Catholic Shrines & Places of Interest in Barcelona
About Barcelona:
One of Spain’s most beautiful and vibrant cities, Barcelona is about 400 miles south of Madrid on the beautiful Mediterranean coast.
It has an atmosphere of its own, and even its own dialect: Catalonian, since it is the capital of the area of Spain known as Catalonia.
About La Sagrada Familia:
There are many sites here for Catholic travelers, perhaps the most well known being the Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family). It is one of the longest construction projects in the world, having begun in 1882 and still under construction today. Yet it is visited by millions of people each year.
The magnificent design by Gaudi and the stained glass windows draw pilgrims and tourists alike. The outside as you can see is heavily Gothic whereas the inside is quite different and hard to describe, other than to say it is impressively beautiful and peaceful.
You will need to tickets to get in: you can wait in line (could be over an hour) or buy them online. There is an audio guide available that is highly recommended.
Click here for the official website in English.
Traveling to Barcelona:
In addition to its major international airport, it has excellent train connections as well. Get air, train & bus schedules, see fares & buy tickets here.
Barcelona is also a popular cruise port, with many Mediterranean cruises departing from the port–either returning here or going on to Italy and other Mediterranean ports.
If you plan on taking one of these, we recommend that you arrive a few days prior to the cruise to savor the sites of Barcelona. And don’t overlook an re-positioning cruises that might include Barcelona.
Hi. I am arriving via Cruise ship for a single day on a Sunday. I’d love to attend mass at Sagrada Familia, but I’m having trouble estimating the timing to work in a tour + mass. How long is the 9am international mass? What time should I book a tour? Ideally, it would follow directly after.
If you have a local guide for a tour, then the guide (or the company he works for) should be able to help you with this. You might also want to contact the church itself.
Wish I could find English Mass in Figueres for sat or Sunday 28/29Sept 2019