The Magic Mountain in Barcelona!

The day we decided to visit Barcelona, it rained! It became cloudy, overcast and very cold but that didn’t stop us. What did stop us was the fact that all tickets that day, for entrance to the Sagrada Familia cathedral, were sold out! We just wandered around it, gawping just like a proper tourist! I will return one day to see inside….

So we decided instead to explore Mount Tibidabo, a mountain just behind Barcelona, which at 515m above sea level is the tallest in the range of mountains surrounding the city. The funicular train is the oldest in Spain, dating back to 1901, and although the journey itself takes no more than 10 minutes and you feel like you are travelling miles, vertically you travel only 1km! The funfair at the top gives it it’s name of Magic Mountain.

At the top is the fun fair, only certain rides were open on this particular day. Behind the fun fair is the Romanesque fortress (or crypt) topped with a fairly new (in church terms) catholic church and minor basilica called the Temple del Sagrat Cor, a Gothic cathedral started in 1902 and completed in 1961 on several levels with foot access to the towers, the highest being 575m above sea level. The crypt consists of 5 naves decorated by beautiful and colourful mosaics.

We took a lift up to the viewing platform, through the main church, then we walked the remaining 150 steps to the very top of the tower, coming out underneath the bronze statue of the Sacred Heart and surrounded by the 12 apostles! It was blowing a hoolie, freezing cold and occasionally spitting with rain, so although we took panoramic photos we didn’t stay there long!