La Seu, Cathedral Of Barcelona
THERE'S ONLY ONE CATHEDRAL IN BARCELONA (AND IT'S NOT SAGRADA FAMILIA)
During our tours lot of people tell me they’ve seen too many churches already. But actually, visiting a Barcelona Cathedral can be fun: it all depends on the stories that are hidden there and how those stories are explained. I have actually had kids telling me “This is the only time I have ever enjoyed being inside a church!”.
That’s why the Cathedral of Barcelona is one of the top sites of our Gothic Quarter tour, despite not even being one of the most famous cathedrals in Europe!.
This is what you need to see inside the Barcelona Cathedral
1
“Mercy” chairs of the Choir
Enough to rest on them, not too big so they didn’t fall asleep during the service… However, during other events such as meetings, the monks where allowed to flip the mercy chairs down and then they become quite comfortable armchairs! Check out their decoration: one of them represents a hockey game!
2
Tombstones in the cloister
3
Saint Eulàlia’s crypt
4
13 geese
They had also supposed to alert the monks when a thief entered at night: a great medieval alarm!
5
Rooftop
Not many people realize that in a side chapel to the left of the main altar there that it’s an elevator that you can take to get to the rooftop of this Gothic cathedral. From there you a superb view of the city of Barcelona, specially over the Old Town, the port and the Hill of Montjuïc.
And you also get a close view of the bell towers. In the main skylight tower hides a sculpture of a snail. Check out this video that I shared on my social media some time ago, and try to see if you can find it!
AND BONUS! Where to see a mermaid with 2 tails?
6
The mermaid
The façade of the Cathedral of Barcelona isn’t really Gothic, but Gothic revival instead, as it was built in the late 1800’s. However, it features a lot of medieval symbolism and in the Middle Ages mermaids with two tails where a warning against the temptations of luxury (they represent a woman with her legs open!).
Will you be visiting the Barcelona Cathedral on your next trip?
Marta
Marta is the founder of ForeverBarcelona. She is a passionate tour guide that loves Barcelona and loves writing too. She is the main author of our Blog, and is committed to sharing her knowledge about Barcelona and her best tips with our readers.
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