How to get to Basilica Santa Maria del Mar 

The Basilica Santa Maria del Mar church in Barcelona is a beautiful Catalan gothic church in the Born area of Barcelona's old city. The name means Saint Mary of the Sea because the neighbourhood where the church stands, El Born in La Ribera, was originally much closer to the sea.

The earliest mention of a church of Santa Maria by the sea dates back to the year 998. This church is quite unique because it is the only Catalan Gothic church built entirely in the Catalan gothic style. Construction work was led by architect "Berenguer de Montagut" and started on 25 March 1329, when the foundation stone was laid by King Alfons IV of Aragon, also know as Alfons the Kind (Rei N'Alfons el Benigne.)

The Santa Maria del Mar Basilica foundation stone was laid in commemoration of the conquest of the Kingdom of Sardinia in1324 at the time of Kingdom of Aragon's domination of the Mediterranean, which included the conquest of Mallorca 10 years earlier and later included Sicily and parts of Greece.

A stone tablet in Latin and Catalan commerates the Santa Maria del Mar foundation ceremony and can be seen on the facade of the church on the street Carrer del Fossar de les Moreres. The church was completed on 3 November 1383. The Santa Maria del Mar is an important tourist attraction in Barcelona, but still very much in use both for services and concerts and recitals.

Photos Santa Maria del Mar
Mass/services Santa Maria del Mar

Getting to Santa Maria del Mar church

By Metro
Nearest metro station Jaime I yellow line L4 

By Bus
Bus lines 17, 19, 40, 45, 120, N8

By Taxi
Taxi companies Barcelona