6 ms·

I’m not particularly religious and not Catholic, but the Sagrada Familia brought me to tears. The interior is one of the most beautiful man-made spaces I’ve eve

I’m not particularly religious and not Catholic, but the Sagrada Familia brought me to tears. The interior is one of the most beautiful man-made spaces I’ve ever seen.

gigatexal 3y ago
Same. Just from sheer beauty of the place got me
brandall10 3y ago
Agreed, went last summer and have told at least a dozen people how it’s the most impressive interior I’ve been inside in my 48 years. Stayed for 3 hours just to observe the shifting light. I’ll be in Barcelona again on Thurs, can’t wait to go back.
- dannyphantom 3y ago
  I hope you have a great trip! If you find yourself with a window of free time, there is a bakery called Pastisseria Hofmann that makes a sweet cream filled croissant that is dangerously good. We got one in ~2018 and have wanted another one since haha
  - brandall10 3y ago
    Absolutely will... that's right down my alley. Thanks for the suggestion!
  - thekid314 3y ago
    I have the same problem, but with a bakery in St. Louis Senegal. That darn brown butter filled pastry is still in my dreams.
  - dnsbty 3y ago
    Spent two months in Barcelona over the last year, and I second the recommendation. The mascarpone croissant is excellent, but I would actually recommend the raspberry jam croissant even more highly. I haven’t had a thing from Pastisseria Hofmann that I didn’t like.
- eps 3y ago
  If you haven't been to Park Güell, it's also worthy a visit.
  - mrexroad 3y ago
    Agree! Along with the Mies van der Rohe pavilion — one of my favorite spots.
silent_cal 3y ago
This makes me happy as a Catholic.
arcade79 3y ago
Atheist here; I love visiting buildings like that. Sagrada Familia is truly beautiful. I like it way better than St.Peters in Rome.
- ddejohn 3y ago
  Another atheist with a deep appreciation and love for churches/cathedrals/etc checking in. I have wanted to visit Sagrada Familia for a long time.
throw0101b 3y ago
"How Beauty Draws Us to God": * https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/how-beauty-draws-us-to-god https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/how-beauty-d... See also perhaps longer presentation (50m) from Bp. Robert Barron, "Beauty in the Catholic Tradition": * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbfWTlPt8mU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbfWTlPt8mU The debate of religion and (forms of) art has an interesting history: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm
diego898 3y ago
I had this exact same experience - it was (and is) hard to explain to other non-religious people who haven't seen it. I'm not even particularly prone to being moved to tears by beauty... one of the few times in my life this happened to me.
tummler 3y ago
Same; the most spiritual experience I've had in a man-made structure. Had chills the entire time.
leononame 3y ago
Same for me. It took me completely by surprise, but as soon as I stepped inside, I started to cry. I don't like it that much from the outside (though I don't mind it either and appreciate it's unique style in contrast to a lot of people that seem to hate it) but on the inside, it really is amazing. I'd visit Barcelona just for the Sagrada Familia
bloomingeek 3y ago
My wife teared up and I was stunned. We arrived in the morning and the light was pushing the color out of the stain glassed windows! My neck was sore for a few days after looking up at the ceiling so much. Waiting in line outside was even fun, just looking at all the detail.

I’m not particularly religious and not Catholic, but the Sagrada Familia brought me to tears. The interior is one of the most beautiful man-made spaces I’ve ever seen.

gigatexal 3y ago

Same. Just from sheer beauty of the place got me

brandall10 3y ago

Agreed, went last summer and have told at least a dozen people how it’s the most impressive interior I’ve been inside in my 48 years. Stayed for 3 hours just to observe the shifting light. I’ll be in Barcelona again on Thurs, can’t wait to go back.

dannyphantom 3y ago
I hope you have a great trip! If you find yourself with a window of free time, there is a bakery called Pastisseria Hofmann that makes a sweet cream filled croissant that is dangerously good. We got one in ~2018 and have wanted another one since haha
- brandall10 3y ago
  Absolutely will... that's right down my alley. Thanks for the suggestion!
- thekid314 3y ago
  I have the same problem, but with a bakery in St. Louis Senegal. That darn brown butter filled pastry is still in my dreams.
- dnsbty 3y ago
  Spent two months in Barcelona over the last year, and I second the recommendation. The mascarpone croissant is excellent, but I would actually recommend the raspberry jam croissant even more highly. I haven’t had a thing from Pastisseria Hofmann that I didn’t like.
eps 3y ago
If you haven't been to Park Güell, it's also worthy a visit.
- mrexroad 3y ago
  Agree! Along with the Mies van der Rohe pavilion — one of my favorite spots.

silent_cal 3y ago

This makes me happy as a Catholic.

arcade79 3y ago

Atheist here; I love visiting buildings like that. Sagrada Familia is truly beautiful. I like it way better than St.Peters in Rome.

ddejohn 3y ago
Another atheist with a deep appreciation and love for churches/cathedrals/etc checking in. I have wanted to visit Sagrada Familia for a long time.

throw0101b 3y ago

"How Beauty Draws Us to God": * https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/how-beauty-draws-us-to-god https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/how-beauty-d... See also perhaps longer presentation (50m) from Bp. Robert Barron, "Beauty in the Catholic Tradition": * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbfWTlPt8mU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbfWTlPt8mU The debate of religion and (forms of) art has an interesting history: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm

diego898 3y ago

I had this exact same experience - it was (and is) hard to explain to other non-religious people who haven't seen it. I'm not even particularly prone to being moved to tears by beauty... one of the few times in my life this happened to me.

tummler 3y ago

Same; the most spiritual experience I've had in a man-made structure. Had chills the entire time.

leononame 3y ago

Same for me. It took me completely by surprise, but as soon as I stepped inside, I started to cry. I don't like it that much from the outside (though I don't mind it either and appreciate it's unique style in contrast to a lot of people that seem to hate it) but on the inside, it really is amazing. I'd visit Barcelona just for the Sagrada Familia

bloomingeek 3y ago

My wife teared up and I was stunned. We arrived in the morning and the light was pushing the color out of the stain glassed windows! My neck was sore for a few days after looking up at the ceiling so much. Waiting in line outside was even fun, just looking at all the detail.