Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. 14 Mistakes People Make When Visiting.

behind me here is the famous Sagrada Familia arguably one of the most beautiful churches in the world in this video I'm in Barcelona Spain and I'm going to take you on a tour of the Sagrada Familia now I've been all throughout the world I've seen some of the most beautiful religious buildings from the Taj Mahal to Saint Peter's and I think this one probably tops them all but people make some mistakes when they come here I'm going to tell you what these mistakes are and how to avoid them the first mistake that people make is not realizing that the socrada Familia is still under construction you're going to go here and see cranes and Scaffolding and construction workers you may feel a little misled because a lot of the images especially a lot of the marketing material that's shown by tour guides never shows the cranes and Scaffolding it shows an image like this where everything looks pristine and finished it's not finished it started in 1882 and they're getting close as of now they're telling people around 2026 or later so it's getting close but it is not done and you will see evidence of the construction going on while you were there [Music] the next mistake maybe the most common mistake is not booking beforehand and you have to do it online they've actually shut down the walk-up ticketing you used to be able to just show up wait in line get a ticket now you have to do it online and preferably many days before you come here I showed up kind of on a whim and thought I could just buy a ticket on the street I have utterly fell today to get tickets I've tried everything I did go talk to a couple souvenir shops and a couple tour operators they had nothing so I spent literally an hour online trying to find if there's any availability the closest I can get is Monday right before I leave so word warning you better find your tickets online before you get here there's really no work around there's no back Channel way like there is in some other places some other places you can show up wait in line or go find a third party tour operator not here in Barcelona you better book your tickets online whether from the directly from the place or from a third party next mistake that people make is not downloading the app before they arrive for their tour now the main reason you want to download the app is because it has the audio tours on it so you download the audio tour and you can listen as you walk along there's two different audio tours there's a shorter version and then a longer version it's like 45 minutes but either way make sure to download the app before you arrive [Music] so here's a mistake it was a mistake not to bring my airpods they've got this app that you can download and be perfect to have my air pods in here just to walk through the audio tour unfortunately I didn't bring them so you've waited in line you've gone through security maybe you're now listening to an audio tour and as you're starting out your first instinct is to go inside but hold off just for a minute it would be a big mistake not to look closely at the Nativity facade from a distance you can tell there's some Unique Designs going on here but you can't really make anything out but as you get close as you approach the entrance you can see Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus you can see the wise men and the Shepherds the detail here is really astounding and keep in mind this is the part of the church where famous architect Anthony Gowdy worked on personally before he died [Music] with any big Cathedral my favorite part is walking into the entrance and then looking up at the essential Nave there's a certain Beauty to that but here's the Sagrada Familia it's almost a breathtaking experience there's just nothing like this there's no other architecture similar to this there's no Cathedral I've been to where you see these huge columns stretching so high up and it really resembles a forest turns out Gowdy wanted this to represent a forest and trees of different colors stretching up to the sky creating a canopy of sorts don't make the mistake of rushing through here too soon there's a lot to see check out the stained glass windows in every direction they're absolutely stunning but also take a seat soak it all in there's a lot of different seating here listen to the organ play [Music] one thing you may notice about this Cathedral is the illumination the lighting that penetrates through the stained glass windows seems to light up the whole building much more so than you'd find in a normal Cathedral and this is by Design the windows near the top that receive the most sunlight they are more transparent in color and they are lighter in color so it allows that natural light to flow in here foreign [Music] people make is they skip this hallway which is on the right hand side as you approach the passion facade leaving the building this is just a little hallway that shows various different artifacts that Gowdy created for use in the cathedral as part of the liturgy while it certainly won't be the highlight of your tour it's definitely worth the three or four minutes to walk down here and check some of these things out thank you [Music] now let me give you my most controversial opinion in this video and it has to do with the tower tour when you purchase your ticket to the Sagrada Familia you have the option to pay a little bit more about 