How to get one of the 8,500 free tickets for La Sagrada Família this February

Sagrada Família opens its doors for free during the Santa Eulàlia festivities. There are only 8,500 tickets and the digital draw is already under way. Find out how to take part and when you can visit the basilica at no cost.

This February, Barcelona offers an unusual opportunity: free entry to Sagrada Família during the Santa Eulàlia celebrations. The basilica joins the city's winter festival with open days, allowing residents to rediscover one of the world's most visited icons without paying for admission.

Visits are concentrated on the afternoons of 14 and 15 February, when the light transforms the interior and Gaudí's stained-glass windows come to life. There are 8,500 tickets available, but demand is usually so high that securing one becomes an almost sporting challenge.

To avoid the endless queues of previous years, access is managed through a digital draw. Anyone wishing to take part must register using the form on the Basilica's official website or through its social media channels. The registration deadline is 8 February at 21:00.

On 9 February, the names of the winners will be published, and they will be able to choose between the Friday 14 timeslots (15:00 to 17:30) or the Saturday 15 timeslots (15:00 to 18:00). In this way, the lucky ones will be able to walk beneath the forest of columns and observe the progress of the works at close quarters, in an atmosphere that is much more local and relaxed than usual.

The initiative is five years old and has become one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the Santa Eulàlia festivities. While the Gòtic comes alive with correfocs, castells and popular dances, Sagrada Família becomes a refuge for those looking to experience the city from another perspective, away from tourist crowds.

In addition to free entry, the visit makes it possible to follow the construction's evolution at close quarters, especially Torre de Jesucristo, which is entering its final stretch. For many Barcelona residents, it is the perfect opportunity to feel like tourists in their own city and enjoy a place that, for the rest of the year, seems reserved for those who come from elsewhere.

Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece, is much more than a monument: it is a living symbol of Barcelona's urban transformation. Its construction, begun in 1882, has accompanied several generations and continues to set the pace of the neighbourhood and the city. Every new stage of the works prompts debate and expectation, and the open days strengthen the bond between the basilica and those who watch it grow day by day from their streets.