Ms. Trinh Hang from Hanoi came to Spain at the end of January, visited the famous Sagrada Família church in Barcelona and shared her experience there.
Most visitors to Spain want to enter the Sagrada Família basilica - the masterpiece of "madman" Antoni Gaudí, the most influential architect in the history of the modern and contemporary world.
The Sagrada Família was not Gaudí’s personal legacy. The cornerstone was laid on March 19, 1882, to a design by Francisco de Paula del Villar with neo-Gothic elements. But when Gaudí took over the project, he spent 42 years on the structure and turned it into a masterpiece. His dream was for the Sagrada Familia to be the church with the tallest spire in the world.
Following Gaudí's ideas, generations of Spaniards continue to build and complete the church to this day. Most recently, at the end of 2023, Sagrada Família inaugurated four towers - part of the main tower group. The central tower (The central tower of Jesus Christ) is expected to be completed in 2026. In 1984, the church was recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage. Many experts believe that this religious structure deserves to be the 8th wonder of the world.
For 136 years since its construction began, the Sagrada Família did not have a building permit. It was not until 2018 that the church applied for a permit from the Barcelona city government.
Standing on a four-sided plot of land, this colossal structure looks like an incredible creation or work of geniuses in mathematics, physics and sculpture. Beyond all classical patterns and beauty, Sagrada Família astounds visitors with its shapes, pieces and details in a complex, intricate, unified and majestic whole.
The church opens at 9am, but we arrived at 8am because just looking at the exterior of the church can take 1-2 hours. The countless reliefs on the walls and corridors around the church will leave visitors speechless with admiration. The works do not follow traditional standards - realistic, round, splendid, but have square shapes, strong lines with deep expressive ability.
On the contrary, inside there are not many paintings and statues like other churches. The sanctuary is minimalist with a statue of Jesus and a few chandeliers, but the space gives a surreal feeling: the rows of towering columns that seem to touch the clouds, gathered together at the roof with complex shapes. The scene looks like it was drawn with special effects in Hollywood blockbusters. A series of stained glass windows welcoming the sunlight make the church both splendid and magical, making visitors feel like they are lost in a fairy world.
The Sagrada Família attracts around 20 million visitors a year (that’s as many as Singapore and the Philippines combined), of whom only 3-4 million make it inside. Many make the long journey, but are left standing outside because they can’t get tickets. Tickets are always sold out days in advance, and there’s no physical ticket counter at the church, so the only way to get in is through the Sagrada Família website. The church’s revenue for 2023 is around €127 million.
The regular ticket price to visit Sagrada Família is 26 euros (about 680,000 VND). If visitors want to visit the whole tower, the ticket price is 36 euros, paid by international credit card. After successfully purchasing the ticket, the website will send an email, visitors just need to save the ticket to their phone and present the file at the door.
Currently, the church sells tickets for two towers: the Passion Facade and the Nativity Facade. Visitors can choose either one, and most choose the Passion Facade because of the better view. When buying tickets, you will choose the time to enter the church, the time to go up the tower, and note that you need to be there on time.
To get to the tower, visitors take the elevator, accompanied by church staff. At the top of the tower, there is only a narrow room, enough for a few people to stand, the tower windows are small, you will not be able to take photos showing off your gorgeous costumes. But in return, you can clearly see the masterpieces on the church walls and the surrounding towers, and at the same time admire the whole view of Barcelona, enjoy the feeling of standing on the roof of the most famous building in Spain.
When going down the tower, visitors will have to climb a narrow and steep staircase, so people with poor health should consider before going up the tower.
Like many other large churches in Europe, Sagrada Família has its own museum, cafe, toilets and modern facilities for visitors. You should bring light luggage, because everyone entering the church must go through strict luggage checks.
Sagrada Família is open from 9am to 6pm from November to February; 9am to 7pm in March and October and 9am to 8pm from April to September every year. To get to the church, visitors take metro line L2 or L5, bus lines 19, 33, 34, D50, H10, B24, ticket price 2.65 euros per trip (about 70,000 VND).
HQ (according to VnExpress)Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/tham-nha-tho-tay-ban-nha-xay-gan-150-nam-chua-xong-404703.html
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