Sitges

Sitges, situated just south of Barcelona, belongs to the Garraf region and is surrounded by sea and mountains, along 18 km of Mediterranean coast, most of which is made up of beaches. Its Passeig Marítim, or seafront Esplanade, is more than 3 km long, from the Baluard (Bastion), a spectacular natural viewpoint, to the Terramar residential area.

If you live in Europe:

Schengen Area

If you are from one of the countries that have signed the Schengen Treaty, i.e. Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden or Switzerland, you do not need a passport or a visa, just your identity card. You can stay in Spain for 90 days.

European countries outside the Schengen Area

If your country is not included in the Schengen Area, i.e. Gibraltar, Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Romania, or the United Kingdom, you need a passport or identity card. In general, a visa is not required to travel within the European Union.

If you live outside Europe:

For stays of less than 90 days, you do not need a visa, only a passport, if you are a subject of the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong & Macao (China), Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Visa Requirement

1. Undoubtedly one of Sitges’ main attractions are its beaches, where getting in touch with nature while mixing with the locals allows you to get to know the Sitgetans’ character a little better.
   

Sitges’ location at the southern edge of the Garraf Massif, a calcareous rock mountain range that constitutes a natural barrier, blocks the cold northern winds. This exceptional location makes it possible for the town to enjoy its very own microclimate, with mild summers and winters, an average temperature of 18.7ºC (65.7ºF) and more that 300 sunny days per year.

Weather

Near Sitges

1. ‣Around Sitges

1. 1. -Sant Bartomeu and Santa Tecla Church: Continuing east on the sea side you will reach Fonollar Street. This spot, consisting of the Maricel ensemble (Maricel Museum and Palau Maricel) and the present-day Cau Ferrat Museum, is known as "The Racó de la Calma" (The Quiet Corner).
      

1. 1. -Bosc Street: Returning to the Baluard where the church is, you can contemplate the extraordinary view of the beaches and the seafront Esplanade. Afterwards, walk down the stairs at La Punta (as the Sant Bartomeu and Santa Tecla is popularly known) to La Fragata and the La Ribera Esplanade, developed in 1840. The palm trees were brought from Elche in 1896. Continue walking and you’ll find the Monument to El Greco and some of the other Americanos’ homes.

Taking Davallada Street, at La Vall you can see the remains of the ancient medieval ramparts. Continuing up Bosch street, you’ll be walking down Sitges’ oldest street, flanked by the ramparts, and which passes in front of the Palau del Rei Moro (Moor King’s Palace). Further along if you stop at number 18 and look up you can see the ancient cannon and the ramparts walk.

1. ‣Saint John’s Festival

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1. 1. 1. -Fire: Bonfires are lit, usually around midnight both on beaches and inland, so much so that one usually cannot tell the smoke from the mist common in this Atlantic corner of Iberia at this time of the year, and it smells burnt everywhere. Occasionally, a dummy is placed at the top, representing a witch or the devil. Young and all gather around them and feast mostly on pilchards, potatoes boiled in their skins and maize bread. When it is relatively safe to jump over the bonfire, it is done three times (although it could also be nine or any odd number) for good luck at the cry of “meigas fora” (witches off!). One more tradition is drinking Queimada, a beverage resulting from setting alight Galician grappa mixed with sugar, coffee beans and pieces of fruit, which is prepared while chanting an incantation against evil spirits.

1. ‣Museums

1. 1. -El Pati Blau (The Blue Patio): Walking up Major, or Main Street, we arrive at Plaça de l'Ajuntament (Town Hall Square). The present-day building dates back to 1889 and was built over the foundations and main ramparts of the medieval castle.

1. 1. -Cau Ferrat Museum: Home-cum-studio of painter/writer Santiago Rusiñol (1861-1931), and meeting place for Catalan Modernisme artists. It includes works by Rusiñol, Ramon Casas, El Greco, Zuloaga and Picasso, among others.  It also houses important wrought iron, glass, drawing and ceramics collections.

