With 17 excellent beaches to choose from, sunbathing is undoubtedly the main activity in Sitges. However, Sitges also offers all the usual watersports including jet skiing, surfing, scuba diving, wind- and kitesurfing. The resort also has a host of things to do away from the beach. Adventurous visitors can opt to go hiking, quad biking, skydiving or hang gliding. For the less active or more culturally inclined Sitges claims to be the birthplace of the modernist movement and the town has three museums eager to show off their works by Picasso and El Greco among others. Visitors can take a stroll around the old town complete with beautiful Catalan architecture as well as many other treasures and charm, particularly the 17th century church located at the waterfront.

Two worthwhile excursions are Garraf Natural Park and the scenic vineyards of Peñedes. There are also numerous festivals during the year, most notably Carnival (February - March), Corpus flower festival (June) and the Santa Tecla folklore festival (September).

Spanish is the official language, but English is widely understood in areas frequented by tourists. Catalan, Galician and Basque are spoken in the relevant areas.

Spain's official currency is the Euro (EUR). One Euro is divided into 100 cents. Money can be exchanged at bureaux de change and major hotels, but banks give the best rates. All major credit cards and travellers cheques are widely accepted at most hotels, restaurants, and shops. ATMs are widespread and are generally the cheapest and most convenient method of obtaining money.

During the peak summer season, and Carnival at the beginning of year, Sitges can be crowded and expensive - those travelling at this time will need to book well in advance. Sitges is also one of Europe's premier gay holiday destinations and there are many nude beaches. Although Sitges has plenty of family beaches there are also a number of nudist and gay beaches or beach areas, visitors of a more conservative disposition and those with young children should bear this in mind.

Sitges caters for all tastes but the gay community is particularly prominent and the local Gay Pages booklet publishes a monthly list of some of the most hip and happening pink parties and clubs in Sitges. Other popular nightspots include Trailer for its weekly foam parties, Organic and Atlantida. Poppular pubs and bars in Sitges are Parrots pub, which is great for people watching, as well as Mediteraneo, El Cantil, XXL and Bourbons. Being so close to one of Europe's top party cities, many Sitges holidaymakers choose to party in Barcelona on weekends - particularly on Saturday nights.

Sitges has a fine selection of restaurant options and perhaps the most difficult part of dining out in Sitges is choosing from the long list of fine dining options available. Mezzanine on Carrer de Espalter, Fragata and La Salseta have all garnered rave reviews. As with most Spanish coastal towns seafood and tapas are the dishes of choice, but diners should be wary of ordering seafood on a Monday as the catch may not always be fresh.

Shopping in Sitges generally revolves around a number of small boutique stores and a range of chain stores such as United Colours of Benetton, Lacoste and Adolfo Dominguez. Most shops in Sitges are located along Calle Major and Calle Francesc. Shops are open from 10am until 8pm with a siesta break at around 2pm.

Supermarkets in Sitges stock all the groceries and food items that holidaymakers would need for a fun beach vacation. Buying your groceries from shops located close to the beach is more expensive, while the larger supermarkets in towards the back of the town are more reasonably priced. Many visitors to Sitges prefer to shop at the local markets, such as the food market next to the train station, for more specialised items there are a number of bakeries, butchers and delicatessens scattered throughout the town. Tourists looking for holiday souvenirs and great photos of Sitges should head to the Friday market.

Local time is GMT +1 (GMT +2 between the last Sunday in March and the Saturday before the last Sunday in October). The Canary Islands: GMT (GMT +1 in summer).