Tom Today was probably our most incredible day in Barcelona. This was because we got to visit 2 famous architectural structures of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi – La Sagrada Familia (sometimes known as La Familia) church and La Pedrera (aka Casa Mila) in Barcelona…
Top Things to do in Barcelona Spain – 1. La Sagrada Familia Church
To reach La Sagrada Familia, you can take L2 or L5 to the Sagrada Familia station via the Barcelona Metro. La Sagrada Familia (Basilica de la Sagrada Familia) is just opposite when you exit the station.
La Sagrada Familia was the last project that Antoni Gaudi undertook. He took his work seriously and after taking over the project in 1883, he came up with the final design of the church in 1923. The church is unique in its design because of the innovative curves and decorations that it has. We loved the mosaic tiles and modern facade. Today, the work of finishing Gaudi’s design is approximately 70% completed. The aim of the Sagrada Familia foundation is to finish the restoration works by 2026. Can’t wait to see how La Sagrada Familia would finally look like!
Tickets start at 15 euros for the basic ticket and goes up to 29 euros to include the audio guide and tower tours for panoramic views of the city. Remember to purchase tickets online because
1. Tickets are cheaper online
2. There may not be availability on the day of the visit…
Opening Hours of La Familia Sagrada: 9am to 6pm/7pm or 8pm (depending on the time of the year)
When we arrived, there were THRONGS of people waiting outside the church and we heard many people asking the security personnel about tickets, to which, the reply was “tickets are sold out for the next 2 weeks”!
Though we were not able to enter the church, we were able to enter the gift shop. There were many unique gifts such as lamp shades and candle holders bearing either the shape or image of the church. Definitely a great venue to get some souvenirs to remember your visit.
Also, don’t forget to head past the lake to have a better angle of the facade of the church. Shh…let’s keep this little secret between us 😉
Top Things to do in Barcelona Spain – 2. La Pedrera aka Casa Mila
After visiting La Familia Segrada Church, we took a 20 minutes walk southwest along Carrer de Provenca (or Carrer de Mallorca) to reach our next Gaudi destination – La Pedrera…
Yet another unique architecture of Gaudi, La Pedrera which translates to “stone quarry”, was originally commissioned by Pere Milà as a private residence in 1906. It was also Gaudi’s last construction of a private residence. Casa Mila was finally completed in 1910.
As we reached Casa Mila at about 3pm, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon there, taking time to explore what it has in store for its visitors. Ticket prices and opening hours of Casa Mila are as follows
Ticket Prices La Pedrera
General: 22,00€
Student: 16,50 €
Disabled: 16,50 €
Over 65: 16,50€
Catalonian Residents (General): 12,00€
Children (seven to twelve y.o.): 11,00€
Catalonian Residents (Children seven to twelve y.o.): 6,00€
Children (six and under): free
Opening Hours of La Pedrera
From March 3 to November 5
Every day, from 9am to 8.30 pm (last admission: 8.00 pm)
From November 6
Every day from 9 to 6.30 pm (last admission: 6pm)
Our video coverage of La Pedrera (Casa Mila)
As you can see from the video, the ticket price includes Provença and Passeig de Gràcia courtyard, the Roof-Terrace, the Attic (the Espai Gaudí), The Pedrera apartment and the exhibition hall at the main floor of the building.
Today, there are still residents at La Pedrera. So be mindful when you transit down the stairs (past their doors) as you exit the building. Oh, before you leave, remember to enjoy the sunset from the roof terrace of La Pedrera. An unforgettable view with the unique chimney structures of La Pedrera, together with the city scape of Barcelona…
You can find our complete coverage of Casa Mila (La Pedrera) here.
After sunset, we bought 2 cans of beer – Estrella (“ll” is a “y” in Spain) and Mahou (“h” is silent) and decided to do a Spanish beer taste test, to decide once and for all, which beer was better. We did the taste test, sitting at the cross junction opposite La Pedrera, so that we would be able to see the night lights. (Side note: We were not able to see the night light displays on the roof top. In order to see the light display at the roof top terrace of Casa Mila, you’d have to purchase a separate ticket that allows entry after 6pm). And now back to the taste test…
Kate and I unanimously decided that…*drum rolls*…
Estrella was the better tasting beer! However, the caveat is that the beers were from a can. When we had Mahou from tap at Casa Alberto, it was absolutely fresh and delish. By the way, if you happen to have need to visit the ladies/gents (after doing a beer taste test like us – which is highly unlikely), there’s a Starbucks just across from Casa Mila. 😛
To wind down the evening, we browsed the atas stores along Passeig de Gracia and Carrer de Provenca where we visited Tous for the first time – wonder where they got the idea of having bears on their jewelry from…hm…
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Before heading back to our hotel, we had some tapas at a local cafe nearby (which we devoured due to the hunger pangs, explaining the lack of pictures. Suffice to say, they were A-MAY-ZING!)…
Stay tuned next week as we head back to Madrid for new year’s eve count down! An unfortunate event (super duper suay event) happened to Tom…Find out next week right here on 2bearbear.com!
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