Modern Sitges is a gay-friendly, tolerant and sophisticated town. But stay here for any length of time and it becomes clear that this is a Catalan town par excellence, with long-standing festivals, music and traditional sports that it has proudly shared with the rest of the Catalan-speaking regions for hundreds of years. Below is a simple guide to just some of the characters and events you can see in the course of a typical year. For a full list of events in Sitges see our handy Calendar.

GIANTS AND BIGHEADS

Huge, grotesque papier mache figures, always in pairs, often dressed as kings and queens, which run down the street scaring the crap out of small children and wrinklies. Accompanied by nans (dwarves) and capgrossos (big-heads) acting as attendants or jesters.

CORREFOC

Fire-running. Bands of pyromaniac youths dressed as dracs (dragons) and dimonis (devils) brandishing spinning fireworks fitted to pitchforks with the sole aim of terrorising unsuspecting and unprotected tourists. Not recommended for those of a nervous disposition or people wearing nowt but a thong.

CASTELLERS

Human tower-builders. Participants compete to see who can build the tallest and most aesthetically-pleasing human towers. Always topped with a small child/children, local Social Services seem to turn a blind eye to this Catalan tradition.

SARDANA

Catalonia's ubiquitous folkdance often mocked by the rest of Spain for its lethargy. Sardana dancers link hands with raised arms, forming circles which grow ever bigger as more people join in. When the circle gets too big, the dancers form more circles. Seen by Catalans as a democratic dance and a symbol of Catalan unity.

COBLA

The orchestra which accompanies the Sardanas and the building of Castells. Consisting of eleven players, a cobla is made up of woodwind and brass, together with double bass. The shrill oboe-like tenora is the leading instrument. The music is lyrical, if not a tad repetitive, and fun.