Venue
Sitges, Barcelona province, Catalonia, Spain
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Sitges Film Festival guide
Horror and fantasy by the sea.
In short
Genre film fans flock to Sitges, about 35 km south-west of Barcelona, for 11 days each October; the 59th edition ran from 8 to 18 October 2026. Expect premieres, retrospectives, guests and screenings well past midnight. Hotels in town are limited, so many attendees stay in Barcelona and commute, and 2027 dates appear on the festival website.
Horror, fantasy and science fiction take over the seaside town of Sitges, about 35 km south-west of Barcelona, every October. The 59th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia opened on Thursday 8 October 2026 and runs until Sunday 18 October, with premieres, retrospectives, guest appearances and screenings well past midnight.
Since 1971 the festival has handed out awards, and the main competition's prize is a Gorilla trophy. Its first edition, in 1968, was a single week of fantasy and horror films.
Sitges has few hotels for the crowds it draws. Plenty of festivalgoers sleep in Barcelona and ride the coastal train in.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Sunday, 24 October 2027
Where: Sitges, Spain
Venue: Hotel Meliá Sitges
Held: Every year
Type of event: Live Events, Film Festivals
Currency: Euro (EUR, €)
Time zone: Central European Time, UTC+1 (UTC+2 in summer); Canary Islands UTC+0
Language: Spanish (Castilian); co-official Catalan, Galician, Basque
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
2026 dates and the festival's October slot
This year's edition covers 11 days, 8 to 18 October 2026, with the awards at the closing ceremony on the final weekend. The festival sticks to early and mid October: the 58th ran from 9 to 19 October 2025. Each year's screening schedule comes out shortly before opening.
The Auditori and cinemas in the town centre
The heart of it is the Auditori inside the Hotel Meliá Sitges, a 1,380-seat hall for the galas and the competition. In the town centre, cinemas such as Cine El Retiro and Casino Prado have also taken screenings. A venue map and the ticket packs go up on the festival website every year.
The Official Fantàstic Section and its awards
The Official Fantàstic Section is the main competition. Its Gorilla trophies cover best film and director, the acting and screenplay categories, and the craft awards for special effects, cinematography and music.
Beyond that, the Citizen Kane Award goes to the best first feature, alongside the Noves Visions prize and a critics' award. A FIPRESCI international critics' prize joined the official competition in 2026. Honorary awards to directors and actors round off the list, and the people receiving them usually turn up to collect.
Sold-out premieres, costumes and the zombie walk
- Gala premieres and screenings with guests in the Auditori sell out fast. Buy as soon as the schedule appears.
- Fans in costume are everywhere at weekends. The zombie walk is a long-standing fixture.
- Sea breezes make October nights cool, which you'll notice in a queue for a 1 am screening. Bring a sweater.
Getting to Sitges from Barcelona
Barcelona El Prat airport is about 25 km away. Rodalies trains from Barcelona Sants and Passeig de Gràcia reach Sitges station in about 40 minutes and run often; from the station the Meliá is a short taxi or bus ride.
With spare days, work through our best attractions in Barcelona. For a much longer stay, our guide to moving to Spain covers the practical side.
What happens on the day
- Opening days
Gala premieres
The first guests arrive.
- Weekends
Costumed crowds
The busiest and most theatrical days, with the zombie walk a long-running fixture.
- Closing weekend
Awards
The Maria statuettes are handed out.
Buying tickets as soon as the schedule appears
Tickets decide everything here. The schedule is released shortly before the festival opens, and the moment it appears, premieres and guest screenings in the Auditori start to sell out. Have your list ready in advance and buy on the first day. Ticket packs and a map of the venues are published on the festival website each year.
The festival's focus on fantasy and horror cinema
The official name is the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, and it is one of the most respected festivals anywhere for horror, fantasy and science fiction. It started in 1968 as a single week of fantasy and horror cinema. Awards followed in 1971.
Today the programme mixes new genre premieres with retrospectives, guest appearances and screenings that run deep into the night. The main competition is the Official Fantàstic Section, and its winners receive a Gorilla trophy, with categories running from best film and director through acting and screenplay to special effects, cinematography and music. First features compete for the Citizen Kane Award. There is also a Noves Visions prize and a critics' award, and from 2026 a FIPRESCI prize from international critics joins the official competition.
Honorary awards go each year to directors and actors, and the honourees often turn up in person, which adds to the buzz around the Auditori. Off screen, the festival has a playful side. The costumed fans and the zombie walk are as much part of the week as the films.
