One ticket gets you up one tower: the Nativity façade tower, with views towards the east of the city, or the Passion façade tower, with views towards the centre. You go up by lift and come down on foot, children under 6 can't go up and the ticket with a tower costs 36 euros.
Anyone buying a Sagrada Família ticket with a tower has to pick one of the two that can be visited: the Nativity façade tower or the Passion façade tower. You can't climb both on the same ticket, and you choose when you buy. This guide sets out what the basilica itself says about each one, what the climb is like and who stays on the ground, so the choice isn't made blind.
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One ticket, one tower
The basilica's purchase conditions are clear: the ticket with towers includes a visit to one of the two towers, and you have to choose which when you buy it. The two options are the Nativity façade tower, with views towards the east of the city, and the Passion façade tower, with views towards the city centre.
They are opposite façades, at the two ends of the transept. So the question of which tower is better has less to do with height than with what you want to look at: one side of Barcelona or the other, and from the work Gaudí began or from the one raised decades after his death.
The Nativity tower: the façade Gaudí saw
The Nativity façade faces east, on carrer de la Marina. According to the basilica's information booklets, it tells of the birth of Jesus and expresses «the hope and joy of life»: that is why it is full of carved animals and plants, from tortoises to hens and from roses to almond trees.
It is the façade that was begun in Gaudí's lifetime. He saw only one of its bell towers finished, the one of Saint Barnabas, in 1925; the other three, dedicated to Simon, Jude Thaddeus and Matthias, were finished in 1930. Going up here means going up the oldest part of the church, with the view open to the east of the city.
The Passion tower: the western façade
The Passion façade faces carrer de Sardenya and the basilica also calls it the western façade. It recalls the last days of the life of Jesus and, as the booklet devoted to it explains, it is essentially dramatic. Gaudí wrote that it would be «hard, bare, as if made of bones».
Its four bell towers, dedicated to James the Less, Bartholomew, Thomas and Philip, were finished in 1977. The sculptures on the portico are by Josep Maria Subirachs, who made them between 1986 and 2010 in a style of sharply marked edges. From this tower, the view runs towards the city centre.
What the climb is like
You go up by lift and come down on foot. The basilica's booklets explain that the towers have helical staircases inside, and that is how you come down. The basilica doesn't publish how many steps there are, so we don't give a figure.
Before going up you must leave rucksacks and bags in the lockers, because for safety reasons they can't be taken up. Those lockers are only for people going up the towers: the basilica warns that there is nowhere to leave suitcases. The visit with a tower lasts about an hour and a half.
Who can't go up
Children under 6 can't visit the towers, and up to 16 they must be with an adult. The towers aren't accessible to people with reduced mobility, although the rest of the basilica is. The rules add that, for safety, wheelchairs and pushchairs can't go up, nor can pregnant women or people with vertigo, claustrophobia or heart or breathing problems, among other conditions.
If staff refuse the climb because these requirements aren't met, the rules provide for a refund of the tower visit, not of the basilica entry.
If the weather is bad
The towers close for safety when weather conditions are adverse, and also for breakdowns or maintenance. Here the small print matters: the ticket page warns that closure of the towers doesn't mean the ticket price is refunded, while the purchase rules say that in those cases what you paid for the tower is returned, but never what you paid for the visit to the church. If you're living in Barcelona for a few months, you have room to pick a clear day; if you're passing through, factor in that risk.
What it costs
The basilica ticket with a tower costs 36 euros. Under-30s and student card holders pay 34 euros, retired people 28, and children under 11 go in free. With a guided tour and tower, the general price is 40 euros. The ticket without a tower costs 26 euros, so the climb adds 10 euros.
The 50 % discount for city residents also applies to the ticket with towers; how to request it is explained in our guide to the Sagrada Família for people living in Barcelona. The tallest tower, the tower of Jesus Christ, is not yet part of the visit: in September 2026 the basilica explained that work is going on on its interior finishes and on installing a lift.
Checked
Data checked on 15 October 2026 on the basilica's official website (sagradafamilia.org): ticket pages for the visit with tower and with guided tour and tower, prices, FAQs, rules and purchase conditions, information booklets 6, 7 and 10 on the Nativity and Passion façades and the bell towers, and the news item of 22 September 2026 on the state of the works. Prices and conditions change: confirm them on the website before you go.
Quick questions
Can you climb both towers on the same ticket?
No: the ticket with towers includes a visit to one of the two towers, and you have to choose which when you buy it.
What happens if the towers close because of bad weather?
The purchase rules say that what you paid for the tower is returned, but never what you paid for the visit to the church.
Can I take a rucksack up the towers of the Sagrada Família?
No: before going up you must leave rucksacks and bags in the lockers, which are only for people going up the towers.