Tickets to La Sagrada Familia

[KT Cruiser]

On the web site to purchase tickets, something is not clear to me. The Bacilica visit only gives you a 1 hour window to schedule your visit to the Bacilica. The Bacilica + towers visit gives you a time to enter the towers but does not indicate when you visit the Bacilica. If you pick this option, can you show up 1 hour early to visit the Bacilica or do you visit the Bacilica after the tower visit? It's not clear when you can visit the Bacilica when you add the tower tour. Thanks,

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On the web site to purchase tickets, something is not clear to me. The Bacilica visit only gives you a 1 hour window to schedule your visit to the Bacilica. The Bacilica + towers visit gives you a time to enter the towers but does not indicate when you visit the Bacilica. If you pick this option, can you show up 1 hour early to visit the Bacilica or do you visit the Bacilica after the tower visit? It's not clear when you can visit the Bacilica when you add the tower tour. Thanks,

 

The 1 hour window is to start your tour whatever it might be. Once you're in you can stay for as long as you like, so likely you'd do the tower tour at the appointed time and then visit the basilica afterwards. ('m kind of guessing about that last part, but I do know there is no time limit on your visit once you're in.)

Edited December 30, 2013 by Wendy The Wanderer

[KT Cruiser]

Great. Thanks for the information.

[mikaula]

We bought our ticket when we got there. They only take cash so make sure you don't only have your ATM. Once inside you can stay as long as you want. We bought the hop on hop off bus pass and it stops across the street. Very convenient

[Northern Aurora]

We bought our ticket when we got there. They only take cash so make sure you don't only have your ATM. Once inside you can stay as long as you want.

 

We spent several days in Barcelona following B2B cruises last spring. While we had purchased our Sagrada Familia tickets before leaving for the cruise, we ran in to some folks we had met on the second leg. They hadn't purchased prior to the cruise, but purchased their Sagrada Familia tickets the day before online using computer facilities at their hotel. The lines to purchase tickets which we saw in May 2012 were very long, so if you don't purchase prior to the cruise, consider doing so once you are in Barcelona.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Don't wait to buy Segrada Familia tickets until you get to the church. They lines are crazy long. It was a rainy day when we visited. but, the line for tickets was 1.5 hours.

 

We had tickets for the Nativity tower at 11 am. We arrived around 10:15 and were able to go right in. We were able to enter the elevator within 15 minutes of our assigned time.

 

We bought our tickets about a week before our trip. We used our home computer to print tickets.

[petsgalore]

We went to Barcelona in October and purchased all the entrance tickets ahead of time on line. We also usually chose the earliest time slot. We did this to be able to pack in as much as possible in the day as we only had a short time in Barcelona and there is so much to see. The way it worked out, going early was great as there seemed fewer people. My advice is: go early and buy tickets on line before you go.

[law1956]

If you use the HOHO bus, can you still plan on being there for your appointed time? Is it better to use alternate transportation if get tickets ahead if time?

Lynn

[CM2J2R2S]

100% buy the tickets online. We were there in off season and the lines were long. Not around the block, but long.

 

If you go up the tower, get to the tower (know where the entry is) about 5-10 minutes before appointed time.

 

You can go into the basilica any time before and spend as much time before and after the tower, as you like.

 

If you have a tour of Sagrada Familia, that is a little different.

 

You can probably do just fine with the audio head piece, though. Have you seen the funky

on the expectations for building over the next twenty years?

[CM2J2R2S]

If you have even a little fear of heights, you may want to rethink the towers.

 

I went up the elevator with kid one and dh came up next with kid two. I hopped back in that elevator and went back down. Just the windows psyched me out.

 

He tried to talk me out of it, said I would be fine - but afterwards, when he came back down (and he has not got any fear of heights at all) he said that I made the right choice.

[Turtles06]

If you have even a little fear of heights, you may want to rethink the towers.

 

I went up the elevator with kid one and dh came up next with kid two. I hopped back in that elevator and went back down. Just the windows psyched me out.

 

He tried to talk me out of it, said I would be fine - but afterwards, when he came back down (and he has not got any fear of heights at all) he said that I made the right choice.

 

Just an fyi about the towers. There are two sets of towers -- above the Nativity Facade (the facade on which Gaudi actually worked) and above the Passion Facade. For the Passion Facade, you go up and down via elevator. For the Nativity Facade, you go up by elevator but walk down a narrow staircase. I haven't been in the Passion Facade towers, but the views from the towers on the Nativity Facade are spectacular:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[eddiemac]

The official site only offeres tour tickets 3 months in advance. I see there are third party tour operators offering tour tickets now for a May date but at a significant premium over the "official" price. Anyone have any experience with this?

