Sitges walking tour & town guide

The old town and the church on the point

The parish church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla stands on a headland known as La Punta, its pale stone facade facing the sea above the beach. Behind it, the old town is a tangle of narrow, whitewashed streets with flower-filled balconies, small squares and the houses of 19th-century merchants who made their fortunes in the Americas.

At the turn of the 20th century, Sitges became a center of Catalan Modernisme. The painter Santiago Rusiñol turned two fishermen's houses on the point into his studio and home, Cau Ferrat, now a museum next to the Maricel palace.

The seafront and the beaches

The Passeig Marítim, a long seafront promenade lined with palm trees and modernist villas, runs west from the church past a series of beaches separated by small breakwaters. Each has its own character, from busy family beaches near the center to quieter coves further along.

Festivals

Sitges is famous for its Carnival in February or March, one of the biggest in Spain, with parades lasting late into the night, and for its international film festival of fantasy and horror cinema every October. The town is also one of Europe's best-known LGBTQ+-friendly destinations.

A classic walk: station to the point and the promenade

From the train station, walk down through the shopping streets of the center to the seafront, then climb to the church on La Punta for the view along the coast. Wander through the lanes of the old town behind it, then return to the Passeig Marítim and follow it west along the beaches as far as you like, ideally at sunset. Trains from Barcelona take about 40 minutes.