1. 1. -Maricel Museum: Houses Dr. Pérez-Rosales’ collection with Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque works. Also on exhibit are Catalan Modernista and Noucentista sculptures, along with mural paintings by Josep Maria Sert. On the second floor you’ll find the Modern Art Gallery (Rusiñol, Casas, Utrillo, Pruna, etc) and the Emerencià Roig maritime collection.

1. 1. The traditional midsummer party in Spain is the celebration in honor of San Juan (St. John the Baptist) and takes place in the evening of June 23. It is common in many areas of the country. Parties are organized usually at beaches, where bonfires are lit and a set of firework displays usually take place. On the Mediterranean coast, especially in Catalonia and València, special meals like Coca de Sant Joan are also served on this occasion. In Alicante, since 1928, the bonfires of Saint John were developed into elaborate constructions inspired by the Fallas of Valencia.

1. 1. 1. -Medicinal plants: Traditionally, women collect several species of plants on St. John's eve. These vary from area to area, but mostly include fennel, different species of fern (e.g. dryopteris filix-max), rue (herb of grace, ruta graveolens), rosemary, dog rose (rosa canina), lemon verbena, St John's wort (hypericum perforatum), mallows (malva sylvestris), laburnum, foxgloves (digitalis purpurea) and elder flowers. In some areas, these are arranged in a bunch and hung in doorways. In most others, they are dipped in a vessel with water and left outside exposed to the dew of night until the following morning (o dia de San Xoan -St. John's day), when people use the resulting flower water to wash their faces.

Midsummer tradition is also especially strong in northern areas of the country, such as Galicia, where one can easily identify the rituals that reveal the pagan beliefs widespread throughout Europe in Neolithic times. These beliefs pivot on three basic ideas: the importance of medicinal plants, especially in relation to health, youth and beauty; the protective character of fire to ward men off evil spirits and witches and, finally, the purifying, miraculous effects of water. What follows is a summary of Galician traditions surrounding St. John's festival in relation to these three elements.

1. ‣Beaches

1. 1. -Romàntic Museum: A stately, 19th century, Catalan house, residence of the Llopis family. The tour will allow you to discover how people lived during the Romantic period in Catalonia. It also houses the Lola Anglada antique doll collection, one of the best in Europe. Guided tours every hour.

1. 1. 1. -Water: Tradition holds it that the medicinal plants mentioned above are most effective when dipped in water collected from seven different springs. Also, on some beaches, it was traditional for women who wanted to be fertile to bathe in the sea until they were washed by 9 waves.

1. 1. -Continuing down Fonollar Street you’ll reach La Torreta point and see the Sant Sebastià (Port d'en Alegre) beach stretching out before you, with the chapel off in the background and further along, the cemetery and the Aiguadolç Marina. On the left you’ll find the Miramar Building and walking down towards the beach is the monument to Santiago Rusiñol, in front of Manuel Vidal i Quadres’ home.

1. Six of Sitges’ beaches have been awarded the ISO 14001 quality certification, in acknowledgement of their exemplary environmental management and comprehensive constant improvement plan, for the superb quality of their water and sand, and of their cleaning and lifesaving services.

1. A total of 17 beaches stretch out along Sitges’ coast, each with its own personality and providing all the services needed to offer maximum comfort. The unique character of each beach gives them completely different atmospheres: there are small, peaceful coves, wide, fine sand, family-oriented beaches, or urban beaches with views of the historic center, situated right alongside the Esplanade and easily accessed on foot.

1. 1.Visas must be obtained in the country of origin before travelling. They are issued by the Spanish embassy or consulate.
   

2. 2.Visa applications must be made 8-12 weeks before travelling to Spain. Your passport must be in order and valid for a minimum of three months.
   

3. 3.If you have any doubts, we recommend phoning the Spanish embassy or consulate in your country of origin, as each country has its own procedures for handling applications.

Sitges has a surface area of 43.7 km2, stands at an altitude of 10 meters and lies 35 kilometers south of Barcelona, which is in easy reach by highway, motorway and train. The Barcelona Prat International Airport is just 15 km away.

Note: If you need an invitation letter for visa application, please email Prof. Angel Lozano (email) your information including your name, address, affiliation and position.