What can you see in Sitges. Museums, churches etc.

What can you see in Sitges

Modernist buildings in Sitges

Sitges is a town marked architecturally by the “Americans” or “Indians” who returned from their adventure in the colonies at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. They were the people who went to make money to the Spanish colonies of Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico and they got it.

Upon their return and after the demolition of the sections of the wall that protected the city, these Indians began to build new houses. A large part of the buildings that were built in the old town were of modernist style, although there are also other mixtures of styles of the time.

This makes you find a multitude of houses with those characteristic decorations with floral forms of modernism.

White Houses of Fishermen

Without leaving the old town, next to the sea, it is worth visiting the fishing districts. Formerly the houses of the fishermen were distinguished by the white colours of their facades, which is why none of the modernist buildings of the old town is painted white but they looked for other tones to distinguish themselves socially.

Currently this has changed and much of the charm that the city has is that most houses keep that harmony of white facades with blue touches. These tones were characteristic because they were used in the exterior patios of these houses, although at present there are very few of these flowery courtyards similar to the Andalusian ones.

Maricel Palace Museum

The Palau Maricel is a palace that originally housed eight fishermen’s houses, which a very rich man, Charles Deering, bought to make a large art collection. He also bought the adjoining building that was the old hospital, and turned it into his house leaving the fishermen’s houses as his private museum.

He painted the walls with colourful samples of works of art brought from many parts of the country, as well as works by contemporary artists of the time.

The visiting hours of the Palacio Maricel museum are, from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am to 8 pm from July to September; from 10 am to 7 pm in April, May, June and October; and from 10 am to 6 pm, from November to March. On Mondays the museum is closed to visitors. On Sundays there are guided tours, at 12 o’clock in Catalan and at 13 o’clock in Spanish, although in summers the hours are extended.

Cau Ferrat Museum

It is perhaps the most important museum in the city of Sitges. It houses works by Picasso and El Greco. The owner was Santiago Rusiñol, who is considered one of the most transcendental artists of modernism in Catalonia.

Actually the museum is located in what was formerly his house-workshop, so it is full of works by this great modernist artist.

The walls of this house-workshop are painted in the same blue color of the patios of the fishermen’s houses.

5 Church of Sant Bartolomeu

The spectacular church of Sant Bartolomeu is one of the most characteristic images of the city. At the beginning of the promenade and next to the marina, the church of Sant Bartolomeu presides from the top of a hill the entire length of the coast of Sitges.

It is a baroque church that was built in the same space where before there were several churches that did not stand the test of time. Its great patrimony is mainly its altarpieces and its two bell towers. Do not forget to visit the back of the church from where you can see one of the few remains that remain of the medieval walls of the city. At night the church is subtly illuminated and there is a nice picture for the pleasure of photography lovers.

Houses of Indians on the Promenade

The promenade is not an ordinary place, since many of the buildings that occupy the first line of the sea are small mansions in the style of colonial villas. As you move away from the port and you leave the area of ÔÇïÔÇïthe hotels, on the promenade, houses that the Indians came back from making the Americas begin to appear.

Although not all the houses are from the colonial era, a large part of the mansions that we can find have been built trying to reproduce that architectural style. Of course, do not expect the entire promenade to show a uniform succession of colonial houses, as some modern mansions of many millions of euros are also mixed. If you are one of those who like to walk, at the end of the walk is the Terramar Park, which is worth knowing.