Awe-inspiring
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar is perhaps, along with the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and La Sagrada Famila, one of the most famous and frequently-visited Catholic cathedrals in all of Spain. According to tradition, it traces its founding back to the era of St. James ve saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary instructing him to build a church on the spot.
Since then, the church has undergone an amazing expansion arriving, finally, at the hulking baroque wonder we have before us. Once you enter Zaragoza, you notice it's four towers and massive dome peeking between buildings and along the horizon, calling you to visit. The first thing you notice as you enter are the proportions: it's massive...really, breath-takingly massive. The gargantuan pillars hold up a ceiling covered in giant domes, each one decorated by some of Spain's most famous artists like Goya. Staring down the football-field sized basilica and taking in the domes, the paintings, the geometric tiled floors, and the excruciatingly detailed decoration of the altars and chapels built into the walls is really an impacting sensation.
Make sure to get there early so you can visit the north end of the cathedral as well (they close it off many times in the afternoons) and enjoy the silence, space, and light filtering through the domes and taking the elevator ride to the top of the San Francisco de Borja tower to enjoy the views of the basilica from above.


