explain to you what to see in Sitges leads us to talk to you about one of the tourist places par excellence on the coast of Catalonia. In fact, both for this reason and for its beauty, the town has been baptized as “the Saint Tropez of Spain”.
But Sitges is much more than that. It has a historic quarter with narrow streets brimming with charm, dreamy beaches, three marinas and a marvelous promenade. All this makes this town in the province of Barcelona a place that has everything for you to enjoy your stay. So that you don't miss anything, below, we are going to show you what to see in Sitges.
The church of San Bartolomé and Santa Tecla and other religious monuments
This temple is the main religious monument of Sitges. In addition, it is in the Baluarte square, where you also have a spectacular viewpoint and which is the entry point to the historical Center from the village The church was built in the XNUMXth century, although it has undergone several subsequent reforms. In any case, respond to Baroque.
Outwardly, its two asymmetrical towers with different shapes stand out. While one is octagonal and taller, the other is rectangular and smaller. The latter, known as the "community tower"It has a clock, as well as bells. The imposing silhouette of San Bartolomé is one of the most iconic images of Sitges.
But its greatest treasures are inside. It has several beautiful chapels such as those of the Santísimo, the Ecce Homo and the Virgen de los Dolores, as well as two Gothic tombs from the XNUMXth century. All of them are decorated with paintings by authors such as Pere Pruna y Darius Vilas. But, above all, you should pay attention to their altarpieces. The one behind the altar is Renaissance and represents San Bartolomé and Santa Tecla, patron saints of the town. It was the work of the Italian Nicholas of Credenca.
However, the other three most important altarpieces in the church are Baroque, although it is true that the Rosario altarpiece has a Renaissance structure. The other two are that of San Telmo, which is attributed to the sculptor Jaume Tremulles and that of the Virgen de los Dolores, in which they participated Joan Roig y Joan Muxi. The set is completed by the altarpieces of the Immaculate Conception, the Virgen del Remedio, San Pedro and San Raimundo de Peñafort. The spectacular is also baroque organ of the church, which you will see on the right side, towards the middle of the nave. It is a model known as a chair and is adorned with figures of the apostles and angels.
On the other hand, in the tip of the Ferrous, on the outskirts of Sitges, you have the Hermitage of the Trinity, which was built in the XNUMXth century, it is true that on top of an older one from the XNUMXth century. Much humbler than the previous one, it is a small chapel with white walls and popular style. However, its façade is modernist in the most genuine style of Gaudí. Don't miss the views, which range from the Llobregat River to Cape Salou.
The religious heritage to see in Sitges is completed by Sanctuary of the Mother of God of Vinyet, located in the area of the same name and the hermitage of San Sebastián. The latter, which is part of the local cemetery, dates from the XNUMXth century and is also characterized by its whitewashed walls.
Maricel's Palace
As we said, from the Plaza del Baluarte, all you have to do is turn east to enter the historic center. It is a part of the town that offers you some of the best monuments to see in Sitges. This is the case of the complex Maricel's Palace, which houses the homonymous museum.
It consists of the palace itself or Maricel de Tierra and Maricel de Mar, which houses the exhibition. Taken together, it is a modernist construction from the beginning of the XNUMXth century due to the architect Michael Utrillo who, in turn, was inspired by other monuments to create it. For example, at the door of the Raixa palace in Majorca and on the balcony of Santa Coloma de Queralt.
If you have the chance, visit the palace, because you will see rooms as impressive as the Vaixells, the Capella or the Salón de Oroas well as the spectacular cloister. As for the museum, it houses an extraordinary collection of paintings with works by Joaquim Sunyer, Peter Serra, Josep Llimona o Santiago Rusiñol. But we are going to talk about this next.
Cau Ferrat and other museums
Because next to the Maricel palace you have another museum located in the workshop house that was precisely occupied by the painter and writer Santiago Rusiñol. Considered one of the main figures of Catalan modernism, he lived there from the end of the XNUMXth century. Upon his death, he donated the house to the Sitges City Council to establish a museum in it.
