monday

Mondays aren’t always bad news! Mondays are perfect if you plan to beat the lines at Sagrada Familia.

Since most museums in Barcelona are closed on Mondays, tourists assume that Sagrada Familia will also be closed.

This aside, the church also stays open even when the whole of Spain closes for Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The Sagrada Familia Towers

Layout of Sagrada Familia TowersPin





















Gaudi had his plans set in gold way back in the 19th century, and he envisioned Sagrada Familia with 18 towers.

Once completed, twelve of these 18 towers will represent the Apostles, and four towers the Evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The Sagrada Familia tower, with a star on top, represents the Virgin Mary, and the last and highest tower in the middle represents Jesus Christ.

Currently, there are 12 towers, and the remaining six will be completed by 2026.

Four of these eight constructed towers are part of the Nativity facade, and four are part of the Passion facade.

Only the Nativity and Passion facade views are complete: By 2026, it will have an additional facade—the Glory facade.

Just so you know, you need to purchase a ticket to go up and see the facades.

With these tickets being costlier and the tower visit taking an additional half-hour, visitors often wonder if they should climb the Sagrada Familia towers.

Well, trust us, it’s worth the climb—and money and time!

Nativity facade or Passion facade?

Your tower access ticket allows you to go up only one of the towers, Nativity or Passion, based on the day you enter the church.

This is based on an internal rotation system run by the church: you either get to climb the Nativity Façade for a sea view or the Passion Façade for a city center view.

Many tourists who have been up both towers think the Nativity facade is better than the Passion facade.

Guides who take tourists to the towers second this by saying they have observed similar reactions from visitors who have either visited the Nativity Tower or the Passion Tower. 

Sagrada Familia’s dress code

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Since Sagrada Familia is an active Catholic church, you need to adhere to a strict dress code enforced by its staff.

While visiting the Sagrada Familia church, men and women must avoid see-through clothing, swimwear, etc.

The acceptable length for both shorts and skirts is at least mid-thigh.

Women must ensure they cover their shoulders and avoid plunging necklines, exposed backs, and bellies.

Men visiting the church must avoid hats unless they wear them for religious or health reasons.

Visiting Sagrada at night

If you are planning to visit the basilica at night, any time after 7 pm is perfect to witness the edifice in all its nighttime glory.

Late evening is also an excellent time to see the city of Barcelona from the Nativity facade as the lights turn on.

While there is a certain amount of romance in visiting Sagrada Familia in the evening hours, we recommend you visit it during the day to see Antonio Gaudi’s intricate work on the exterior.

Gaudi’s Pillar Perfection!
The Sagrada’s double-twisted column is Gaudi’s tribute to the architects of ancient times. Aesthetically and structurally perfect, it combines the simple cylindrical pillar, the classic striated Greek column, and the Baroque Solomonic column.

Sagrada Familia map

There are two ways to ensure you don’t miss anything at Sagrada Familia: book a guided tour or keep a map of the church handy while exploring it.

We recommend bookmarking this page or printing the church map and bringing it with you on the day of your visit.

The Sagrada Familia’s floor plan is another great way to find everything you might need or use—visitor services, audio guide stops, toilets, changing rooms, lifts, etc.—when exploring the church.

Mass timings

International and special masses are conducted regularly at Sagrada Familia. These Masses are open to the public, and entry is free.

Do note that entry for such services is on a first-come, first-served basis.

There are two altars at the Sagrada Familia church: The Main Altar and the Crypt Altar.

The International Mass is always held at the Main Altar, and masses in Catalan and Spanish at the Crypt Altar.

For the Sunday service, arrive at the entrance in front of the Nativity Façade no later than 8.30 am, and for the Saturday service, no later than 7.30 am.

Apart from this, additional church services are held on special days throughout the year. Visit the Sagrada Familia website for more details.

If you want to pray during your tour and are in need of reflection and silence, we suggest visiting the Chapel of the Eucharist in the ambulatory.

As always, dress modestly and maintain decorum when attending mass.

International Mass

The Archdiocese of Barcelona conducts International Masses at 9 am on all days of the week, including Sundays and holy days of obligation.

Entry for the International Mass is from the Nativity facade on Carrer de la Marina.

Special Mass

The Sagrada Familia also conducts special masses at regular intervals.

Some of these special masses allow only ticketed entries. Free entry is by special invitation only.

Keep track of the special masses at Sagrada Familia here.

How to reach

Sagrada Familia is on 401 Mallorca Street, 08013 Barcelona. Get Directions

You can reach the attraction by either public or private transport.

If the metro is your preferred option, board Line 2 (Purple) or Line 5 (Blue) and get down at the Sagrada Familia Metro station.

If you prefer to travel by bus, board bus numbers 19, 33, 34, 43, 44, 50, 51, B20, and B24. All of these buses stop at Sagrada Familia.

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Researched & written by
Jamshed is a versatile traveler, equally drawn to the vibrant energy of city escapes and the peaceful solitude of remote getaways. On some trips, he indulges in resort hopping, while on others, he spends little time in his accommodation, fully immersing himself in the destination. A passionate foodie, Jamshed delights in exploring local cuisines, with a particular love for flavorful non-vegetarian dishes. Favourite Cities: Amsterdam, Las Vegas, Dublin, Prague, Vienna

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