Sagrada Familia Towers

Sagrada Familia Tickets / Sagrada Familia Towers

Gaudi’s original vision for the towers includes 18 spires, to represent the Twelve Apostles, Virgin Mary, the four Evangelists and Jesus Christ. Of the 18, only 8 spires have been completed so far. These correspond to the four Apostles of the Nativity Façade and the four Apostles of the Passion Façade. The spires dedicated to the Evangelists will be surmounted by sculptures of their traditional symbols while the tallest spire, dedicated to Jesus Christ, will be surmounted by a giant cross and will have a height of 170 meters (560 ft). While the towers are a long way from completion, once completed they will make Sagrada Familia the tallest church building in the world. On your visit to the Sagrada Familia, if you purchase a ticket that includes tower access, you can choose to climb either the Nativity or Passion towers.

Nativity or Passion Façade Towers?

Nativity Tower

The Nativity Tower is richly decorated and celebrates the birth of Christ. It was the only tower to be built under the supervision of Antoni Gaudi himself, so opting for the Nativity Tower gives you the opportunity to walk through the original work of the architect. It features a bridge that connects two towers of the Nativity facade and walking on the bridge is an exhilarating experience in itself. The Nativity tower faces the east and provides a stunning view of Barcelona city and of the mountain ranges that surround the city.

Visitors can use the elevators to go up the tower, however, the only way down is via the stairs.

Passion Tower

The Passion Tower is starkly different from the Nativity tower. The tower facade represents the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. It has a relatively simplistic exterior, adorned with bare stone and carved with harsh straight lines to resemble the bones of a skeleton. The tower faces west and gives visitors a beautiful aerial view of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Passion tower too, has elevators to go up but the only way down is via the stairs.

The Tower Stairs

While both towers have elevators to go up, the journey down is via a long, narrow series of winding stairs. In theme with Gaudi’s personal architectural style that draws from nature, these spiral stairs resemble a snail. There are 504 stairs in total, that coil around tightly closed walls and they are railing free. The stairs however, are completely safe to climb and not very physically tiring. Visitors with physical disabilities, claustrophobia and heart conditions are requested to refrain from accessing the Towers as it can be a strain for them.