Sagrada Familia
UNESCO World Heritage Site (Works Of Antoni Gaudi, Extended 2005), Minor Basilica Consecrated 2010, Under Construction Since 1882 And The Most Visited Monument In Spain · Barcelona, Catalonia
A church that has been under construction since 1882 and is still not finished, which is the first thing to understand and the reason it is unlike anything else. Gaudi took the project over a year in, redesigned it completely, and spent the last decade of his life living on the site; when he died in 1926 under a tram, less than a quarter of it stood. Work has continued ever since, funded by visitors rather than the church or the state, interrupted by the Civil War when his models were smashed, and carried on from the fragments. The outside carries three facades in three different manners, one carved like melting rock and one sharp and angular, so the building argues with itself as you walk around it. The inside is the surprise: a forest of branching columns under stained glass graded from cold at one end to hot at the other, and it stops people at the door. Book a timed slot days ahead, add a tower lift if you want the height, and go in the morning for the eastern glass.
Carrer de Mallorca 401, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08013, Spain
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The structure: open daily with LONGER HOURS from spring to early autumn and shorter ones in winter, with last admission well before closing and the tower lifts stopping earlier than the basilica. Entry is by TIMED SLOT and arriving late voids it. It closes to visitors for Mass and on certain feast days. Tower access closes in wind and rain. Confirm the slot times and the tower status before booking.