Following in the footsteps of the Sagrada Familia, which, with 4.7 million visitors in 2022, has established itself as the most visited monument in the city, the Archbishopric of Barcelona and Barcelona Turisme have launched the Barcino Sacra, a card with the who want to promote visits to eight churches in the city. Leading the way are the Cathedral and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, the route includes heritage from the 2nd to the 20th century, ranging from Romanesque, Baroque and Gothic.
The project began to take shape a year ago, “to make the heritage of the church more accessible”, explained yesterday Josep Maria Turull, director of the diocesan secretariat of Tourism and commissioner of Barcino Sacra del Arzobispado. The initiative has made it possible to weave the route to facilitate the visit and delve into the cultural, historical and artistic value of each of the monuments and, at the same time, mark a turning point in terms of the number of visitors.
The joint ticket includes the old monastery of Sant Pau del Camp (a Romanesque jewel), the basilica of Santa Maria del Pi (the entrance to the Roman city), the Oratorio de Sant Felip Neri (a baroque pearl), the Casa de l ‘Almoina (the charity building of the Cathedral), Santa Maria del Mar (paradigmatic Gothic), the old monastery of Sant Pere de les Puel·les (with 1,200 years of history) and the expiatory temple of Sagrat Cor del Tibidabo, one of the best watchtowers over the city. And with all of them, the Cathedral, which last year added 1.7 million visits, “of which 600,000 were tourists,” explained Turull. Behind him, Santa Maria del Mar, which registered 150,000 cultural and tourist visits last year, a figure that is expected to increase from now on.
The timetable to enter all these monuments –which until now were visitable separately– has been standardized to facilitate access. The card allows visits from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and in some cases also on Sunday. The price of the Barcino Sacra, which is valid for three days, will be 47 euros for adults; 42 for students and 17 euros for children between 3 and 15 years old. “The card represents a 15% discount as a whole and wants to be a new attraction both for foreign tourism, especially for repeat visitors, and also for Barcelonans who will be able to discover new spaces and delve into its history,” its promoters agreed.
The president of Barcelona Turisme, Eduard Torres highlighted the importance “of putting culture at the center of the tourist story” and added that “the Barcino Sacra is an embryo to be able to explain other religious monuments outside of Barcelona”, a proposal to the who was joined by the Archbishop of Barcelona, ??Cardinal Joan Josep Omella.
The card can be purchased at each of the eight monuments on the route and also at the Cathedral Information Office, which last year served 144,830 people and whose facilities have been renovated and expanded.
