827 The Grand Tour; Touring Today; Sagrada Família 2026
Travel with Rick Steves
Rick Steves
4.5 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 4 April 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
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Summary
The Grand Tour was a rite of passage for the aristocracy, and the adventuresome spirit behind it lives on in modern European itineraries. A longtime travel publisher traces the evolution of this fantastic voyage. Then Rick Steves' Europe guidebook researcher Cameron Hewitt takes a look back on the ways travel has evolved over the past quarter century. And as the Sagrada Família stretches ever closer toward completion, one of the project's architects helps us understand what Gaudí's ambitious creation means to Barcelona and Catalonia.
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| 0:00.0 | Will it ever be finished? |
| 0:02.7 | They're getting close. |
| 0:04.1 | The great central tower just went up |
| 0:06.2 | at Gautiz Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona. |
| 0:10.0 | He knew that it would be the work of generations, |
| 0:12.7 | that it was impossible to finish in a lifetime, |
| 0:15.0 | and so far it has taken 144 years. |
| 0:18.4 | Coming up, architect Maricio Cortez tells us how it's a real point of pride for Catalonia. |
| 0:24.6 | Cameron Hewitt reminds us that no matter how much our travels are enhanced by apps on our |
| 0:28.6 | phone, we still want a human connection when we arrive. |
| 0:32.6 | I see now that going to a B&B isn't just about sleeping in a bed, it's about a whole experience and the person who runs the place, right? |
| 0:39.6 | And Bill Newman explains how the cultural travels |
| 0:42.3 | a young aristocrat used to take |
| 0:44.0 | can provide a great itinerary |
| 0:46.0 | for finding the best of what Europe has to offer today. |
| 0:48.8 | The most popular spots on the Grand Tour |
| 0:51.2 | are still among the most popular spots in Europe today. |
| 0:54.1 | Come along for the hour ahead. It's Travel with Rick Steves. |
| 0:57.0 | The plan in Barcelona was to celebrate the completion of Caudet's remarkable Sagrada Familia Church on the 100th anniversary of his death. |
| 1:08.0 | Despite a century of setbacks, |
| 1:12.1 | they're getting ready to dedicate the nearly finished building this June. |
| 1:15.4 | The architect in charge |
... |
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