• Church of Sant Bartolomeu i Santa Tecla (17th century). It houses two Gothic sepulchres (1317 and 1322), belonging to the an older church located on the same site. The baptistery has paintings from Pere Pruna, while the high altar has a Renaissance retablo (1499).
• Cau Ferrat Museum, the house-cum-studio of artist and writer Santiago Rusiñol
  Santiago Rusiñol
  Santiago Rusiñol i Prats was a Catalan post-impressionist/Symbolist painter, poet, and playwright.He was born in Barcelona in 1861, and died in Aranjuez in 1931 while painting its famous gardens....
  
  , one of the leading figures of Catalan Modernisme
  Modernisme
  Modernisme was a cultural movement associated with the search for Catalan national identity. It is often understood as an equivalent to a number of fin-de-siècle art movements, such as Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Secessionism, and Liberty style, and was active from roughly 1888 to 1911 Modernisme ...
  
  .
• Palau Maricel built by the American Charles Deering
  Charles Deering
  Charles Deering was an American businessman, art collector, and philanthropist. He was an executive of the agricultural machinery company founded by his father that became International Harvester. Charles's successful stewardship of the family firm left him with the means and leisure to indulge...
  
   to house his art collection in an attempt to copy the precedent set by Cau Ferrat. In 1921 Deering returned to the U.S. and the palace was emptied. In 1969 however, the building regained the use to which it had seemed destined since its creation, by welcoming a major private collection, mostly dedicated to medieval art.
• Museu Romàntic "Can Llopis", reproducing the lifestyle of a family of Catalan householders during the years of Romanticism
  Romanticism
  Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
  
  .

Gastronomy

Xató

Xató

Xató is a typical Catalan dish. Xató is a sauce made with almonds, hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt, and the nyora pepper...

 is Sitges' most typical dish. It appeared in the press for the first time in a report about Maundy Thursday published in a local newspaper Eco de Sitges on 16 February 1896. The report refers to a meal that three days before had gathered together a selected group of Catalan artists and intellectuals, including Santiago Rusiñol

Santiago Rusiñol

Santiago Rusiñol i Prats was a Catalan post-impressionist/Symbolist painter, poet, and playwright.He was born in Barcelona in 1861, and died in Aranjuez in 1931 while painting its famous gardens....

, Miquel Utrillo and Gaietà Buigas. The name “xató” comes from an expression pronounced years before by Canudas, a member of the Rusiñol's group.

The main ingredients of xató are escarole salad, cod, tuna, anchovies, aubergine and black olives. However, the essence of the dish is its sauce, made with scalded chillies, toasted almonds, garlic, olive oil, salt, vinegar and hot peppers. The complete xató meal consists of some different omelettes or fricandó (a typical Catalan hot meal) and as a dessert coca de llardons (typical Catalan cake, made from pork scratchings), served with a bottle of Penedès

Penedès

Penedès is a natural and historical region of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the south of the Principality of Catalonia between the pre-coastal mountain range and the Mediterranean sea...

 black wine.

Apart from the xató, there are some other typical Catalan sailor's dishes which are very common in Sitgetan cuisine and which turn fish into an unequivocal sign of identity. Rice in the Sitgetan way, stewed sepia with potatoes and allioli

Aioli

Aioli ) is a traditional sauce made of garlic, olive oil, and egg. There are many variations, such as the addition of mustard or, in Catalonia, pears. It is usually served at room temperature. The name aioli comes from Provençal alh 'garlic' is a traditional sauce made of garlic, olive oil,...

 (typical Catalan garlic sauce), bull de tonyina (typical sailors´ dish made with tuna fish), fideuada (typical sailors´ dish similar to paella, but with noodles and seafood) or stuffed peppers with cod. Such variety guarantees the extraordinary richness and singularity of Catalan's and Sitgetan's gastronomy.

