Sitges

Sitges, in the Garraf comarca of Barcelona province, 35km southwest of the capital, is Catalonia's most cosmopolitan coastal town — a place that has sustained a bohemian, artistic, and openly gay identity since the 1890s, when Modernista painter Santiago Rusiñol established a circle of artists here that attracted Picasso, Casas, and others. The old town (centre historic) sits on a low headland topped by the Baroque church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla (17th century), whose seafront terrace above the Mediterranean is one of the most distinctive townscapes on the Catalan coast. Two of Rusiñol's properties have become museums: the Museu Can Ferrat, restored as a heritage site displaying the artist's extraordinary collection of ironwork, decorative arts, and paintings including works by El Greco, Picasso, and Rusiñol himself, reopened after extensive restoration in 2014; and the Museu Maricel, housing medieval and modern Catalan art across a series of 15th-20th century interconnected buildings connected by a Gothic bridge over the street. The 17 beaches along the Passeig Marítim range from the main Platja de la Ribera and Sant Sebastià in the town center to clothing-optional beaches further along the coast. Sitges hosts two internationally significant events: Carnival in February, one of the largest and most theatrical in Spain drawing 200,000 visitors over ten days, with elaborate costumes and significant LGBTQ+ participation; and the Sitges International Film Festival in October, one of Europe's oldest, specializing in fantasy, horror, and genre cinema since 1968.