Temple of the Sacred Heart, Tibidabo

Church · Tibidabo summit, Vallvidrera–Tibidabo (Sarrià-Sant Gervasi)Barcelona,Spain

A church on the highest point above Barcelona at 512 metres, its bronze Christ visible from the beach and an amusement park sharing the summit.

The Temple of the Sacred Heart stands on the highest point above Barcelona, at 512 metres, and it was designed to be seen rather than visited. On its tower is a bronze Christ with both arms out, and from the beach eight kilometres away, on a clear day, you can pick the figure out with the naked eye. A lift inside the tower carries you to the walkway at the statue's feet, and from there the whole plain of Barcelona lies below in one piece. The grid runs down to the water, the sea lies beyond it, and the Collserola ridge closes the view inland. The summit is not a quiet place: an amusement park has shared the hilltop with the church since before it was built, so on a weekend the terrace comes with fairground music behind it. Enric Sagnier began the building in 1902 and his son finished it in 1961, which is why it changes character as it rises, from a heavy low crypt to a pale neo-Gothic church. It is a century newer than its style suggests.

Worth knowing

Good to know

Only go up on a clear day — the point of the climb is the distance, and in haze the plain below turns into a grey field with nothing in it worth the journey.
The tower lift shuts in wind — the walkway at the foot of the bronze figure is fully exposed, so on a gusty day the church and crypt are open but the top is not.
Face inland once you are up — everyone turns towards the city, and the other half of the circle is unbroken forest running away over the ridge, which almost nobody looks at.
The figure defeats a wide lens — from the walkway you are directly beneath it and the arms run out of frame, so the shot that works is from the terrace below with the tower included.

Things to do

1
Take the lift to the feet of the figure
The tower lift ends on an open walkway directly under the bronze Christ, with the arms out above you and nothing between you and the drop but a rail. The floor of the walkway is metal and it moves slightly in wind. Take the whole circle slowly: the church roof, the tiled cross of the tower and the ridge of the hill are all below you, which is a scale you cannot get from the terrace.
2
Pick out the city's landmarks in order
From the terrace, find the grid first, then follow it down until the Sagrada Familia's towers break the line of roofs. From there work left to the hill with the fortress on it and right to the tower by the water. The whole plain is legible from here, which is why the hill was named for a view.
3
Sit in the crypt for five minutes
Go down into the lower church and take a seat away from the door. It is dark, thick-walled and almost soundproof, and the fairground and the wind both disappear. This is the part of the building almost every visitor walks past on the way to the lift.