Sitges
Located only 42.4 km from the heart of downtown Barcelona, Sitges is one of the premiere coastal resort towns in Catalonia, Spain, offering a number of beaches and a much smaller, more relaxed environment than Barcelona and its population of 1.7 million.
Because the majority of the economy in Sitges is based on tourism, you’ll rarely find it hard to acquire a hotel room as there are more than 4,500 beds in the city. Additionally, conferences, congresses and seminars from across Europe are drawn here due to the heavy commitment and investment in 21st century technology and infrastructure.
The city, much smaller than Barcelona is home to only 27,600 people, of which nearly 35% are from nearby countries like the Netherlands, Great Britain, Scandinavia and France. That international community creates a wide open field for different parts of the city and activities both on and off the 17 different beaches.
Each year, between February and March, Sitges famously celebrates Carnestoltes, or Carnival. The festival begins on Fat Thursday and ends on Ash Wednesday. The event features a number of cultural activities such as folk dancing along with cultural and historical dishes. On Sunday night there is a Debauchery Parade and on Tuesday night there is an Extermination parade, featureing more than 40 floats and 2,000 participants each year.
Sitges is best known for its beaches, of which there are 17. Four of the beaches are located in the east. The first is Les Botigues, starting the coastline, followed by the beaches of Castelldefels. There are 11 urban beaches and then two beaches to the west of the city. The two western beaches are harder to reach and include the European favourite – Playa del Muerto.
Reaching Sitges from Barcelona
To reach Sitges, you can drive, or take a bus or train. Here are directions for each.
- Driving – To drive to Sitges from Barcelona, you will need to get onto the B-10 (Ronda del Litoral), then merge at Exit 19 to the Autopista de Pau Casals (C-32). Take exit 30 and you will be on the Rambla del Sitges, and well within sight of the city.
- Bus – From the airport, you can take the Mon Bus, which goes directly to Sitges and takes between 30 and 45 minutes. From the Barcelona Center, you can take the N30 bus.
- Train – The train from the airport take any train to get to El Pratt de Llobregat Station, then tak the Vilanova G to Sitgas – which takes about 20 minutes. From Barcelona, you can catch the train at Sants Station or Passeig de Gracia.
As a premiere tourist destination in Spain and one of the hottest beach locales in all of Europe, you’ll find Sitges a cheaper, and less frequented hot spot to take your next vacation.
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