Today it houses an exhibition dedicated to his work in particular and art in general. So, he has paintings of to the hole, Picasso o Dario de Regoyos, a precious collection of wrought iron and other glass, furniture, sculptures and ceramics. And, along with all this, objects that belong to the biography of Rusiñol himself.
Complete the Sitges museum offer the Romantic Can Llopis, which is located in a beautiful neoclassical building from the end of the XNUMXth century. Ethnographic in nature, it reflects how the high bourgeoisie lived at that time. However, it also houses the Lola Anglada doll collection.
The palace of the Moorish King and other historical buildings to see in Sitges
Continuing your tour of the beautiful old quarter of this Catalan town, all you have to do is change the street to see a good part of the oldest part of it. In the Carrer de'n Bosch You have the remains of the medieval wall along with several buildings from this period with voussoired portals.
Prominent among them is the call palace of the Moorish King, which is dated in the XNUMXth century and responds to the Gothic canons. However, it has been reformed. Its walls are made of ashlars and on the main façade the door stands out, precisely under a voussoired semicircular arch. Next to it, there is a rectangular barred window and, on the upper floor, two other twin-type windows with a lobular arch.
Later, we will return to the urban center to show you other interesting things to see in Sitges. But now we are leaving it to talk to you about historical constructions in its municipal area. We refer to the Garraf tower, dated in the XNUMXth century, although restored in the XNUMXth by Francesc Berenguer, disciple of Gaudí. You should not confuse it with garraf castle, which is even older, since it dates from the XNUMXth century, but it is in ruins. The vestiges of the defensive heritage of the Sitges coast are completed by the can blanes towerAlso very damaged.
The Garden City of Terramar and the Indian houses
We return to the urban area of Sitges to continue showing you some of its main monuments. In 2019, one hundred years of the Terramar Garden City, an urban complex that completely changed the panorama of the Catalan town. It was the work of the architects Michael Utrillo, Josep Maria Martino y Francesc Armengol. It was intended to be a complex equipped with the most modern equipment, next to some Versailles-style gardens.
Just behind the Paseo Marítimo you will find the Jardines de Terramar, next to the hotel of the same name. But we recommend that you continue walking along this route along the coast to discover some of the most beautiful houses in Sitges. are the called Indian mansions, because they were built at the end of the XNUMXth century and beginning of the XNUMXth by emigrants who returned rich to their land. The vast majority of them respond to modernist style and dot the streets of the Catalan town.
Precisely, the modernist heritage of Sitges is another of its great attractions. As a sample of these buildings, we will mention the house Manuel Planas, built in 1908 on top of a previous one, which stands out for its balconies, pinnacles and a large window on its upper floor. We must also cite the Farratgés house, which dates from 1909 and was part of the Hotel Subur.
Even more spectacular is the house Simo Llauradó, built in 1908 on plans by the architect Gaietá Miret i Raventós, with its exposed brick of undoubted Mudejar resonances. Anyway, Remei villa, Can Bartomeu Carbonell or even the Saint John's Hospital They also respond to the canons of modernism. Instead, the Pilar de Parellada house, shows, rather, traits of popular architecture.
The beaches of Sitges
We finish our tour of what to see in Sitges by talking about its three marinas (Ginesta, Aiguadolç and Garraf), but, above all, its beautiful beaches. There are many in its municipal area and we cannot mention them all to you, but we will cite some such as Earthsea's, very calm; the one of the Bar, protected by four islets; that of Estanyol, next to the promenade, or that of Cala Balmins.
However, perhaps the most photographed is that of the frigate, which is located just under the Punta, where the church of San Bartolomé and Santa Tecla is, and which has all the services. They are also very popular that of San Sebastian, perfect for families, and that of La Ribera, also urban, which houses the oldest beach bar in Spain, as it has already turned one hundred years old.
In conclusion, we have shown you the main what to see in Sitges. But we also want to mention his famous film Festival, which takes place in October. And, above all, we would like to advise you that, if you come to Sitges, you should also visit other beautiful towns in the province of Barcelona as Cardona o Sant Pol de Mar. Dare to discover this beautiful part of Catalonia.