It’s time to rethink one of the world’s most popular cities

Detailed summary

Although it has had its problems, this European city is still undeniably one of the world’s great destinations and there are so many reasons to visit, or revisit.

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It often felt like La Sagrada Familia would never be completed. The basilica’s unfinished nature was a part of its DNA, as vital to its identity in the public eye as any spires or naves.

For more than 140 years, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece was a work in progress, a timeline that is testament to the sheer scale of the idea, the expense of bringing it to life, the unlikely nature of a project so bold and ambitious ever coming to fruition.

For regular visitors to Barcelona this structure became a marker of time, its outline subtly altered every time you were in the city – an extra tower here, another facade there.

But in February this year, a 100-tonne cross was erected atop the Tower of Jesus Christ, the basilica’s soaring central spire. Thus, La Sagrada Familia became the tallest church in the world, at 172.5 metres. And it was finished.

Works will continue well into the 2030s – refinement of the Glory Facade, which will become the main entrance; ornamental tinkering on other exteriors; detailed interior work – but officially, the world’s most famous unfinished masterpiece no longer qualifies for that title.

It’s an exciting time for potential visitors to the Catalan capital, particularly those who have been before and have witnessed La Sagrada Familia in its various states of construction. Now, as Barcelona marks the 100th anniversary of Antoni Gaudi’s death, you get to see the basilica in all its glory. Now, you get to see Barcelona, too, at its best.

Because although the city has been through its share of problems in the recent past, from unrest caused by overtourism to a campaign for Catalan independence, Barcelona is still undeniably one of the world’s great destinations, and there are so many reasons to revisit.

This is truly one of the world’s most spectacular buildings, one of its most beautiful and inspiring.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Age. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.