[EnricM]

... wait for the official site and save unjustified markups. Booking a few weeks in advance is normally fine -except for very specific dates during the year- and keep your options open, maybe the 10:45 slot is not open, but the 12:15 is.... :)

[eddiemac]

... wait for the official site and save unjustified markups. Booking a few weeks in advance is normally fine -except for very specific dates during the year- and keep your options open, maybe the 10:45 slot is not open, but the 12:15 is.... :)

 

Thanks for the info. Ed

[EnricM]

That's always a very personal question as it depends on your way of "visiting" places. Some people just walk thru, others pay attention to details and explore nooks and crannies. What sort are you? :))

 

I personally feel 90 minutes is about right to get acquainted with the Sagrada Família, including nooks and crannies, but that's me.

Edited December 27, 2016 by EnricM

[BPCruiser]

I was on the website looking at tickets for our day there in May, 2017. There is a ticket option for Basilica and a ticket option for the Towers. I am assuming the Towers ticket gets you into both Towers ( Nativity Facade and Passion Facade).

 

I did not see an option that was for Basilica Tour and Towers combined? If we have to purchase 2 separate tickets, do we purchase them both for same time or should we book as an example the Towers at 9A and the Basilica at 10A?

 

It is a little confusing... If we are on a limited time frame, can we see and understand enough by just booking the Basic Basilica ticket if we don't plan to listen to the audio for each site we see or will it be difficult to understand the magnitude of the place without the audio?

 

Thanks for your help with this...

[senorbanda]

I was on the website looking at tickets for our day there in May, 2017. There is a ticket option for Basilica and a ticket option for the Towers. I am assuming the Towers ticket gets you into both Towers ( Nativity Facade and Passion Facade).

 

I did not see an option that was for Basilica Tour and Towers combined? If we have to purchase 2 separate tickets, do we purchase them both for same time or should we book as an example the Towers at 9A and the Basilica at 10A?

 

It is a little confusing... If we are on a limited time frame, can we see and understand enough by just booking the Basic Basilica ticket if we don't plan to listen to the audio for each site we see or will it be difficult to understand the magnitude of the place without the audio?

 

Thanks for your help with this...

The combination ticket is called "Top Views". It sells for around €29 pp and I believe it comes with an audioguide that will provide you with information about what you are looking at. Also, you can only choose one tower (Passion or Nativity) with this ticket. Enjoy your trip!

[BPCruiser]

The combination ticket is called "Top Views". It sells for around €29 pp and I believe it comes with an audioguide that will provide you with information about what you are looking at. Also, you can only choose one tower (Passion or Nativity) with this ticket. Enjoy your trip!

 

 

Thank You Senorbanda. Can you recommend which Tower in your opinion gives better views or is preferential to see if we have to choose.

Is their a lift to take you up and down or stairs?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[senorbanda]

We were there in Oct.2014 and Nov.2016. In 2014 we went up the Passion Tower by lift and came down separately by stairs and lift. DW had a walking boot and was able to take the lift down and I took the stairs

which was not that bad. The photo that Turtles06 showed is an excellent example of what you can see from the towers. The Basilica is a wonderful experience!

[EnricM]

For info... it's not really about views -in fact, the views from the towers to the city are only partial and not particularly glorious as the elevation is merely 300ft, there are other places in Barcelona that offer much (much!) better vantage points. Surely there might be disagreement on this, but it's pure physics... 300ft don't give one much of a perspective over the horizon of a city skyline :) What the visit to the towers in Sagrada Família is really about is to be able to admire up close the intricate and colourful details of the façades as dreamed by Gaudí. This is an example: http://buenavibra.es/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/33744599.jpg

 

Btw, for those not knowing, the access to the towers is not allowed to children under 6 y.o. nor to disabled visitors or visitors with mobility difficulties. This is due to security reasons. Also, know that the descent in both towers is by the respective staircases (not by elevator) and that the visit to the towers can be cancelled in case of strong winds or very bad weather -note: it's not normal for this to happen in Barcelona.

 

Being much older, the staircase of the tower at the Nativity façade is far narrower than the one at the Passion façade so those suffering a bit of claustrophobia might consider this. This is a video of the staircase:

Edited April 4, 2017 by EnricM

[oufpat]

We plan on going early the morning of our cruise. Are there taxi's in the area of the church for our return trip?

[EnricM]

There are 11000+ taxis in the city (2 million inhab, for comparison NY has 13K taxis and pop 8M)... there are always taxis passing by. Besides, there are two taxi ranks around Sagrada Família.