Sitges

A day trip to Sitges from Barcelona, ending at Sant Bartomeu at sunset

Sitges makes an easy day trip from Barcelona, 35 minutes by train. See the church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla on its rocky point and the Cau Ferrat and Maricel museums in the morning, eat xató for lunch, swim at Platja de Sant Sebastià and stay for sunset; trains run late enough for dinner.

Catch a mid-morning train from Passeig de Gràcia or Sants. Once you clear the Garraf tunnels, the sea fills the left-hand windows, and about 35 minutes after leaving Barcelona you are in Sitges. Walk down from the station to the seafront and along to the church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla on its rocky point. Spend the late morning in the Cau Ferrat, Santiago Rusiñol's house and studio, and the Maricel museum next door, which keeps the same hours.

Lunch on xató in the old-town lanes behind the church. In the afternoon, swim at Platja de Sant Sebastià, the locals' beach just east of the promontory, or stroll west along the Passeig Marítim to La Fragata and La Ribera. At weekends, check whether the Fundació Stämpfli's contemporary art collection on Plaça de l'Ajuntament is open too.

Stay for sunset by the church and a drink in the old town before heading back. Trains run late, so dinner in Sitges fits easily into a day trip.

Xató, the endive and salt cod dish Sitges claims

Order xató, the dish Sitges claims as its own: endive with salt cod, tuna and anchovies under a thick, rust-coloured sauce of dried chillies, toasted almonds, garlic and oil. The full xató meal adds omelettes or fricandó and coca de llardons, and Malvasia de Sitges, a local sweet wine, finishes it.

Locals argue over the sauce more than the salad. The base is endive with salt cod, tuna and anchovies, plus black olives. What makes it xató is the dressing: scalded dried chillies pounded with toasted almonds, garlic, olive oil and vinegar into a thick, rust-coloured paste, a cousin of romesco with more bite. Nearly any restaurant that bothers to list it will make it well.

Do it properly and order the full xató meal: the salad, then a choice of omelettes or fricandó, the Catalan veal stew with mushrooms, and to finish coca de llardons, a flat sweet pastry studded with pork crackling. A bottle of red from the Penedès, the wine country just inland, goes on the table. Afterwards ask for Malvasia de Sitges, a delicate sweet wine made in small quantities and served like a dessert wine.

Terraces along Passeig de la Ribera are fine for a beer and seafood with a sea view, but the old-town lanes behind the church have quieter tables. Eat on Catalan time, with lunch from about 14:00 and dinner after 21:00.

Beach months, Carnival and the horror film festival in Sitges

For room on the sand, aim for May, June or September in Sitges; swimming is comfortable from June, when days reach 25°C, and July and August are the busiest months. Book well ahead for Carnival, the Festa Major around 24 August and October's Sitges Film Festival, when hotels fill.

Sitges runs on its festival calendar as much as its beaches. Carnival, in February or early March, is the wildest in Catalonia, with two night parades: the Rua de la Disbauxa on the Sunday and the Rua de l'Extermini on the Tuesday, both rolling on well past midnight with floats and dancers. Hotels sell out weeks ahead. For Corpus Christi in late spring, residents lay carpets of flowers along the old-town streets. The Festa Major honours Sant Bartomeu around 24 August with fireworks over the church, giants and fire-runs, and in October the Sitges Film Festival, one of the oldest fantasy and horror festivals anywhere, takes over the town.

The weather helps. Winter is soft for the coast, with January highs near 14°C and lows around 5°C, enough for lunch in the sun. Swimming is comfortable from June, when days reach 25°C, through September. July and August average 27°C with the town at its busiest. Late summer and autumn can be wet: September and October each average about 80 mm, mostly in short storms, so pack a light layer for festival week.