Staying in Sitges and suggestions requested
 

Please give me some suggestions on some day trips and places to eat good seafood. This is my first trip to this area of Spain. <BR><BR>I haven't read anything about this city other than they have a beautiful beach. <BR><BR> <BR>

Sitges is a nice beach town 20-30 minutes from Barcelona. It has one of the more active nightlifes in the Mediterranean. It is also one of the Gay hotspots of the world, particularly at Carnival.<BR><BR>The beach, IMHO, is nothing to write home about. Try Costa Brava for nice beaches.<BR><BR>I don't know any hotels in the area. There are many good seafood restaurants. One I liked particularly was on the beach, north of the church. It is the only restaurant there, you can't miss it.<BR><BR>An obvious day trip (if it can be called that) is Barcelona! Casteldefells is nearby and beaches there are nicer. Tarragona is close by, with some nice Roman ruins. If you like theme parks, Port Aventura is maybe 60 kms. away. It is one of the best parks in Europe.<BR>Have a nice trip!

We stayed at the Hotel Santa Maria, right opposite the beach, and found it friendly and comfortable. It's in the middle of "hotel row" along the beach; a number of the hotels have restaurants with good seafood (including Paella of course, and Fiduea with squid ink sauce - better than it sounds.)<BR><BR>Sitges is a fun town, with a reputation as a big gay center, but full of all sorts of families - gay, straight, young, old, hip, unhip, Brits, Germans...when we were there. The beach is fun. It's a terrific place to stay and make day trips into Barcelona (20 min. on the commuter train.)

Thank you so much for the suggestions. Should I rent a car or just use the trains?<BR>

Unless you're planning on excursions in the countryside, a car will be more a nuisance than a benefit in Barcelona or Sitges. For day outings, you can rent a car at Barcelona airport (15 min. from Sitges) and bring it back when you're done.

I have been to Sitges several times and it's a lovely little town. There are in fact several beaches in Sitges so you have a choice.