As for drinks, malvasia

Malvasia

Malvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...

 is the most representative one. It is an oloroso and delicate liquor wine, excellent for desserts. The name “malvasia” comes from the Peloponnesian port Monembasía. In Sitges, the Hospital Sant Joan Baptista continues producing and marketing malvasia according to the traditional method and for charity. The annual production is approximately of 4,000 bottles (produced by the vines owned by the Hospital). The Sitgetan malvasia is produced and matured in the wine cellars of the Hospital.

Beaches

Sitges has 17 sand beaches. Four of them are in the East: the first one called Les Botigues at the beginning of the coast, next to the beaches of Castelldefels

Castelldefels

Castelldefels is a town in the Baix Llobregat comarca, in the province of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain and part of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Its population is 63.151 .-Geography and location:...

 and the other three are following the coast of Garraf (Road C-31). One of them is Garraf village

Garraf (Sitges)

Garraf is a small seaside village located between Sitges and Castelldefels, in the Garraf comarca, Catalonia, Spain, surrounded by the area of the Garraf Natural Park.-Description:...

 beach.

There are eleven urban beaches and two in the west. These last two have difficult access.

All the eastern and urban beaches have access facilities, flags indicating the state of the sea and most of them have quality diplomas and blue flags

Blue Flag beach

The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education that a beach or marina meets its stringent standards.The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE which is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 member countries in Europe,...

 awarded by the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

.

Motor racing

Sitges is part of the long history of motor racing in Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

. From 1908–1920 events were staged over public roads from Sitges to Canyelles

Lloret de Mar

Lloret de Mar is a Mediterranean coastal town in Catalonia and one of the most popular holiday resorts on the Costa Brava. It is 40 kilometres from Girona and 75 kilometres from Barcelona and therefore easily accessible...

 to Vilanova i la Geltrú

Vilanova i la Geltrú

Vilanova i la Geltrú is a city in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and the capital of the Garraf comarca. Originally a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of Barcelona, with the more famous coastal resort of...

, and from Mataro

Mataró

Mataró is the capital and largest city of the comarca of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, to the north-east of Barcelona. , it...

 to Vilassar de Mar

Vilassar de Mar

Vilassar de Mar is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Premià de Mar and Cabrera de Mar, to the north-east of Barcelona. The town is both a tourist centre and a dormitory town for Barcelona, and is also known for its horticulture...

 and Argentona

Argentona

Argentona is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme inCatalonia, Spain. It is situated on the south-east side of the granite Litoral range, to the north-west ofMataró. The town is both a tourist centre and a notable horticultural centre...

. In 1922 and 1923 the Real Moto Club de Catalunya ran the Penya Rhin Grand Prix

Spanish Grand Prix

The Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One race currently held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the annual Formula One championship season.-History:...

 over a 9-mile circuit around the town of Vilafranca del Penedès

Vilafranca del Penedès

Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca, is the capital of the comarca of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, Villafranca del Penedés, is no longer in official use...

 until it was replaced by a short lived purpose built circuit, the banked Autodromo Sitges Terramar

Sitges Terramar

The Sitges Terramar is a former racing circuit located between Sant Pere de Ribes and Sitges near Barcelona, Catalonia. Although minor races were sporadically held on the circuit through the 1950s, it was largely abandoned after the inaugural season of 1923...

, which is still visible at 41°14′18.35"N 1°46′50.20"E. Albert Divo

Albert Divo

Albert Divo was a Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was born in Paris, France. In 1922, Divo competed in the International Tourist Trophy endurance race on the Isle of Man...

 won the only Spanish Grand Prix

Spanish Grand Prix

The Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One race currently held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the annual Formula One championship season.-History:...

 held at the banked 'Sitges Terramar' driving a Sunbeam.

External links

• Official website of Sitges
• Tourism website of Sitges
• Gay website of Sitges
• Gay Pride Sitges website
• Sitges Guide, Calendar & Directory (English)
• Sitgesonline, Hotels in Sitges (German, Catalan, Spanish, English, French)]
• Practical guide of Sitges (Spanish)]