Sagrada Familia - tickets with guide, audio, on your own???

Last summer, we visited the Sagrada Familia and choose the audio guide. It was informative without being overwhelming. I don't have experience with a guided tour, so I can't compare. I will say, however, that it is very crowded, so it might be a challenge trying to hear the guide.

Thank you. That's kind of what I was thinking, as far as hearing the guide, wanting to spend more time or less time than the group.

I appreciate the guidance.

Robert,
We were just there in March. We had the same question. We decided to go without the guide and without the audio guide. We read the info in Rick's Spain guide, took those pages with us, and we were satisfied doing it on our own.
At the Colosseum, though, we had a guide, as you did (Francesca, who does RS's tours) and she made it come alive like no one else could. But, for La Sagrada Familia, I think a guide is not essential, unless you really want a lot of detail.

Advice: book the absolute earliest tickets you can get in the morning, be there at least 15 minutes early, and enjoy it for little bit without the hordes. We did that, then climbed the Nativity Tower (which my husband loves, because he loves to climb everything, but it was not at all like climbing the top of St. Peters and the view was not as breath-taking, but yes, we would do it again, if we had not already experienced it.....we climb :) But, when we came down from the tower....wow...the main church area was packed with people...we went into the basement area, which is interesting, and it was even more packed after that. When we left, the lines outside (for people without tickets) were snaked almost all the way around the building..........and that was in the off-season!!!!

Enjoy your trip!

I recommend the audio guide. It is well done and gives you a lot of insight into Gaudi's design inspirations and the work still to be done. Order your tickets online at least a few days in advance to avoid the long lines (and sell-outs). Early is always good but they do limit the number of people that can enter in each time segment and the place is huge. So while crowded, you'll always be able to move around easily. A tower visit is good if you have the time and don't mind the extra cost. You can see some of the upper details and ornament better and the view of the under-construction roof is pretty cool.

It's a tough question and a dilemma in a lot of places. Some audio guides are a distraction and can diminish the enjoyment of what you are looking at. In a lot of cases if you have 'read up' enough beforehand then you will have enough knowledge to appreciate without.
Sagrada Familia has a lot of symbolism so you may find it useful. To be honest I can't recall if I used one when I last visited in 2009.

My experience was similar to Margaret's. Definitely get first entry tickets and be in line even 30 minutes in advance. There were few people, I was able to take some nice photos and then sit and just enjoy the church for 10-15 minutes. Then I went back to the entrance to start listening to the audio guide. Half an hour later (about 1 hour after it opened), the noise level was almost an uproar, between the crowds and the construction noises (hammering, drilling). It was easy to hear the audio guide, which was pretty good, but I would have had a lot of trouble trying to hear a guide speaking. And I don't know if a guide would have added much anyway.

It's true that there are only so many people admitted at a time, but there is no limit to how long you can stay, before or after your tower ascent, should you choose to do that too. I went up the Passion Tower and was also not very impressed by the view. I chose to walk down, which was not hard, but it is a narrow, circular staircase for the most part, with a big hole (and no railing) in the middle. You only get there after descending quite a few stairs, so think carefully about forgoing the elevator descent. If you choose the Nativity Tower, I understand you can only descend by the stairs.

The one quirk with the audio guide is that it starts at the opposite entrance if you've pre-purchased. There are two, one used for pre-purchasers (Nativity) and one for on-the-spot tickets (Passion).

Thanks to everyone!

We did this two weeks ago. I know that some of the Barcelona experts recommend doing it later in the day, especially if you combine it with Park Guell. However, we did it first thing ( arrived 15 min. Early and the entrance was on the side with the little park and concession stand) and loved having almost it to ourselves. We got the audio guide,but it wasn't outstanding. I think if you do your reading there is enough information on the walls to remind you. We did the Passion tower, but we weren't that impressed with it.