Travel

Barcelona part 7 Sagrada Familia

The number one attraction of Barcelona is undoubtedly Sagrada Familia. This unfinished church is a whimsical, steel-beamed mountain growing out of the landscape, a creature of the imaginative mind of Gaudi, who died while it was still under construction, run down by a tram in a tragic accident. Barcelonans have been working on the church for a century, and at this rate will probably continue for another century. There are still various political arguments about how to get the work done and how to pay for it, but Sagrada Familia is open to the public. You can ride an elevator most of the way up one of the towers and walk a bit further to the top. From here you gain quite a view of the construction site as well as vistas across the city -- a panorama of the skyline of Barcelona and some details of the towers of Sagrada Familia itself. However, there is not much of a skyline vista to see in this part of town, except for the general layout and one outstanding building, an odd round tower looking like a big, glass pickle, like the Gherkin in London. Scale-model exhibits on the ground floor help you envision what the final product will look like. You can also watch the workers as they create sculptures, carve decorative architectural details and do the heavy construction on this busy site, with hard-hat laborers bustling around the site. It's really a busy, productive area. Alternatively, you could save time and money by just looking at this heaping pile from the outside, which gives the main impression anyway, and don't bother paying the admission fee. Much of the building is a hectic, noisy construction site, so unless you really want the view from a tower, you are not missing much by skipping the interior visit. Of course, those with a genuine interest in this famous site will enjoy walking through it, admiring the beautiful stained glass windows and forest of tall columns finished in many different styles. Such a strange building is not everyone's cup of tea, but it has become a symbol of Barcelona, so you might as well come have a look. Fortunately, there is a metro stop here so you can easily get back to the center of town.