Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family or 

Sagrada Familia 

is a famous place of attraction in 

Barcelona

. This is a must-see sight visited annually by millions of people from around the world. Almost all the people who visited this place, admire and worship the oldest long-term construction of the modern architecture. 
In 2008, 400 well-known Spanish artists called to stop this clumsy restoration in favor of "tourism industry", and it no longer has anything in common with the original intentions of the great architect Antoni Gaudí. 
Let me express my point of view concerning Sagrada Familia, which is either a man-made wonder of the world or another, although grand, tourist attraction.

It is not easy to get inside the 

Church of the Holy Family 

for common parishioners. There's almost always a terrible excitement around the church. There are long lines, fences, a lot of security and expensive tickets - this is an everyday routine of Sagrada Familia.
Many visitors, undeterred by such difficulties, do not even dare to enter inside, preferring to look at it only from the outside. However, you can't understand the scale and grandeur of the church if you do that. Scaffolding still covers a large part of this giant structure. There's a lot of bare concrete with rebar stumps.
Scaffolding and tall erecting cranes close most of the church. Sagrada Familia can be easily identified not only by the distinctive towers but also by giant construction cranes in the panoramic views of Barcelona.
There's no information regarding the final completion of the church. The meager sources of funding are considered to be the reason for such slow construction process, whereas it is built only on the alleged donations of parishioners. Although one can sense an element of deceit there since Sagrada Familia can easily be called the source of the huge cash flows passing through the box offices every day.
The fee to get inside the church cost almost 15 euro (as of 2014). But if you want to ascend to the observation decks of the towers and get an audio guide, you will have to pay 25 euro. It is difficult to call these fees a donation. Therefore, this construction of the century has long been a major financial undertaking.
I think that legendary Gaudi had imagined his offspring quite differently. By the way, the construction of Sagrada Família commenced in 1882 by architect Francisco Paula de Villar with Gaudi becoming involved in 1883 after Francisco resigned as the head architect. Taking over the project, Gaudi transformed it with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms.

Gaudi devoted 40 years of his life to Sagrada Familia. In his drawings and examples, he created the grand and daring plan of the structure of the century. Nowadays, our contemporaries are trying to finish it. The genius managed to build (but not finish it) only one of the three facades of the church with 4 of the 12 330-feet (100-meter) towers.
The facade of Gaudi can be called a true anthem of nature and humanity. The neo-gothic style and modernism have closely intertwined together. You can spend hours studying the original sculptures of biblical themes, and notice all the new parts in the form of lizards and snails. The Passion Facade is the complete opposite of the highly decorated Nativity Facade.
There are a lot of strict lines, mysterious sets of figures and bizarre images in postmodern style. The locals ironically call this facade "Star Wars".
The interior impressed me a lot.
In my unprofessional opinion, the builders of the church managed to create a true masterpiece of architecture. Taking the ideas and sketches of Gaudi as the foundation, they built a real castle in the air where a people by lifting their heads up start hovering in this realm of light, air, and space.
After visiting this place, I rid the mind of my skepticism. It is not important who built it and how. It is important that something great for the Glory of God and Man had been created. Unfortunately, in my experience, no photo or video can render what a person sees and feels being there.
You shall visit this place in order to feel the grandeur and the divinity of this masterpiece of the human mind and hands.
A religious spirit inherent to many cathedrals and churches is not yet felt in the church of the Holy Family. Apparently, this place can not be named a spiritual one just yet. Therefore, it is clear that many visitors perceive it as a tourist attraction.
Sagrada Familia is a true anthem of the engineering and extraordinary technical thinking. If you descend to the ground floor in this church, you can understand how it was possible to create this construction.
The methods and techniques used by designers and builders are described there. You will get to know how many of the drawings and ideas of Gaudi were recreated. After all, during the Civil War in Spain, all layouts and papers of the great architect were irretrievably destroyed. It is hard to believe that many wanted to blow up the temple in those troubled times.
Antonio Gaudi became the first person buried inside Sagrada Familia, inside the most important creation of his life.
It is believed that in about 15 years, the construction of the church is going to be completed. However, the disputes will not subside for a long time, but I want to believe that the main highlight of Barcelona will overcome all these disputes and doubts.