Sagrada Familia - wait with advance ticket?
 

When you buy tickets in advance online for Sagrada Familia, do you still wait in a line to gain entry? I think some sites have both a "buy tickets" line and separate "entrance" line, so I'm trying to figure this out ahead of time so we are not unnecessarily waiting in a line or are in the wrong line during the height of tourist season.

Also, any recommendations as to best time to go? Right when it opens or closes?

We were there in April and bought advance timed tickets for the guided tour. You definitely don't have to wait in the "buy tickets" line. There is a separate line for people with tickets and if you get there a half hour early the wait is very short. They let us in about 20 minutes before our appointed time. We went in the early afternoon. I would imagine that it would be less crowded if you went first thing in the morning.

I was there last October, in the morning. As best I remember there was a bit of a line to pick up audio guides, but not for timed ticket entry. I would not risk turning up without an entry ticket. There is a limit on the number of people allowed in the building at any one time, but it is a big building.

We were there at the beginning of June. There is a at least one separate line for people with tickets - when we were there, there were two. You're not supposed to get in line until it's the time for your timed ticket - I think that's 15 minutes ahead of the time on the ticket. Once we were in line, we were let in, even though it was a few minutes ahead of the actual time on our tickets; that line wasn't very long. At the end of each timed group's entrance time, I noticed, the lines were longer.

We arrived a bit early, and used that time to walk most of the way around the Basilica, to look at the outside (there's a lot to see).

There's a small park across the street from the main entrance, that has some shade and some benches.

Once you get through the entrance at the stairs (I think I recall this was where security was), if you bought the tickets with the audio guide (very good, I would recommend), then you stand in another line, off to the right as you face Sagrada Familia, to pick up your audio guides. Note that (at least the day we were there) only one member of your group is allowed to stand in that line.

On the advice of someone else, we visited in the early afternoon. The light streaming in through the stained glass windows was glorious!

We also visited Sagrada familia in the late afternoon and picked up our tickets in Barcelona, from what looked like an ATM machine. No wait and no crowds because it was 2 hours before closing time.

Ditto above re: the lines.

I spent HOURS at the Sagrada Familia, all in the afternoon of a day in early June, and I thought the windows seemed ever so slightly more glorious later in the day than closer to mid-day, so aiming to visit the interior further from mid-day, when the light is angled -- but not too low -- might be a good option. I'm sure it depends on time of year! Sorry I can't give more specific info.

When I visited Sagrada Familia last Nov.'15, I went at 11:00 as I planned to have lunch afterwards before visiting the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau in the afternoon. The hospital complex, built between 1905 and 1930 designed by Lluis Domenech i Montaner is definitely worth a visit as it is within easy walking distance to SF.
The lines are very well managed. You enter the line at your specific allotted time and DO NOT BE LATE!
If you are planning to visit Parc Guell that same day, then consider the heat factor and put PG in the later part of the afternoon... Or perhaps go there as early in morning as you can, have lunch and SF in later part of the day.
Enjoy! Enjoy! #whatacity

Or you can take a bus. There's a restaurant just inside the historic hospital grounds - I ate suckling pig to die for...

Take the self guided tour with the headphones.. that way you don't have to worry about following a group and can linger at the spots that you love and quickly move through what you find less interesting. Amazing place! Enjoy!!