Sagrada Família in 2026: the centenary year

by the barcelonageek editorial team • Updated 11 June 2026 • How we research

The 100th anniversary of Antoni Gaudí's death was yesterday: he died on 10 June 1926, three days after being struck by a tram two blocks from his life's work. 2026 is the year his basilica became the tallest church on earth, the year a pope came to bless it, and, no, it is not finished. Here is what the centenary year actually changes for a visit.

What "finished" actually means in 2026

Every headline this year says some version of "the Sagrada Família is finally complete", and every one of them needs an asterisk. What is complete is the silhouette: with the cross in place on the central tower, all 18 planned towers exist and the basilica has reached its final height. Nothing taller will ever be added. That is a genuine milestone after 144 years, and it is what the centenary celebrations are marking.

What is not complete is the rest. The Glory facade, intended as the main entrance and the most elaborate of the three, is still rising on the Carrer de Mallorca side. The interiors of the six central towers are still being fitted out, work the construction board expects to run through 2027 and 2028. And the full project, including the sculptural program and the contested stairway, now carries estimates into the mid 2030s. Gaudí himself would have shrugged: "My client is not in a hurry" was his line. So if your question is "should I wait until it is done", the honest answer is that "done" keeps moving, and 2026 is the year the building finally looks, from any distance, like the thing he drew.

The Jesus Christ tower

The central tower is the reason 2026 matters. At 172.5 metres it makes the Sagrada Família the tallest church in the world, taking a title Ulm Minster in Germany had held since 1890 at 161.5 m. The crowning element is a four-armed cross 17 m tall and 13.5 m across, glazed so it catches and throws light; its final piece was hoisted into place on 20 February 2026. Gaudí fixed the height a century ago with a rule that still governs the skyline: the work of man should not outdo the work of God, so the tower stops just short of Montjuïc, Barcelona's natural hill.

Two practical notes. First, the tower you can climb is not this one: visitor tickets cover the Nativity and Passion towers, exactly as before, and our tickets guide explains how to choose. Second, the best views of the new tower are from outside and from distance; Bunkers del Carmel and the Montjuïc viewpoints have both earned their crowds this spring.

Visiting in the centenary year

The building is open as normal through 2026; the works do not close the interior. What the centenary changes is pressure. Demand was already high, and a year of headlines, a papal visit and a new world-record tower have pushed sell-outs from "summer weekends" to "most weeks". Some tickets also carry a small centenary surcharge. The practical playbook: book a timed slot 2 to 3 weeks ahead, take the first morning slot you can get, and decide on the tower add-on at booking time because those slots vanish first. The ticket tiers themselves have not changed, and the choice between basic entry, a tower and a guided visit is the same calculation as ever; we keep our Sagrada Família tickets guide updated with current prices and the honest official-versus-reseller comparison, so start there before you pay anyone.

The centenary program

Catalonia has declared 2026 a Gaudí Year, a program backed by the Catalan and Spanish governments that runs well beyond the basilica. The centrepiece has already happened: on 10 June 2026, one hundred years to the day after Gaudí's death, Pope Leo XIV presided over a solemn mass at the basilica and blessed the Tower of Jesus Christ, with more than 8,500 people inside and outside the building and big screens across the city. Gaudí is buried in the crypt, which gives the anniversary an unusual weight: the commemoration happens above his grave, inside his own unfinished work.

For the rest of the year expect special masses, concerts, exhibitions and city-wide events under the Gaudí Year banner, plus heavier crowds at the other Gaudí sites, not just the basilica. If you are planning a Gaudí-focused trip, our guide to which Gaudí site to see first helps you order a day around the busiest entries.

What is still left to build

The Glory facade is the big one: the main entrance Gaudí designed to outshine the Nativity and Passion facades, facing Carrer de Mallorca. Its towers and sculptural program are years from done. Then there is the hardest problem the project has left, and it is not architectural. Gaudí's plan ends the Glory facade in a monumental stairway that would bridge Carrer de Mallorca, and building it would require demolishing housing on the blocks opposite, affecting roughly 3,000 residents. Negotiations between the basilica's foundation and the city council were still running as of March 2026, the construction board has said openly that the dispute may end in court, and completion estimates for the whole project now point to the mid 2030s. The world's most famous building site will outlive its own completion headlines, which, after 144 years, feels entirely in character.

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Researched by the barcelonageek editorial team. Last updated 11 June 2026. Some links earn us a commission; the price you pay is the same, and we point you to official tickets where it matters. How we research · Aviso legal