10 euros more to take a tower tour don't make the mistake of thinking this is going to be some Grand highlight yes you do get to go up an elevator and you do get to capture kind of a glimpse of the city outside of these narrow windows and these metal grates but overall I just wasn't too impressed with the tower tour you don't have an observatory feel here you don't have a 360 degree view if you're looking for a cool selfie this right here is about as good as it gets now you do get to see some of these cool Mosaic statues up close and you also get to descend down through kind of a cool looking stairwell in the end I don't think it's going to be a waste of money but just don't expect to be blown away by this if you're wondering which of the two towers you should go up generally most people say the passion Tower offers a little bit better viewing experience but they're pretty close you've admired the interior of the Sagrada Familia maybe you've been up one of the towers now it's time to exit the building you do so towards the southwest and you pass through these fascinating bronze doors with some intricate scripting and details make sure to take a close look and then you come out and you are underneath the passion facade this is so drastically different than the Nativity facade on the other side of the building there's no intricate details here it's very Stark very bold Gowdy didn't Design This himself but it's Unique and there's a lot of symbolism here it's worth taking a close look now one mistake that a lot of people make is there is an exit gate right here behind the passion facade a lot of people admire this then they turn around walk out the gate and they're right on the street don't do this that's a mistake you definitely want to check out the museum work yourself down you walk down a few stairs back underneath the building and you'll find the museum and it's absolutely worth spending 20 or 30 minutes here museum has some cool exhibits and displays and artwork above and beyond the information that you're going to get on your audio tour so definitely worth checking this out one of the more fascinating exhibits in my mind was the 3D models that show the various different designs and the stages they went through as Gowdy was architecting and designing this starting with a much more simple version of the Sagrada Familia and then that progressed to something a little more complex and ultimately to the design and the architecture that we have now the 3D models were kind of cool to look at up close [Music] one other mistake that people will make is they will skip the bookstore bookstore here is great you can walk through in five or ten minutes and you might find a real high quality item much better quality than the souvenir you'd find on the street or in a local shop years ago my wife and I were walking through here and we found a nativity set we pulled out every Christmas we've enjoyed it for years now so definitely worth visiting the bookstore you don't need to buy anything but check it out before the end of your tour surprised that the Sagrada Familia does not light up a little bit better in the evening time now if you're walking right around it does light up kind of nice and you get to enjoy that view close up but I actually booked a hotel a couple blocks away thinking I would capture some amazing pictures from a little bit of a distance and it does not light up quite the same way that the Eiffel Tower or the Brandenburg gate lights up don't make the mistake thinking that you're going to capture some amazing nighttime views from a distance because it just does not light up the same maybe that changes when the Sagrada Familia reaches completion but for now but not quite as spectacular as you might think foreign last mistake that people make and a recommendation for you is to explore the neighborhood around the Sagrada Familia there's a lot of great shops around a lot of things to see right nearby and specifically look for a restaurant there is a pedestrian walkway directly north of the Sagrada Familia on a diagonal Road and you can walk up this pedestrian walkway there's all sorts of restaurants there I've dined a number of these places and they're good restaurants you sit out on an open-air patio and you can look straight up at the Sagrada Familia and be served some delicious food I highly recommend this you may as well enjoy the beauty of the Sagrada Familia over dinner thank you in the end the biggest mistake you can make is to come to Barcelona and not visit the socrata Familia believe it or not many years ago I was in line and there were a bunch of guys right in front of me and they waited in line a half an hour this is before the online ticketing and then they decided kind of all at once that ah it's not worth it let's go check out the bar scene and they all took off what an opportunity lost to come check out what is truly one of the most beautiful most spectacular buildings on the entire planet make sure if you're in Barcelona plan at least half a day maybe more to come and visit this place in the surrounding area [Music] ha

Channel: Brad Ball Travel & Men's Fashion

Views: 37,259

Keywords: barcelona travel, sagrada familia inside, la sagrada familia barcelona spain, sagrada familia, la sagrada familia, barcelona tips, sagrada familia barcelona, barcelona must see, antoni gaudi

Id: eiW4usFgS98

Length: 12min 33sec (753 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 05 2023