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Welcome to Sitges
 Situated just 30 minutes south of Barcelona on Spain's Costa Dorada, the former fishing village of Sitges is one of the holiday hotspots for the discerning gay traveller. Attracting the gay community by its thousands, this ever-popular resort has built a reputation for being one of the most tolerant and one of the most lively summer destinations in Europe.
Today Sitges is a thriving, cosmopolitan town that offers its visitors excellent beaches.
June through September are the busiest months, when the Mediterranean sun – and the men – are at their hottest.
When it comes to sunbathing, Playa de la Ribera in town is where the majority of the gay crowd heads. If you’re looking for something a little more remote, or if you want to avoid tan lines, then the
Playas del Muerto to the west of the centre are where to go. The further of these two beaches is almost exclusively gay. More...
Staying There
 Happy Gay Travel have a great selections of hotels and apartments, all of which are located in the centre of Sitges, walking distance to the main tourist and gay attractions.
These cater for most gay travellers and your and range from value for money to up market.
Like our other resorts, you will soon note a large increase of gay and gay friendly accommodation which will be added in the near future. More...
Getting There
 Happy Gay Travel offers a great value deals for holidays to Sitges, together with largest UK tour operators Respect Holidays, Sensations Holidays and Mantrav. Travel package flights are operated by British Airwaysg(17066602)a(1161358)) and Iberia. These are easily more reason that charter based holidays if booked early enough, and operate at various times of the day from mainly Gatwick and Heathrow airports. Regional airports and flights from Dublin and other European airports are also available.
This also means that you can travel on the day of your choice, and tailor make your duration – so no more need for a 7/14 night package, but these are also available if need be.
BA include meals, whereas Iberia charge extra!
Please remember however that the Sunway Group of accommodations insist on a Saturday arrival for 7/14/21 nights, and there's not much we can do with that policy! More...
The Gay Scene in Sitges
 For a small town Sitges is surprisingly well-endowed when it comes to bars, with venues to suit all tastes, ranging from cruisy bars with backrooms and video to traditional music bars.
Essentially the gay bars are located in three areas: around the main drag of Calle Dos de Mayo (known locally as Sin Street), in the older part of Sitges off Calle Mayor, and in the triangle bounded by Calle Espalter, Calle San Francisco and pedestrianised Parellades.
Generally speaking, Sitges' bars don't really come to life until 11pm or so, although one or two (El Horno, for example) open their doors from about 5pm onwards to cater for the crowds coming off the beaches. More...
The Gay Beaches in Sitges
 One of the main attractions of Sitges is the large number of clean sandy beaches (see map). Between the distinctive Parish Church at one end of the promenade and the Terramar Hotel at the other there are no fewer than nine breakwaters, with gently sloping golden beaches in between, most of which offer sunloungers for rent, showers and refreshment kiosks.
Although there is only one predominantly gay beach in the centre of town - La Platja de la Bossa Rodona, directly below the Picnic Restaurant on the seafront - in recent years it has begun to be colonised by straights and their families and overspill during the height of summer means that you will find gay men and women just about anywhere along the whole stretch.
If you can't find a place to tan your tush on the central beaches, then it's only a short walk beyond the church to Platja Sant Sebastià, Platja dels Balmins (for mixed nudey bathing) and Platja d'Aiguadolç.
But that's not all - if you want to get an all-over tan away from the gaze of gawping straight tourists and you're feeling energetic, it's worth the effort heading out to the nudist beaches beyond the Terramar Hotel.
As usual, we would recommend that you keep all your valuables at home! More...
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Sitges is a smart resort - decidedly chic compared with Torremolinos, Salou, San Antonio etc., visibly gay and with some very attractive visitors. If you're over 25 and not heavily into clubbing, drugs or fashion, then there's a good chance that this is the resort for you. (If you're a youngster who does like one or more of those things, then Ibiza should be more to your taste.)
Barcelona is only half an hour away by train and has enough sights to keep you occupied for days, as well as what seems a pretty extensive gay scene of its own.
The only place you're really likely to hear Catalan spoken is on TV. The expectation seems to be that foreigners have enough trouble with Castilian without learning yet another language. Most street signs are in Catalan as well as Castilian - we've given the Catalan here: they're often very similar but if there's any problem in recognising the Castilian we give that too.
