Sagrada Familia Towers - 1 closed?

A causa de la realització d’obres de millora en les instal·lacions, l’ascensor per pujar a la torre de la Passió romandrà tancat fins a proper avís. Les entrades ja adquirides amb pujada a la torre de la Passió serviran igualment, però seran derivades a la torre de la façana del Naixement.
Source: http://www.sagradafamilia.org/torres/

... in short, "until further notice" and no specific date is given as to when the elevator will be open again.

Sorry not to be more helpful!

Hi Enric -- thanks for your reply. I know it says "until further notice" -- it says that on the English version of the page. I'm trying to ask if any forum members have had any actual experience with this in the very recent past. Sometimes websites don't get updated, and I just wanted to be sure the Sagrada Familia website isn't telling me something obsolete that will deter me from reserving a tower ticket. Theresa

Maybe I didn't disclose it before, but I got confirmation on the phone earlier today. Being a local phone call it was no bother for me to make a quick one :))

Oh, that's really good to know -- I didn't realize you found out for sure. Thank you!! (Bummer, because I would really love to go up in one of those towers.)

May I suggest to invest that time you had planned for the tower in walking just 10' north of Sagrada Familia and visiting Sant Pau Centre Modernista??? I'm sure you'll love it too.

Theresa,

Due to the closure of the Passion façade, I suppose you'll have to settle for the Nativity façade. I wanted to mention that I found the staff to be VERY strict on the entry times. They wouldn't let me enter La Sagrada Familia until 5-10 minutes before my reservation time.

Indeed Ken, same goes on for several other attractions in town (ie. Park Güell).... after all the Sagrada Família is visited by an average of 3.3 million people every year, you clearly need some sort of order, LOL!

(source: Tourism statistics for Barcelona and province, page 16)

Enric

Could you phone SF and find out for Theresa if they will be accommodating people with disability issues to let them ride down the Nativity elevator while the Passion elevator is closed?

I can see why they usually do not allow this because on the Nativity there is a narrow bridge and the SF probably wants the traffic flow to keep going one way normally. But with this new situation, they make allowances. After all, the elevator does have to go down anyways to pick up the next group.

Thanks.

... sadly I'm afraid there are bad news:

To summarize for other readers: the visit to Sagrada Família can include a visit to the towers. So far there are two possibilities, a visit to the tower in the Nativity façade, much older, which involves a ride in an elevator to the top and a descend to the ground floor on a steep long and narrow yet beautiful and impressive spiral stairs (+300 stairs > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pok5Ranr8Zw), or a visit to the tower in the Passion façade which involves a ride both up and down in an elevator. For maintenance reasons the elevator in the second façade is closed and will be for the next few months -no specific date is yet available. Note though that a visit to the towers is optional, the basilica in itself, the crypt, the museum... makes it already a worthwhile visit.

Just for GENERAL INFO: it's not possible for people with disabilities or in wheelchairs to access the towers at any time. Period. There's however a special service (Visitor Attention) for these customers to visit the rest of the basilica. See bottom at: http://www.sagradafamilia.org/en/how-to-find-us/ Also, minors (< 6 y.o.) are not permitted either to go up to the towers.

In Theresa's case:

• It won't be possible for you to take the elevator back down for that façade -which is only to ride up- due to the very strict safety procedures in place in the basilica. Over 3 million people visit the place every year and in such huge numbers the whole operation has to work very precisely, as a Swiss clock, and has to ensure the safety of everybody at all times should an evacuation needed to take place, hence the reason procedures are so stringent. And, a notice to skippers, if you purchase an online ticket to visit the Nativity tower (+300 stairs to get down) and once there you appear to have mobility difficulties, you won't be permitted to ride the elevator up - again, for safety reasons- so don't try to cheat :))

• So Theresa, given your special circumstances, you can file for a partial reimbursement of your ticket and I was told you need to either phone them (+34 931 980 705) or email them ([email protected]) including your reservation nbr, full name and the email you used for the reservation as well as a short note explaining the case and they'll cancel the tower visit and reimburse this bit. If you choose to email today (15/feb) you can add "To: Sandra" which is the operator I talked to on the phone, she'll remember our conversation and will facilitate resolving the issue. In general terms I have to say the staff at Sagrada Família (or the company handling the ticket sales, Clorian) are always very helpful.

Enjoy! (...well, the rest of the basilica anyway, lol!)

Well Enric -- I'm overwhelmed by your generous help. I know you spend a lot of your time helping people with Barcelona questions on this forum, but this time you outdid yourself. Thank you! I'll take care of the tickets without the tower. Disappointed but glad I found out ahead of time. And -- listening to your advice, I did look into the Hospital de la Sant Crei i Sant Pau. It looks wonderful - so I'll walk up there after the SF. And--funpig - thank you also for your suggestion to Enric -- both of you saved me a lot of hassle. and thanks to the rest of you who answered as well -- I'm so looking forward to my trip. Theresa

My pleasure, enjoy the visit... and since you're going to be walking Avinguda Gaudí from Sagrada Família to Sant Pau Centre Moderniste, you might want to make a stop in one of the terraces and have a coffee if you catch a sunny day :))

Ah yes, and if you like sweets and confectionery, don't forget to drop by Pastisseria Mora in Avinguda Gaudí, 60. It's one of the most reputed patisseries in Barcelona, established in 1884 and sweetening Barcelonians' palates since.

Kudos to Enric.

Enric, Not only did you help the Original poster you just may have saved the day for my families visit there as well. I just posted asking about kids and the towers but 300+ steps? We will use our time to go to the Catalan Music Hall.

Note thought that the visit to the towers is optional, in fact the basic ticket is for the basilica only and it is in itself already well worth. A peek: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/muA2f -just saying- so you might want to reconsider :)))