TL;DR: The Sagrada Familia finish date has been targeted for 2026, the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death, though full completion of all planned elements may extend further. Much of what you see today is structurally complete; the remaining work focuses on the central towers and the Glory facade.
Construction of the Sagrada Familia has been running for over 140 years, making it one of the longest-running building projects in the world. The Sagrada Familia finish date has shifted multiple times, and the building you visit today is still an active construction site on its upper sections. This page explains what has been built, what remains, and what the completed structure is intended to look like.
What is the official Sagrada Familia finish date?
The Patronat de la Sagrada Família has targeted 2026 as a significant milestone: the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death on 10 June 1926. This was the date cited for completing the major structural elements, including the central tower of Jesus Christ, which at 172.5 metres will make the building the tallest church in the world on completion.
Whether 2026 represents full completion of every element, or specifically the structural and tower work, depends on how completion is defined. The building encompasses 18 towers in total. The six Nativity towers and six Passion towers are complete or near complete. The four Evangelist towers surrounding the central tower, the Virgin Mary tower, and the central Jesus tower are the primary remaining work.
The Glory facade, on the south side facing Carrer de Mallorca, is still at early stages of exterior decoration. Its completion is expected to extend past 2026.
Why has it taken so long to build?
Construction began in 1882 under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, who resigned within a year. Antoni Gaudí took over in 1883 and spent the rest of his life on the project until his death in 1926.
Gaudí worked without a conventional architectural practice. He refined the design iteratively, working with plaster models rather than fixed technical drawings. When he died, much of the detailed design existed only in three-dimensional models held in a workshop on the site, not in drawings that could be handed to another architect.
The Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) destroyed those models in a fire that also damaged the workshop. Reconstruction of Gaudí’s intentions from fragments, photographs, and surviving models took decades. Work on the building resumed in the 1950s, but slowly.
Funding has always been the other constraint. The Sagrada Familia is built entirely from donations and entry ticket revenue. There is no state subsidy and no private endowment. Every euro spent on construction comes from visitors buying tickets.
What Sagrada Familia has completed so far
The Nativity facade (east side) is the section Gaudí directly supervised. It was structurally complete by the time of his death and is the most naturalistic part of the building, covered in plant forms, animals, and figures from the Nativity story.
The Passion facade (west side) was completed in the late 20th century to designs by sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs. Its style is deliberately angular and austere, contrasting with the Nativity side.
The interior nave and aisles were completed in the 2000s and 2010s and consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2010. The interior, including the branching columns, the choir loft, the stained glass, and the crypt, is fully complete.
The Nativity towers (four towers above the Nativity facade) and the Passion towers (four towers above the Passion facade) are structurally complete and accessible to visitors with tower tickets.
Active construction zones as of 2025
The primary active construction zones as of 2025:
Central tower of Jesus Christ: The tallest of the 18 towers, rising 172.5 metres. This is the main active construction work visible from the street and from the interior. The structure uses a combination of modern reinforced concrete and stone cladding designed to match Gaudí’s original vision.
Four Evangelist towers: Surrounding the central tower, these are shorter but architecturally significant. They are partially complete.
Virgin Mary tower: Located above the apse, this tower is more advanced than the Evangelist towers and was structurally topped out in recent years.
Glory facade: The south-facing main entrance facade is the largest and most complex of the three facades. External decoration is underway but will take years to complete.
Will the Sagrada Familia finish date change again?
Possibly. The 2026 milestone for major structural completion was set during a period of accelerated construction funded by years of strong ticket revenue. The project has faced disruptions including the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut the building for months and significantly reduced the revenue available for construction work.
The Patronat has consistently maintained that 2026 remains the target for the main towers, while acknowledging that decorative completion of the Glory facade will extend beyond that date.
Visitors who come between now and the late 2020s are seeing the building in a transitional state: the interior is essentially as finished as it will be, the main towers are rising, and the Nativity and Passion facades are complete. The building is striking in its current form. Waiting for full completion is not necessary to have a full visit.
What will the completed building look like?
The finished Sagrada Familia will have 18 towers of varying heights. The 12 apostle towers (four above each of the three facades) range from 98 to 112 metres. The four Evangelist towers reach approximately 135 metres. The Virgin Mary tower reaches 138 metres. The central Jesus tower reaches 172.5 metres, capped with a lit cross visible across Barcelona.
The completed south (Glory) facade will be the main public entrance to the basilica, accessed from Carrer de Mallorca. The current visitor entrance is through the Nativity facade side, which will become a secondary entrance once the Glory facade is open.
The visual impact of the completed building from street level will be substantially different from what you see today. The skyline presence of the central tower at 172.5 metres will dominate the Eixample grid in a way the current partial towers do not.
Can you visit a building under construction?
Yes. The interior of the basilica is fully accessible and finished. The construction work on the towers takes place on the exterior upper sections and does not affect visitor access to the nave, the crypt, or the museum.
Tower access tickets for the Nativity and Passion towers give you a view of the construction work from a nearby vantage point. On clear days, the cranes and cladding work on the central tower are clearly visible from the Passion tower lift exit.
The construction site on the exterior perimeter is fenced off on certain sides. Carrer de Mallorca, on the south side where the Glory facade is being built, has construction hoardings along parts of the pavement. Access to the building is from the east side (Nativity facade, Carrer de Sardenya).
How to observe the construction progress during your visit
The Gaudí museum in the basement contains scale models and renderings of the completed building that show which elements are finished and which remain. Comparing the models to what you can see above you gives a clear sense of how much has changed in recent years and what is left to build.
From the Passion tower walkway, the active construction cranes and the rising central tower are visible at close range. This is the best vantage point for photography of the work in progress. The Nativity tower gives a similar view from the opposite side.