{"id":940541,"date":"2026-05-06T01:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T01:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/940541\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T01:57:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T01:57:21","slug":"i-visited-an-unfinished-attraction-locals-fear-will-never-be-done-europe-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/940541\/","title":{"rendered":"I visited an unfinished attraction locals fear will ‘never be done’ | Europe | Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Natalie<\/p>\n

The work may never be finished – at least in my lifetime (Image: Natalie King) This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a> <\/p>\n

There are many incredible sights to see around the world, but they have one thing in common: they\u2019re relics of the past<\/a>, often built thousands of years ago and preserved over time for their historical significance.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s one major attraction that\u2019s the complete opposite; it\u2019s a work in progress. Parts of it are still shrouded with scaffolding and tarps, and as you wander around you occasionally hear the sounds of power tools as the structure endlessly grows.<\/p>\n

\"Sagrada<\/p>\n

Every inch has an incredible decorative detail (Image: Natalie King)<\/p>\n

The Sagrada Fam\u00edlia in Barcelona<\/a> is a landmark most people are familiar with, and in the past year, there have been a number of rumors swirling that 2026 will be when it is finally finished. After all, it\u2019s now been 100 years since its architect Antoni Gaud\u00ed stepped into the path of a streetcar outside the church, dying days later. So, does the centenary of his death mean this iconic structure can finally be finished?<\/p>\n

According to my wonderful, and scarily knowledgeable, guide, Rosa, no. While the 100-year anniversary was commemorated by topping the church with a glass cross and bringing it to its full height of 172.5 metres, the work is far from over.<\/p>\n

We took a Sagrada Fam\u00edlia tour with Rosa one sunny afternoon, and before we even stepped through the door, our group peppered her with questions about the completion date of the project. Some had heard it\u2019d be completed this year, 144 years since construction began, and others had been told we\u2019ll see the finished building by 2032 or 2034.<\/p>\n

\"Sagrada<\/p>\n

So much work still needs to be done (Image: Natalie King)<\/p>\n

But while Rosa seemed to know every carving on the building and every little detail of Gaud\u00ed\u2019s fascinating life, the completion date was one thing she couldn\u2019t tell us because, simply, nobody knows. Her animated shrug summed up the local attitude to the project. It\u2019ll take as long as it takes.<\/p>\n

And given the ambitious scale of the build, it\u2019s doubtful that most of us will see the finished product in our lifetime. But that\u2019s no reason not to visit. The Sagrada really is something you have to see in person to appreciate the sheer scale, detail, and passion that has gone into every inch. Many people are seemingly unconcerned about the construction work going on around them. Nearly five million people visited the Sagrada in 2025, a daily average of 13,500.<\/p>\n

Even if you only see the outside, the Sagrada has thousands of incredible and mysterious statues and carvings, each with its own unique tale. From the tree of life, which looks a bit like a Christmas tree but actually represents eternal life, to the Passion fa\u00e7ade with its skeletal-style sculptures, you just never tire of looking at it.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

The interior of the Sagrada has a beautiful glow from its stained glass (Image: Natalie King)<\/p>\n

After a thorough examination of the outside, we stepped inside to the warm yellow glow of the basilica. Because the stained glass is different colours on each side, the interior appears in different shades throughout the day. The Sagrada\u2019s interior is just as ornate as the outside. The high ceilings are adorned with symbols representing figures from the bible and contain a whole canvas of mysteries on their own.<\/p>\n

At the end of the tour, you can visit a small museum dedicated to Gaud\u00ed, explaining his life, his creative process, and how he works. But even with all this context, it\u2019s difficult to imagine that this one behemoth could be the vision of a single person, even in its perpetually unfinished state.<\/p>\n

Book it<\/strong><\/p>\n

TUI offers 3-night city break packages to Barcelona, staying at the 4* H10 H10 Madison Hotel<\/a> on a bed and breakfast basis, from \u00a3666 per person based on two adults sharing a classic double room, traveling on Ryanair from London Stansted Airport on 15 September 2026. Price includes 10kg of hand luggage.<\/p>\n

Our tour was with TUI Musement. The small guided tour including tower access<\/a> starts at \u00a370 per adult (11+), \u00a351 per child (5-10), under 5s go free, or you can opt for Sagrada Familia entrance with audio guide<\/a> from \u00a330 per adult (30+), \u00a327 per youth (11-29) with under 10s going free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The work may never be finished – at least in my lifetime (Image: Natalie King) This article contains…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":940542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[262754,199,262755,2000,299,5187,262753,104,262756],"class_list":{"0":"post-940541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-antoni-gaudu00ed","9":"tag-barcelona","10":"tag-barcelona-tourism","11":"tag-eu","12":"tag-europe","13":"tag-european","14":"tag-sagrada-famu00edlia","15":"tag-spain","16":"tag-unfinished-landmark"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116525154527869733","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=940541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/940542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=940541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=940541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=940541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}