Approximately 22 miles south along the Spanish coast from Barcelona is Sitges, a town of about 26,000 which has been celebrating Carnival for over a hundred years. Carnestoltes (Carnival) beginning on Fat Thursday, continuing throughout the week before Lent, promotes nonstop festivities attracting over 250,000 visitors to one of Europe’s most outrageous parties. Beginning when the Carnival King comes back to life on Thursday through two huge parades until the Carnival King and Queen perform a ritual but doomed conflict with the Spirit of Lent on Ash Wednesday, drag queens change costumes to mourning head gear and black dress, screaming and wailing the death of Carnestoltes for another year.
Other than Carnival, Sitges is famed as the home of an international film festival billed as the world’s number one fantasy film celebration. Beginning in 1968 the Festival is an assemblage fantasy and horror movies lovers worldwide. Attendees have included Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Paul Verhoeven, Jon Voight, Santiago Segura and Quentin Tarantino as well as many others year in and year out during early October.
The economy, based on tourism, offers 5,000 hotel beds weighted heavily with four-star ratings, all of which is easy to understand considering the extensive beaches, exciting nightlife, and active gay accommodations. Yet, it is also charming in winter, although much quieter, with day trips to Barcelona. Never forget that because Sitges’s main industry is tourism, there are many excellent restaurants specializing in seafood as well as local fare.
Sitges began as an agriculture, fishing and commerce center in the 10th century; therefore, its oldest building is the parish church, Eglesia de Sant Bartomeu I Santa Tecla, replete with stone foundations having withstood the past thousand years. By the end of the 16th century monasteries and castles appeared and Sitges became a township, important to American sailing ships by the 18th century. Cau Ferrat museum, commissioned in the late 19th century by Santiago Rusinol, became a center for bohemian art and modernist parties. Paintings by Picasso, El Greco, Miro and Ramon Casas are still shown at Cau Ferrat.
At the border of Catalan wine country, Spanish sparkling wines are in abundance promoting yet another celebration. In August Sitges entertains yet another crowd with its Fiesta Major in honor of Sant Bartomeu parading giant puppets through the streets and executing an outstanding fireworks display at the old cliff-edge church.
