Barcelona’s Cathedral of the sea, isn’t actually a Cathedral at all, but a beautiful 14th century Gothic church. It was on my list of places to see in Barcelona this time, but on no particular day. In the event, we stumbled upon it by accident while wandering around El Born and La Ribera areas. In case you want to find it, it’s at the end of the street where you’ll find the Picasso museum, heading towards the sea.

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The exterior of the church is a little dull, squeezed as it is in the narrow streets of the Ribera, and once you climb to the rooftop, you’ll see just how densely built the area is. You can enter the church without any cost at certain times of the day, but we were happy to pay our 8 euros for a tour of the rooftops. A tour was about to begin, so we had little time to consider the impact on our knees of climbing 140 steps!

Narrow street from 70 steps

Exterior of the rose wndow

After 70 steps

The view after the first 70 steps

There’s another chance to draw breathe after 60 more steps, then just 10 and you’re on the roof.

The bells, the bells

The phallic shape in the distance to the right is Tour Agbar

The densely built old city

The Cathedral to the left and Tour Collasera on the skyline

The ever present towers of Sagrada Familiai in the centre if you look closely

The church of Our Lady of the Sea was well worth the visit, I’m so glad we stumbled upon it. I believe that if your timing is good, you may get to hear musical rehearsals. It’s known as the people’s church, and because of it’s beauty, it’s also one of the most popular for weddings. I hope you enjoyed sharing my visit.