Sagrada Familia Basilica, Barcelona

Walking into Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona floods you with a feeling of love and wonder. The heights above you are very high (45m, only one meter less than St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Rome), and the light coming in the stained glass windows is pure joy. Stained glass should always be this- simple designs that bring more colored light through! I would like to enter Sagrada Familia at different times of day to see the different kaleidoscope colors.

The basilica is built in Catalan Modernist style, with curvilinear shapes and nature-inspired motifs. Gaudi took the style even further, with his own style that incorporated hyperboloids, allowing light to penetrate the interior. There are no right angles in the church, and few straight lines! The columns in the nave are designed to look like trees and branches. It's impossible to take a good photo of the interior- you have to see it for yourself!
Where the columns (trees) branch out to make the nave's vault (canopy of the forest), illuminated shields or lamps have been placed. This is just so cool! I adore these shields! They are satisfying in shape and appearance. There are 36 of these lamps lighting the interior, making colors on the columns. My favorite are the four in the transept (near where you walk in), which represent the four apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, with winged symbols: man, lion, ox, and eagle. 
Different sides of the interior emphasize different colors of stained glass, and it's wonderful to just sit and bask in the orange or green glow. There is a side chapel dedicated to quiet prayer- you definitely feel like going in there after being inspired by the light and beauty in the nave. Give thanks for your trip and pray for what's on your heart. 
You enter Sagrada Familia from Carrer de la Marina, on the northeast side, which is the Nativity Facade, the oldest facade, which Gaudi himself was able to complete before his death. It has many themes and elements from nature, hence it's odd, messy look. There are two other facades, the Passion Facade (southwest side, on Carrer de Sardenya, where you exit), with more simple angular skeletal lines, showing the harshness of Christ's death, and the Glory Facade (southeast side, on Carrer de Mallorca), which is still to be completed. The northwest side, on Carrer de Provenca, looks more like a traditional Gothic church, very pleasing too, and does not contain a themed facade. The information about which side is which is all wrong online!
Gaudi designed and worked on the Sagrada Familia from 1883 until his death in 1926. Construction is due to be completed around 150 years after it began, in 2033. The tallest part of Sagrada Familia, the last tower (the Jesus Christ spire), was finally completed in February 2026, one hundred years after Gaudi's death. The basilica is now the tallest church in the world, at 172.5 meters. If you see it from a lookout at night, it seems out of a fairytale! I stood in the Novotel Barcelona City at the end of the hallway on the 17th floor admiring it. I would think it would be great from the Glories Tower as well, and from lower down, in front of Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau.
Although mass is celebrated in Sagrada Familia, the construction is not funded by the Catholic Church, but by ticket sales and donations, as Gaudi wanted.
Gaudi is buried in the crypt chapel. We saw a wedding there- you can look down on the crypt chapel while in the basilica, through glass. You can only enter the crypt chapel for mass, through the door on Carrer de Sardenya. I have not done this yet but I'd like to. 
As soon as you find out you're going to Barcelona, buy tickets online for Sagrada Familia, as it sells out. Make sure you're on the official ticket site so that you don't get scammed. 
After, walk north up Ave de Gaudi, stopping for a cup of tea or smoothie at one of the touristy cafes. You can see Sagrada Familia down the avenue. You will reach Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, a hospital designed by one of Gaudi's professors, Domenech i Montaner. Take some time to visit it, especially enjoying the interior of the stunning administration building. From inside, you can look out on the colorful tiled rooftops of the hospital. In the cement courtyard, you can admire the adorable orange blossom trees, and smell them in late April.

Directions

You enter Sagrada Familia from Carrer de la Marina, on the northeast side, which is the oldest facade, which Gaudi himself was able to complete before his death.
As soon as you find out you're going to Barcelona, buy tickets online for Sagrada Familia, as it sells out. Make sure you're on the official ticket site so that you don't get scammed.

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