But for us, the architecture wasn’t the only thing that caught our attention. It was the light. Once we walked inside, we were happy that we had done our homework.

The sunlight coming through the stained-glass windows filled the interior with blue, green, yellow, orange and red. The colors weren’t simply sitting in the windows—they were being projected onto the surrounding architecture, changing the way the space looked as we moved through it.

We weren’t the only ones noticing it. All around us, people were slowly walking through the church, looking upward, stopping to admire the details and trying to capture what they were seeing with their cameras. It was interesting watching everyone experience the same space in their own way.

For us, there was something especially fascinating about seeing the reflection of the colored glass on the walls and columns. You could look at the windows themselves, but then turn around and see how the sunlight had transformed another part of the building.

The Sagrada Família was not simply using stained glass as decoration. Light had become part of the architecture. The eastern Nativity side uses cooler colors, while the western Passion side uses warmer tones that work with the changing sunlight.

That was one of the things we appreciated most about our visit—we had planned around the light, and it actually made a difference.

Looking Up at Gaudí’s Architecture

The more time we spent inside, the more we noticed how different the building felt from a traditional church.

The enormous columns rise and branch above us like trees, while the ceiling seems to disappear into a geometric forest. Outside, every section of the façades tells another story through sculptures and intricate details.

The Nativity façade, which Gaudí personally worked on, is especially detailed. It is filled with figures, animals, plants and scenes connected to the birth of Christ.

Then there is the Passion façade, which has a much more stark and dramatic appearance. The contrast between the two façades makes it clear that Gaudí wasn’t simply designing a building—he was using architecture and sculpture to tell a story.

And everywhere we looked, there was another detail to discover.

Looking Up Through a Mirror

Inside the Sagrada Família, a large mirror offers an unusual way to experience Gaudí’s architecture. Instead of looking up directly, the mirror allows you to see the soaring columns and intricate ceiling reflected below. From this angle, the structure seems to stretch endlessly toward the center, revealing details that can be difficult to appreciate from the ground. It is a simple but clever way to pause and take in the incredible geometry of the ceiling from a completely different perspective.

A Place Everyone Was Trying to See

One thing we remember from that visit was how many people were inside.

People were constantly moving through the space, looking up, pointing things out to each other and trying to capture the architecture with their cameras. We were doing exactly the same thing.

There was something enjoyable about being surrounded by so many people who were all doing essentially the same thing—trying to take in a building that was almost impossible to fully take in at once.

Even with a camera in hand, we found ourselves stopping to simply look. Sometimes the photograph captures one detail, while your eyes keep discovering everything around it.