The Small and Attractive City of Sitges

Sitges is a small but very attractive city located towards the north eastern area of Spain. Despite its diminutive size, this city is famous around the entire world due to its interesting attractions, among which can be counted its Carnival and its unique Film Festival. Besides this, this vacation destination offers unique and beautiful landscapes composed by amazing sea sceneries that have hills and other picturesque sights as a background.

The history of the city of Sitges is relatively recent in comparison with other nearby Spanish destinations. According to historians, the history of this city began after a famous Catalan painter, *Santiago Rusiñol, settled in this spot during the 19th century. Despite this, it took several decades for this town to count with enough inhabitants to be considered a city, in such a way that experts often describe that its real origin dates only from the 1960's.

Despite of the fact that Sitges is a very recent and new city, in its short life it has become one of the most visited spots in the northeastern region of Spain. This city is very lively, and counts with many accommodations, facilities, rooms for conferences and seminars, nightclubs, pubs, cafes, restaurants, beaches, and historical sites. Thus, this vacation destination can be ideal for a wide range of visitors, since no matter what their expectations are, they will surely be able to find something fun to do or attractive to visit during their vacation.

The first and most antique event in the history of this destination is the Festa Major or Ball de Diables. The Festa Major was first celebrated in August of the year 1853, and since then it has become part of the traditions of the city. Many Europeans travel to Sitges for this event. This way, when they travel to Sitges in August, tourists can enjoy one of the most interesting events the city offers, as well as the many different exciting and appealing activities related to it.

There are some interesting historical events or facts that tourists should know before they travel to Sitges for a vacation. An example of these interesting events is the famous Film Festival of Sitges. The first Film Festival of Sitges, known as the Festival de cine de Sitges, or the International Film Festival of Catalonia, took place in the year 1967, and since then, it has become not only one of the main attractions of this destination but also one of the most famous film festivals in the entire world.

The Carnival of Sitges is another unique attraction offered by this destination. This carnival has been celebrated between February and March every year for the last 100 years, and offers a great moment for having a vacation in this destination. This carnival starts during what is known as the Fatty Thursday or Dijous Gras, and finishes on Ash Wednesday. During this celebration, the city becomes very lively and tourists can enjoy a variety of parades and other exciting activities such as traditional or folk dances, and special boat trips.

* Santiago Rusiñol (1861 - 1931) was a Spanish Catalan post-impressionist/Decadent painter, author, and playwright. Rusiñol influenced the works of Pablo Picasso as a modern artist, and he also influenced many modernist buildings in Sitges.