Gaudí Year 2026

What is the Gaudí Year 2026?

A year of events for the centenary of Gaudí's death, organised by the Consell Gaudí with 14 Gaudí works taking part, Casa Vicens among them.

The Consell Gaudí is an advisory body of the Generalitat's Department of Culture, with Núria Poch and Galdric Santana as curators. The programme opened on 8 November 2025 in Riudoms and Reus and moved to Barcelona for the anniversary itself. The houses, the park and the basilica each run their own events under the same banner.

For a visitor, the centenary is a good reason to look at Gaudí as a whole career rather than one famous building. The dates below show how far he travelled from his first house to the basilica.

How did Gaudí die, and where is he buried?

A number 30 tram struck him on the Gran Via on 7 June 1926, and he died at the Santa Creu Hospital three days later, aged 73. He lies in the Sagrada Família crypt.

Gaudí was walking along the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, between Girona and Bailén streets, on his way to the church of Sant Felip Neri. He died on 10 June 1926 and the funeral followed on 12 June. His tomb is in the crypt of the Sagrada Família, in the chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, below the church he gave the last decades of his life to.

The Church has opened a path to sainthood for him. Pope Francis declared Gaudí Venerable on 14 April 2025.

What happened at the Sagrada Família on 10 June 2026?

Pope Leo XIV presided over a Solemn Mass and blessed the Tower of Jesus Christ, at 172.5 m the tallest tower of the basilica. Public access to it is expected from 2027.

The new tower was the centrepiece of the centenary. Its cross measures about 17 m by 13.5 m and weighs about 100 tonnes, and the tower stops just below Montjuïc, which stands at 173 m. The basilica is still not finished. Only this tower was completed for 2026, and the last façade is estimated to need about ten more years.

You can see the tower from the outside now, and the existing Nativity and Passion towers can be climbed on a tower ticket. Tickets are sold online only, about two months ahead, and they are timed and nominative.

The basilica with an official guide in a small or standard group, skip-the-line entry and about 1 hour 30 minutes inside.

★ 4.8 · 1 hour 30 minutes · from $66

Explore the Sagrada Família guided tour → Tour details

What Gaudí Year events are still on?

Exhibitions at the Sagrada Família, La Pedrera and Park Güell run into the winter, and the basilica holds a Christmas concert on 23 December.

The Sagrada Família's centenary programme has 31 events between autumn 2025 and Christmas 2026, paid for by patronage. La Pedrera hosts a major Anselm Kiefer exhibition, and Park Güell, which opened as a public park in 1926, marks its own centenary with a photo show. A family workshop on the new tower runs well into next year.

What is Casa Vicens doing for the Gaudí Year?

It is one of the 14 Gaudí works in the programme, and it has been working to recover the smoking room's original colours for the centenary.

The smoking room is the one with the palm-tree ceiling: plaster muqarnas with hanging clusters of dates, above walls of papier-mâché tiles. The second owners painted a cream layer over Gaudí's original blue, and conservators began tests to remove it, with the aim of showing the room in its first colours for 2026. A press report says the restored room reopens in November. Casa Vicens has not announced a date itself, so treat it as reported.

November is the house's birthday month: the museum opened on 16 November 2017. It marked its 7th and 8th anniversaries with 700 tickets at €7 and 800 tickets at €8, and it is closed all day on 16 November 2026. Casa Vicens drew 263,743 visitors in 2025, a fraction of the Passeig de Gràcia crowds, and a self-guided visit costs €22 on the Barcelona City Council listings.

Gaudí's first house on a timed entry, with the free audio guide in 16 languages and free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

★ 4.7 · About 1 hour 15 minutes · from $27

Explore the Casa Vicens ticket → Tour details

How should you plan a Gaudí visit in the centenary year?

Book the Sagrada Família and Park Güell first, since both sell timed tickets ahead, then fit the houses around them.

The Sagrada Família releases tickets about two months ahead and turns away late arrivals. Park Güell sells up to three months ahead and caps entry at 1,400 visitors an hour. The houses are more flexible: Casa Vicens is cheaper online than at the ticket office, and Casa Batlló still sells the General Visit on the day, though booking ahead saves up to €15.

For the whole arc in one go, the 3 Gaudí houses tour starts at Casa Vicens and adds La Pedrera and Casa Batlló in about 3 hours, from $133. The Complete Gaudí tour covers Casa Batlló and the Sagrada Família with tickets included, Park Güell as an option, from $157. Prices for every site are in our Gaudí sites prices guide.

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