Our favorite attraction in Barcelona, Spain was the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, or church of the Holy Family, designed by Antoni Gaudi. Construction began in 1882 and will finish in 2026 (if it stays on schedule). The Palace of Catalan Music was a close runner-up. Here we are in front of the Sagrada Familia:
The outer appearance of the basilica is fantastic, but it grows on you as you study the details of the sculptures in the various insets. For example, the sculptures on this (east) side of the building provide vignettes from the incarnation and birth of Jesus. If you know where to look, you can see the annunciation, a nativity scene, and Simon and Anna marveling over the infant Jesus after his presentation at the Temple.
The inside of the sanctuary is awash with light coming through huge panels of stained glass on the east and west sides of the structure. We visited in mid to late afternoon, when the sanctuary was flooded with red and orange light as the afternoon sun shone in through colored panes. Electrons are cheap, so I took lots of photos.
Actually, our visit almost did not happen. It was Palm Sunday and the travel organizers forgot that the church would be in heavy use that day. They had to cancel our group tour when they realized that they could not obtain blocks of admission tickets. Fortunately, we found individual tickets on line for after the worship services and before our ship sailed, so we were able to visit on our own. Frankly, part of the enjoyment as we waited our turn to enter was to see so many families leaving church, palm fronds in hand, after the Palm Sunday worship services.
A Cup of Brouhaha 