Barcelona cathedral took over six hundred
years to complete, starting in 1298 and only being declared
finished in 1913. The exterior is covered in scaffolding at
the moment and is likely to stay that way for several years.
One word of advice when visiting
Barcelona Cathedral, be sure to dress appropriately
or you may well be prevented from entering. Skimpy
dresses, hats, too- short shorts and like will make
you likely to be rejected.
The interior of Barcelona
cathedral is huge although the twenty nine chapels
which line the walls provide lots of interest. Not
all are worthy of note but we recommend that you
take a close look at some of them. The gruesome
carving on the right (and below) are just a few
examples of what you will see.
Entry to Barcelona Cathedral is free between the
hours of 8.00 to 12.45 and 5.15 to 7.30. If you
visit between 12.45 to 5.00 then you can buy a
"see-all" ticket for €5 which represents great value
compared to the Sagrada Familia entrance fee. This
ticket gives you entrance to the Cathedral when it
is less busy and also the cloister, choir and lift.
The lift takes you to the roof of the Barcelona
Cathedral and offers superb views of old Barcelona.
The cloister is worth a visit, being a secret garden
within the Cathedral. It houses thirteen rather
vicious geese so be careful! The thirteen geese
represent the thirteen years in the life of Saint
Eulalia, patron saint of Barcelona. She was martyred
in a particularly fashion. One part of which being
rolled round the city in a barrel with nails
protruding from the inside. See the crypt and you
will be drawn to Saint Eulalia's alabaster tomb
which is decorated with other appalling torture
scenes relating to her death.
