Given the heat in Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba and Madrid, I was wondering if when visiting the churches, Alcazar(s), Alhambra, etc. are there any you know of where men cannot wear shorts? Also what about at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - can men wear shorts?
Thanks!
For the Sagrada Familia bit... YES, assuming we're not talking about this sort -which obviously would apply to women too! :))
If you intend to visit the Cathedral of Barcelona that's another matter, it's possibly the only church in Barcelona that does enforce a dress code at certain times of the day, as you can see in this sign posted at the door. For the rest of churches, monasteries etc. located here in Catalonia (ie. Montserrat, Santa Maria del Mar, Pedralbes, etc), there's normally no problem with the attire whether it's shorts or bare shoulders, again, assuming we're not talking Britney Spear's style -you know what I mean!
You can wear shorts as long as your knees are covered - both sexes. And, of course, shoulders also. Once watched two Southern Baptist ministers try to gain access wearing shorts to the top of their knees. The argued with the guard that they were "Men of God" and he just kept shaking his head side to side. Personally I always wear long pants. You can get light weight cotton blend pants that are just as cool as shorts but look a lot better.
Zip off trouser legs if you have them. Just add the bottoms when entering the church, but as mentioned, it seems only Barcelona Cathedral is strict - and also the worship area of Sagrada Familia. Here is the excerpt from Sagrada Familia website on rules and regs:
For safety, no hats are allowed inside the nave or the museum except for religious, health or belief-related reasons.
Visitors may not enter barefoot.
As it is a Catholic church, visitors must dress appropriately, following these restrictions:
No see-through clothing
Tops must cover the shoulders
No plunging necklines or exposed backs or bellies
Shorts and skirts must come down to at least mid-thigh
Visitors will not be allowed to enter with special clothing to celebrate any sort of festivities, nor with any decorations designed to distract or draw attention for artistic, religious, promotional or any other purposes.
If traveling with females, ask them to bring 2 or 3 large scarves, as these wrapped around the offending skin is acceptable.
We just returned from Spain. We visited Sagrada Familia, Alhambra, the Toledo cathedral, Segovia Alcazar among many other things. We didn't go to the Barcelona Cathedral though. This business about wearing pants or covering shoulders is simply NOT true. We wore shorts as were everyone else and my daughter and I also had nice summer shirts on with bare shoulders. You simply would melt in these places during the summer if not. Our shorts were not even close to covering our knees.
All over Spain we saw people dressed as one would expect in the summer. Some (limited) people do wear nice loose linen pants. I thought in Granada, people were dressed the nicest with most women seeming to be in a summer dress. But I met up with locals all of whom were wearing shorts. When we went to a show at night, everyone was dressed up.
