Sitges

Located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Garraf Mountain range, the town is surrounded by beauty, steeped in history and is renowned for its annual Film Festival. Situated just 20 miles from Barcelona, it is often referred to as the "St Tropez of Spain" and is a popular holiday destination amongst the LGBT Community.

Attractions

The town is picture perfect; stunning beachfront, narrow winding streets lined by whitewashed buildings and bustling with life. There are 17 beaches in the town; a mixture of family, nudist and gay, so you can pick a beach suitable to your taste. Speaking of beaches, there is no better place to begin your exploration of the town than the beach front. A walk along the fine sands of family friendly beach Platja de la Fragata gives you the perfect perspective to view the pristine whitewashed church that stands behind it. Visible from the beach front are the surrounding mountains and propped up above the town is the 17th century seaside church of Sant Bartolomeu I Santa Tecla. The large, winding staircase takes you above the harbour to the foot of the church.

As mentioned, Sitges is a town steeped in creative history. The town offers visitors an impressive architectural and cultural heritage. This rich history is celebrated at the Cau Ferrat Museum the house and studio of artist and writer Santiago Rusiñol, one of the leading figures of Catalan Modernisme.

Perhaps the town is most famous for its seasonal attractions, in particular, the Carnival that it's been celebrating nonstop for almost 100 years, between the months of February and March. The festivities involve characteristic carnival elements; non-stop floats, parades and jam-packed streets until the early hours. If you are around and about this time of year, it is well worth the effort to sample the festivities.

On an larger scale, there is the Sitges International Film Festival that takes place in October every year. The festival celebrates the weird and wonderful cinema genre of terror and inaugurates a number of national and international films. The festival is spread across as many as 12 locations, each hosting events from screenings to zombie walks. If you're heading there, keep your eye out for directors and celebrities as they can often be spotted mingling among the film-buff crowds. Alternately, projects like The International Barcelona-Sitges Vintage Car Rally, the International Jazz Festival or the Summer Concerts Series also attract large international interest.

Shopping

You will certainly not be starved of shopping opportunities in Sitges. The town is simply bursting at the seams, offering everything from on-trend fashion boutiques to all manner of local garment merchants. Catalunya prides itself on having a small, but internationally celebrated designer clothes industry and this is well represented in Sitges.

The main street, "Parelladas" Street or Cap de Vila, which is considered to be the town centre, both lead to the Sitges costal promenade and are always bustling with visitors; one could simply spend hours looking for traditional crafts and souvenirs.

Nightlife and Eating Out

For the size of the town, Sitges´ nightlife can be described as nothing less than spectacular. The town is brimming with fine restaurants offering cuisine from around the world, tapas eateries on every street, cafés, bars and nightclubs.

A dish of international fame and unique to Sitges is el xató. Typically xató consists of an endive salad with salted tuna, cod and a sauce prepared from olives, almonds, anchovies, in short, mouth-watering. It's worth noting that the town has developed its own unique culinary style with seafood as the central ingredient; we suggest you find this out for yourself at El Vivero Bar and Restuarant on Avenida Balmins.

The incomparable Sitges' night life is captured by taking a walk along one the most famous streets and most fondly named: La Calle del Pecado or "The Street of Sin". It's a hub of restaurants, pubs, music bars, and so on. Start with dinner and then move on to hop between many of the bars lining the street.

Due to the huge LGBT presence, the majority of the Clubs cater to this - be sure to check out Oxygen or Bourbons Bar for a fantastic night!

Driving

When driving in Spain, there are several things to remember that may differ from how you drive at home. If you are going to hire a car, have a read through our blog on Driving in Spain for all the info you need!

Tourist Information

Please visit the Official Tourism Board for Sitges for all the information you will need for your trip.

Airports

The nearest airport to Sitges is Barcelona “El Prat” Airport and is situated just 10km from the city centre and can be reached from almost any destination. The airport has excellent road links northwards to the Costa Brava destinations.