Getting there
Flying in
Barcelona El Prat is about 25 km from Sitges.
By train
Rodalies commuter trains run from Barcelona Sants and Passeig de Gràcia to Sitges in about 40 minutes.
To the Auditori
A short taxi or bus ride from the station.
Late films
Check the last train to Barcelona against your final screening.
Where to stay during the festival
Sitges is a small seaside town with limited hotel space, and many festival-goers sleep in Barcelona and ride the coastal train in and out each day.
Barcelona
Hotel Arts Barcelona5-star hotel
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from$420.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Swimming pool
- Parking
3 Rooms available
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Weather and what to pack
October on the Garraf coast is mild, with average highs of about 22°C and lows of about 14°C at Barcelona Airport, and October is one of the wetter months, with roughly 80 mm of rain. Evenings by the sea turn cool.
Worth packing
- A warm jacket for queues after late shows
- Comfortable shoes
- An umbrella
- A costume, if you plan to join in at the weekend
Car hire in Sitges
Airport transfer to Sitges Film Festival
Met at arrivals at Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) and driven door to door to Hotel Meliá Sitges.
- Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) → Hotel Meliá Sitges
- 32 km · 30 min
Restaurants and food in Spain
Places to eat in Spain before or after the celebrations.
Ganbara
Calle San Jerónimo 21, 20003 Donostia San Sebastián, Spain
Cuisine:BasquePintxos
- Dine-in
- Bar
- Counter seating
El Rinconcillo
Calle Gerona 40, 41003 Seville, Spain
Cuisine:AndalusianTapas
- Dine-in
- Bar
- Counter seating
El Celler de Can Roca
Carrer de Can Sunyer 48, 17007 Girona, Spain
Cuisine:Contemporary CatalanTasting menu
- Dine-in
Sobrino de Botín
Calle de los Cuchilleros 17, 28005 Madrid, Spain
Cuisine:CastilianTraditional Spanish
- Dine-in
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Need help?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Booking
Tickets go on sale on the festival's official website a few weeks before it opens, with single screenings and multi-film passes. Galas and premieres with big-name guests sell out fast, so book as soon as the schedule is out. Leftover tickets are sold at box offices in the town.
General
Most films are shown in the original language with subtitles, usually in Spanish or Catalan, and many international titles also carry English subtitles. The festival listings state the subtitle languages for each screening, so check before booking.
Some screenings, such as those in the Brigadoon section, have historically been free, with entry on a first-come basis. Outdoor activities, exhibitions and the street atmosphere are free as well. Free entry depends on the year's programme, so check the official site.
The Official Fantàstic competition is the main event. Other sections include Midnight X-treme for the most extreme late-night films, Òrbita for genre thrillers, Noves Visions for new directors and Panorama. Retrospectives and tributes to guests run alongside them.
Guests appear at galas and Q&As after their screenings, and many walk the red carpet at the Hotel Meliá in front of the public. Signings and photo calls are announced in the daily programme. Expect crowds at the barriers for the biggest names.
The first edition in 1968 was the Semana Internacional de Cine Fantástico y de Terror, a week of genre films timed to extend the tourist season. It became a competitive festival in 1971 and grew into one of the leading fantasy film festivals in the world. Since 1986 its awards have taken the shape of Maria, the robot from Metropolis.
Try xató, a salad of salt cod, anchovies and endive with a romesco-style sauce, which is the local speciality from the Garraf coast. Seafood rice is easy to find along the Passeig Marítim. Sitges also makes its own sweet wine, Malvasia de Sitges.
No. Recording or photographing films is forbidden, and staff will ask you to put phones away. Photos are fine on the red carpet and in the streets, where the costumed crowds are part of the show.
Barcelona is 40 minutes away by train. The Penedès wine region, known for cava, is inland and easy to reach for a day trip, and the Garraf natural park offers walks above the coast. Sitges itself has a long seafront and the Cau Ferrat museum, the former home of painter Santiago Rusiñol.
Families & accessibility
Yes. The Sitges Family section shows fantasy and animation films for younger audiences, usually at weekend daytime sessions. Most of the main competition is horror and adult material, often with explicit content, and age ratings are enforced at the door.
The main venues have step-free access and wheelchair spaces, which should be booked in advance with your tickets. The steep streets of the old town can be awkward, so taxis or the town bus help between the station and the Auditori.