During our soccer-centric trip around Spain, we had the opportunity to visit Sitges, Spain. Truthfully, we didn’t get enough time here at all. Most of our group was pretty despondent and frustrated when we learned that our group’s guide had made some decisions that shortened our time in this town. We had all been so excited to see it! Sitges is small but has a big reputation. We wanted to spend quality time here, experience the beach, see the old city, and be in Sitges. Apparently, we’re not alone in that desire.
Sitges seems to be “having a moment.” Mega soccer/futball star Lionel Messi invested in a hotel here. Rumors are that the rich and famous are gobbling up places as second homes. Heck, we even have friends who are planning to live in Sitges for a while. It is easy to see the appeal.
Sitges sits on the beaches of Spain while also being charming and small. It is historic and screams leisure (no hustle and bustle here) while having enough nightlife and dining to be enjoyable to even the most discriminating person.
The area has under 30,000 full-time residents, with 35% of those being expats from other countries. It is now considered one of the most expensive European cities to purchase property in. The Internet real estate listings aren’t helping me confirm that either way, but my research allowed me the freedom to spend time daydreaming about buying a 3-bedroom apartment in Sitges for 600,000 Euros…
In addition to drawing a crowd every year for its annual film festival, Sitges has become a major destination for the LGBTQ+ community. It hosts a Sitges Pride festival every year (which hundreds of people attend), and rainbow banners were strewn everywhere during my visit.
Sitges is festive. It is welcoming. It is so pretty!
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How to get to Sitges, Spain
We were coming to Sitges as a day trip from our team lodging in Lloret de Mar. But Sitges is very easy to get to from Barcelona. Sitges is only 25 miles south of Barcelona (driving time of around 40 minutes). The R2 train hurls travelers from Barcelona to Sitges in just over 30 minutes.
Many travelers do this as a day trip from Barcelona – to see the beautiful streets or party at the clubs.
I would have loved to have stayed here overnight, to be honest. It is a gorgeous city that seems to have so much of a lifestyle to offer. It felt like leisure and vacation.
Things to do in Sitges, Spain
Simply relax. That’s my top recommendation for Sitges: come here to have a true, coast-of-Spain vacation. Sure, you can always find a blog post of “Top Ten Things to do in Sitges,” but this town is made for a dreamy beach day in Catalonia. It is made to NOT do.
People come for the beach. There are over a dozen beaches associated with Sitges, and the one we found had beautiful restaurants to sit and enjoy vermouth, red wine, and paella. The number of restaurant recommendations from bloggers and the Internet is overwhelming, meaning it seems like you can’t go wrong.
The beaches are large and inviting. This is a “bring your own” beach for the most part: your own chair, towel, umbrella. That’s a little harder for day trippers to take full advantage of, but many in our group did just fine figuring it out so they could dip their toes in the Mediterranean Sea.
If you want a rundown of all the beaches in Sitges and which one might be your favorite, this blog post has a good description of the main beaches.
My favorite thing here was wandering the streets of Old Town Sitges. I have never been to Greece, but this area gave off the same romantic, dreamy vibes: whitewashed walls, cobblestone streets, meandering alleys that followed no logical plan, balconies encased in metalwork and teeming with plants.
We had pinxtos at Eguzki, and this was one of my favorite dining experiences I had in our nearly two weeks in the country. (The restaurant in Toledo is a close second.)
Pinxtos are different than tapas, and it took us a minute to learn the process (and it was fun to encourage teenage boys to experience this). A long bar held various foods, all served atop crusty bread and skewered with a toothpick. We took what we wanted (and, nothing was labelled, so it was fun trying to guess) and at the end of the meal, paid per toothpick.
Don’t worry, we ate more than that photo shows. That was just round one. We could approach the bar as many times as we wanted, gathering pinxtos. When new hot pinxtos were ready, the restaurant would ring a large bell to let diners know.
We saw tables of locals who had clearly been there for hours, drinking house wine and collecting toothpicks. It was the life I want for myself.
We walked the promenade and the area behind the church.
The Church of Sant Bartomeu sits on the edge of the street, seemingly perched over the beach. Going up in the church bell tower gives visitors exquisite views of Sitges. Unfortunately, we did not have time for that, but the beach close to the church was lovely and the streets behind the church lovelier!
The promenade is a long, paved walk that skirts the beach. We loved it, meandering up and down.
Sometimes, places just capture you (I remember feeling the same about Bruges).I don’t know if I will be one of those who elect to purchase a home here (because I highly doubt I could afford it), but I wouldn’t be sad to come back. I’d love to sink into the sand on the beach all day, take a break at lunch for vermouth on tap and seafood tapas, then shower off in an apartment with a view of the sea before heading out for a night under twinkling lights strewn across old streets.
Sitges lives up to its reputation.
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