Gay Sitges

A guide to Gay Sitges

Is Sitges the gayest town in Spain? Quite possibly. It was home to Spain’s first gay disco back in the 80s, and has played host to artists and bohemians from Barcelona (just up the coast) for a century. Miro, Dali and Picasso used to frequent the town, along with Tennessee Williams and Douglas Fairbanks. In fact, the bourgeois of Barcelona have escaped to Sitges for decades – it’s only an hour south of the city, and its big sandy beaches, good restaurants and bars and frequent festivals have always made it the getaway of choice. Because of this, the town benefits from grander, more historic architecture than most of Spain’s ugly concrete seaside towns, and still avoids being overrun by the hoards of lobster-pink English and German package-holiday-families that descend on Spain’s Costas Brava and del Sol every summer.

That said, despite the gay hotels, bars and clubs, don’t expect Sitges to be exclusively gay. It’s easy to forget that the vast majority of the visitors here are straight – it’s just that the proportion of gay visitors is far higher than other holiday resorts.

Restaurants in Sitges

The quality of restaurants in Sitges is pretty good - and cheaper on the whole than Ibiza or Mykonos. Most offer outdoor ‘al fresco’ dining, which is wonderful when its hot. Quite a few of the restaurants are gay-owned, or heavily-frequented by other gay visitors, so they can sometimes be a good place to meet people. It might be an idea to pop into your restaurant of choice during the day to book a table. And most have their menus on display at the door. Click the 'Hot Tip' tab above to find out more about the best restaurants in Sitges.

Getting there

Sitges is only 1 hour by train from Barcelona. From Barcelona airport, you can catch a train into the central train station, and then change platforms for a train to Sitges. An even easier option is to take the bus directly from the airport to Sitges itself – which only takes 45 minutes. A taxi will set you back about €60.

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Gay Sitges

Sitges is one of the ‘big four’ gay holiday destinations in Europe – along with Ibiza, Mykonos and Gran Canaria. As well as a good handful of gay hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses, there are over 20 gay bars in the town – which is pretty impressive when you consider it’s not the biggest of places (30,000 people normally, 250,000 in summer). There are gay bars for all tastes – including bear and leather bars (click the 'Hot Tips' tab above for the best local magazines and gay websites for Sitges.) Many of the gay visitors find themselves following a daily routine when here. Get up late, eat breakfast, head to the beach from your gay hotel, light lunch, back to the beach, drinks at the Parrot Bar at around 5 or 6, back to the hotel or apartment for a disco nap, up at around 10pm, shower, change, preen, dinner at around 11pm, hit the bars at about midnight – and follow the crowd from one bar to the next (‘the circuit') and on either to the beach to cruise or to a club to dance the night away (the Sunday night foam parties at Trailer are legendary). Then start it all over again.

Gay beaches in Sitges

The main beach in Sitges stretches out in front of the town for a couple of kilometres – with a very pleasant promenade just behind it. It’s only a few minutes’ walk from most of the town’s hotels. The gay portion of the beach is called Platja de la Bossa Rodona, located opposite the modern, four-star Hotel Calipolis. To reach it, turn right once you get to the promenade, and keep walking till you see all the gay boys (and girls). It’s pretty crowded – but then again you’re sure to have plenty to look at. The nude gay beach is called Platja d'Home Mort (“Dead Man’s Beach”) and is about a 45 minute walk west – if you’ve never done it before, just follow any gay men who seem to be walking in that direction. It’s quite a long way to walk – so take some drinks and some decent shoes. Behind the nude beach, on the other side of the railway tracks, is a cruising area in amongst the shrub and trees.

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There are all sorts of accommodation options in Sitges - from exclusively gay hotels such as the 'Romantic' to up-market resort hotels, small, traditional pensiones and lots of holiday apartments to rent.

If you're looking for gay and gay-friendly hotels in Sitges, then start with the list to the right. Just click on any property that itnerests you. If you'd rather view these properties on a map (to see how close each is to the beach and gay bars) then click here to use out Gay Hotels search page.

An increasing number of gay visitors, especially those coming in groups, rent an apartment or holiday villa while in Sitges. It can be a very economical solution – and give you more freedom. Gay apartments and holiday homes for rent are also included in our Gay Welcome accommodation listings to the right and on the Gay Hotels search page.

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Our top tips for a great holiday in Sitges

Gay bars, clubs & saunas in Sitges

The map below shows the location of Sitges' main gay bars, clubs and saunas. Scroll down to see the names and addresses of each in the table below.

More information on gay Sitges

Below are our recommendations on the best ways to hook up with other holiday makers or locals, find out what's on, discover more things to do and see, and find the best places to eat. Good luck - and have a great holiday in gay Sitges!