Cathedral dress attire

The Cathedrals all have these same requirements; some places enforce the rules more rigorously than others but that should not affect visitors who should respect the requirements of a place of worship whether they get caught or not.

well said Janet.

If you Google Dress Code La Sagrada Familia you'll get a hit that lays out a long list of prohibitions, including some I've not seen mentioned before. Doing the same for the other churches you intend to visit might bear fruit.

Simple easy to remember rule-- "knees and shoulders covered", applies to all churches.

They are a CHURCH, not a Disney attraction.

Heat-- the stone walls are so thick it is cooler inside than out.

A light scarf can deal with the shoulders and a longish skirt still adds breeze or consider capris. Hubby can consider investing in zip off travel pants zipping the lower half on just before entering the church. Hopefully he likes short sleeved shirts.
In Egypt one May, weather was between 40 & 50 C (102 - 122F ). I was in loose capris or a skirt, 3/4 length sleeves and often a head scarf. Loose and flowing, and heat was manageable. Brits, men and women, were in short shorts and tank tops. Sun burned and rugby players with heat stroke. Less clothing does not keep you cooler. Loose breathable clothing does.
Perhaps you can come up with options you can fit into a day bag...and remember the comment above that stone buildings are perpetually cooler.
However, this topic comes up often and Spaniards will say few places of worship demand the strict dress code. I suspect they cave to the tourist dollar. Personally, I will dress conservatively and try to remember it is not a tourist attraction, but still somebody's house of worship.
For Sagrada Familia, there is a small cordened off active place of worship where you can choose to visit or not. If so, conservative dress is preferred.

Two years ago we were in Italy and they had similar guidelines about dress when visiting cathedrals, the Vatican, etc.

It was August, so I wore a short sleeve top and a maxi-skirt, or a sleeveless top with a light shawl. My husband wore long pants and a shirt. That seemed to be enough.

However, we did see people in capris, but not shorts. In one place, maybe the Florence Duomo, you could purchase a light shawl to cover your shoulders.

My rule of thumb is when in doubt, dress conservatively, and you will be fine.

Covered shoulders and knees - both sexes - simple but I know it is often hard to comprehend.

I suggest everyone check out the La Sagrada Familia prohibition list. It goes beyond bare shoulders and knees. Sorry that I can't paste it here or provide a link; I'm traveling with a tablet computer and haven't mastered copying and pasting. Now, whether the prohibitions are enforced, I do not know, but if you want to take the respectful, policy-abiding route, there are additional things to consider beyond covering shoulders and knees.

Here is the link acraven refers to

http://www.sagradafamilia.org/en/rules-and-regulations/

Thanks for the link Joe.
As written, the specific dress code is for the small area of worship in the Sagrada Familia. Subdued colour, shoes and sleeve to elbow are interesting specifics.

The cathedral in Barcelona is pay-to-enter for part of the day, and I definitely saw people being told they could not enter as they were dressed. I was on a Barri Gotic tour, and the guide was carrying some sheet-like drapes in case any of his group needed them.

In the Seville cathedral last October, I was surprised to see them allow short shorts, spaghetti straps, and even bare midriffs. But I am guessing that you could not count on the rules being lax. It would depend on who is checking that day. Besides, I agree with Janet, that is just not respectful.

I be going tomorrow on our RS tour. I will ask Federico tonight at our group meeting.

I think these rules go for pretty much all of Southern Europe, Greece included. And even wherever they are not strictly enforced, it would still seem respectful to adhere to them.

In some of the less religious regions of Northern Europe I have seen tourists walk through cathedrals licking their ice cream cone or sipping their Coke, and that kind of behavior IMO is just plain disrespectful even when there's no one around to tell you how to be dressed or how to behave in a place of worship.

That said, in Southern Europe, I've seen locals at church festivities like baptisms or saints' days, especially younger women, all dolled up, wearing mini skirts that did not come anywhere near their knees.

But then, who are we tourists to tell them how to handle their rules? Maybe coming to church dressed up like that is considered respectful in another way.

"Knees and shoulders covered" is not a rule that applies to all churches in Europe, nor in southern Europe, nor all Catholic churches in those areas. It applies primarily in Italy, and at Barcelona's Cathedral, and at the prayer-only section of La Sagrada Familia, as on the link. Rick's book doesn't warn you about visiting the other locations on your list because no warning is necessary. You must draw a line somewhere between a bikini and acceptable street fashion, but most churches have no problem with seeing people's knees and shoulders and have no strict dress code. I'm not the least bit surprised at mini-skirts being seen in Sevilla, just as they are in Seattle.

I must correct Laura... the rule exists and applies to ALL Catholic churches, no exception, as they're directly dictated by Rome.

HOWEVER, it's also true that in practice, this rule and other are not enforced equally in all Catholic churches as it depends on how retrograde is the maximum authority in each church (be a parish priest, a bishop...) A good example is indeed the Cathedral in Barcelona: until relatively recently, there was a quite progressive bishop that didn't enforce so drastically the "knees and shoulders covered" rule, but a more conservative bishop that "took office" more recently on one side, and the number of tourists that keep mistaking the church for a theme-park, resulted in this being now enforced, especially during certain hours of the day. That's not the case however -for now- at Sagrada Família.

Does it matter if it's a hard and fast rule?

That's exactly what I was trying to say in my previous post: IMO, it's simply a matter of respect to dress and behave appropriately in a place of worship. No matter which denomination, no matter if North or South.

As a Catholic, this is simply not a rule that anyone is even aware of in US/Canadian/many South American Catholic Churches. I would bet that even the older "church ladies" in my church would be unaware of the rule. Heck, the priest may not be aware.

Modesty, yes - but a skirt an inch above the knee and a sleeveless blouse are pretty modest by standards in Europe as well as the US. Think of many of Michelle Obama's iconic dresses. Not inappropriate in the least, but not in accordance with the stricter rules.

SO...if there is a rule posted, FOLLOW IT. But this rule is not posted or mentioned in much of the south of Spain. In those cases dress respectfully but don't worry about a rule that doesn't apply there.

Different diocese and places have the leeway to enforce things differently. For example, in one diocese in the US we couldn't have an outdoor wedding because of church rules. In another we could - Catholicism is not as monolithic as it sounds and the local authorities do differ.

The argument that I should follow this rule in all churches means I would need to follow it at home which is absurd. Therefore I follow it when it is posted (not just enforced - small churches may post it but not have staff to enforce - follow it anyway). When it is not posted and no one seems aware, I behave respectfully and wear my normal clothes. Just like at church at home. Granted, I'm not running around in daisy dukes and midriff tops - if that's your style then perhaps bring some scarves!

My mistake... I never meant to imply anything else but mentioning that "this is a rule that exists but that it's often not heavily enforced" (or enforced at all!) much like many other rules in the Catholic world. Period. And yes, there are so many that I am not surprised a lot of them are unknown to many.

As per how to dress, I agree that one has to be respectful with church-goers/believers and even to me, as a non-believer, it's obvious what goes and what doesn't :))

Btw... this you will find at the entrance of the Cathedral: http://imgur.com/a/SnnOF .... crystal clear, right? Yet don't fret because I've seen many times visitors not quite following them and they've been allowed in. I guess it depends on how strict is the person at the door -entrance isn't free during certain times of the day.