Barcelona's Sagrada Familia to Create 'Selfie Space' to Tame Tourist Swarms

Barcelona's iconic Sagrada Familia is taking a bold step to manage its ever-growing tourist crowds: the city is carving out a dedicated "selfie space" for visitors eager to snap the perfect photo.

The Sagrada Familia, famous for being the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world, has become a magnet for both worshippers and camera-toting tourists. And honestly, who can blame them? That Gaudí architecture is the kind of stonework that makes Instagram light up like a Christmas tree.

But with an estimated 18 to 22 million people flocking to the basilica and its surrounding area each year, the neighborhood has hit what officials are calling a "saturation point." According to the Barcelona Tourism Management (BTM), the public spaces around Sagrada Familia "were not designed for the intensive use they currently experience."

The solution? A new picture-taking plaza on Placa Gaudi, facing the church's front. This dedicated area aims to unclog the jam-packed sidewalks and finally give some breathing room to local businesses that have been hidden behind crowds of selfie sticks.

The action plan also envisions the revamped plaza acting as a connector to the nearby Sant Pau Modernist complex, channeling foot traffic and hopefully spreading some of those crowds a bit thinner across the city. With 4.7 million visitors stepping inside the basilica in 2023 alone, that's no small feat.

The redesign also takes aim at improving the urban landscape and addressing disruptions caused by this tidal wave of tourism. The hope is that both the historic church and its neighbors can finally coexist a little more peacefully—at least until the next tourist trend takes over.

The Sagrada Familia, started by famed architect Antoni Gaudí in 1882, remains unfinished but certainly isn't lacking attention. If you're planning to visit, get ready for a selfie—just maybe not right in front of someone's bakery window anymore.