To mark its biggest wintertime celebration in honour of one of its patron saints, Barcelona is set to hand out thousands of tickets for members of the public free of charge to explore its iconic Sagrada Familia this month. Normally, such a ticket costs €30 (£26), but this month, lucky visitors can enjoy an iconic Spanish landmark without spending a penny.

Between 3pm and 5.30pm on February 14 and 3pm and 6pm on February 15, during the Santa Eulalia festival, visitors will be offered the opportunity to view the current state of the building, which has been under construction for the last 144 years, with a completion date finally set for later this year. Some 8,500 tickets will be allocated via a raffle on the official Sagrada Familia website, which closes on February 8 at 9pm with the results announced the following day.

The lucky winners will be given a tour of the inside of the basilica, the museum and the nearby Escoles building. This marks the fifth year that the building has opened its doors for free to celebrate the festival. The Sagrada Familia also organises similar events for Le Merce festivities, Barcelona’s annual public street party held every September.

The attraction, which is still unfinished over a century on from the death of its master architect, Antoni Gaudí, welcomed over 4.8 million people in 2024 – up to 16,000 a day – making it Spain’s most visited monument.

Construction of the Sagrada Familia began on March 19, 1882. Antoni Gaudí took over in 1883, transforming the design and dedicating 43 years to the project until his death in 1926. It is funded entirely by private donations and ticket sales. The basilica is designed with three grand façades (Nativity, Passion, and Glory) and 18 towers representing the Twelve Apostles, four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ.

In October, the Sagrada Familia officially became the world’s tallest church following the addition of the first part of the cross set to crown the final Tower of Jesus Christ. It rose to an official height of 162.91 metres (534 feet), surpassing the record previously held by Ulm Minster in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Further construction over the coming months will bring the Sagrada Familia to a final height of 172 metres (564 feet).

However, this will deliberately be one metre (3.3 feet) shorter than the flat-topped Montjuïc Hill in Barcelona, as Gaudí believed his creation should not exceed God’s.

It is one of the longest-running construction projects in history, having been plagued by delays, including the death of Gaudí, the Spanish Civil War, which destroyed plans, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. It is scheduled for structural completion in 2026, but further decorative work on a massive stairway is expected to continue until 2034.