The place to be; Art village Sitges

Sitges is located only 35 kms south from Barcelona. Protected by the Garraf mountains is has a kind of micro climate with very pleasant temperatures during the whole year. It offers 300+ sunny days per year with an average temperature of 18ºC! The ideal place to relax in combination with a visit to Barcelona. It has always been very popular amoungst the Catalan population and many have their second home in- or just outside the village. Its a very pintorestic area and artists love to be there.

You´ll find beautiful hitorical buildings, like the Iglesia de San Bartolomé (church) and Santa Tecla, directly on the boulevard, or the museums like Romantic, Can LLopis, Palau Maricel and the famous Casa Bacardi, where Facundo Bacardi lived before he went to Cuba. He was the founder of the worldfamous brand BACARDI.

Sitges offer at least 17 beaches, surrounding the village. You´ll find family beaches, with easy access to the sea, gayfriendly beaches, nudist beaches and almost inaccesable places, where you would be the only one! So everbody could find his own beach! White sandy beaches, small bays, Sitges has it all. On the boulevard, in the centre of the village you´ll find the first beach bar of Spain. It is called Chiringito (thats Spanish for old cafe/beachbar) and has been operating since 1.913. It is a meeting place for the locals and tourists to have a drink or a bite. There you´ll also find many artists catching up on whatever is happening in the world.

Wine, Dine & Fun

On the first line, on the beautuful boulevard, you´ll find many restaurants, coffeeshops, icecream bars etc. Anoungst them there is the popular restaurant La Santa María, where you have to queu-up for a seat. Other top restaurants are Maricel, la Costa Dorada (on the playa de Sebastian beach) or the centrally located Casa Hidalgo (Catalan menu) etc. To watch your favorite football match you go to the Sport´s Bar, where you could come across a famous tv star or footballplayer, as many of them live in Sitges. For a more relaxed dinner you could go to the marina (Aiga Dolce) area, 15 walking minutes outside the village centre. Since a coulpe of years the boulevard is connecting the village with the marina and it´s a fantastc stroll along the seaside.

It’s Party Time!

During the summer it is considered a “must do” to visit the famous Dos de Mayo street, which goes from the beach right into the heart of the village. During the evenings, the area is literally packed with a colourful variety of open-minded people, enjoying their stay in Sitges. There are many terraces and It´s the place to be, and to be seen!

Top-events

The Wine celebrations in September are famous and also the international Film festival during the spring is attractive. Moreover there is Carnaval, that seems to be one of the best of Spain, La Fiesta Mayor (local village celebrations in August) and the Gaypride in July. Around Easter there are the Corpus Cristus celebrations, where many streets are litterely coverd with flowers, offering a spectacular sensation.

Overnight in Sitges

Sitges offers many three, four- and five star hotels. Popular names are, Galipolis (on the boulevard), Melia Sitges (at the marina) and the new Dolce hotel.

Living in Sitges

Sitges hasn´t really suffered from the real estate crisis in Spain. Because of it´s unique location, with a kind of micro-climate, it´s (almost) always sunny. Many foreigners have settled down in this pleasant place, and there is a good balance between local, and international inhabitants. There are excellent connections with the airport (+/-25 minutes by motorway) and there is a good trainconnection with the centre of Barcelona.

First and second line properties are hardly available. If there would be a possible sale, most of the times they are not been published and simply sold by word of mouth. People say, the best area is el Vinyet, frontline beach. Most surrounding villages have “gone up with the successflow” of Sitges, although the prices are still reasonable. A little bit more inland, you find villages likes Olivella(+/-12 kms from the coast) and St Pére de Ribes (5 kms) where you could find very nice detached villas with private pools at excellent prices. You should count on approx 2.300-2.750 euros per m2. In Sitges centre, you should count on 4.500-5.500 euros per m2. First line properties would be a different thing, starting €1.500.000.- . Vilanova, at 10 kms south of Sitges is also a good alternative, however it doesn´t have Sitges´charm.

Connections

Airport: +/ 25 minutes by car.

Railways: various trains each half hour to Barcelona.

Motorway: There is an excellent motorway, although you have to pay for it, through the tunnels of Garraf. If you are looking for something more romantic, take the old coast road, with stunning views over the Mediterranean Sea.