Sitges Carnival is one of the most popular and well-known Carnival in Spain. It is a colourful and lively celebration known for its elaborate costumes, parades, music, and dance.
I have never really celebrated Carnival. In most countries I have lived in, Carnival was not a big thing. Eating crepes on Pancake Tuesday was my only celebration during these festive times. So I was more than happy to plan a short trip to Sitges for the famous and worldwide renowned Sitges Carnival.
I have seen many brochures and heard a few friends talk about it and say it was great! So I checked it out with a friend. We headed to Sitges on Sunday 15th, to watch the adult parade (as opposed to the children’s earlier that day) at 8 pm.
The Debauchery Parade at Sitges Carnival
Sitges Carnival starts on Fat Thursday, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. It officially begins when the King of Carnival arrives in town and ends when he leaves on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.
So Sitges carnival lasts days. The main parade, the adult parade called la Rua de la Disbauxa (‘The Debauchery Parade’), happens on Sunday.
It is one of the highlights of the carnival. It has a wild atmosphere, with the carnival featuring floats, music, and dancing. Thousands of people, locals and tourists alike attend it every year.
I would like to share living the Debauchery parade today. I came all the way from Barcelona city for the evening to attend it.
Before the parade
The streets were not as busy as expected at first. So we walked around town quite freely. It was full of dressed-up people and dressed-up tourists, and there was a happy atmosphere. You know, the kind of atmosphere that takes over a town when a party is about to happen. It reminded me of Saint Patrick’s day in Dublin: happy people drinking in the streets, waiting excitedly for the parade to come.
Then, we saw a bunch of people lining up for a seat in the tribunes. “Errr, sorry, where can we get tickets too?” “You just need to queue”. Great! One hour and loads of life analysis chats later, we finally got to sit.
And what seats! The thoughtful organizers got us blankets from a famous houseware brand. Nice! While people were enviously watching us, comfortable and warm, we watched the parade like VIPs. I queued for one hour in the cold. I deserve this!
Sitges Carnival’s parade features Tinkerbells, Captain Cooks, Prince Charles and so on
During the parade, we saw Tinkerbells dancing with Captain Cooks, groups of unicorns, every famous English celebrity that ever existed, from the Spice Girls to Prince Charles and Freddie Mercury, characters from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and many more!
The costumes were spectacular. They did not skimp their efforts on their elaboration. And all the participants were motivated to bring out their best. It was a feast for the eyes and the imagination seeing them marching.
We also tried associating each group with a period, a story and a region. I particularly like that all age groups (except kids, as mentioned) were represented in this parade.
Going home after the parade
I would have stayed longer, but the voice of wisdom, in this case, my friend’s, called for a way home around 10 pm. It was Sunday night, and Monday was a school day. So we left.
And then there was the second part of Sitges Carnival. The one happening behind the scenes, with all the bars full of party people and happy Drag Queens dressed up with fabulous dresses and heels so high I wonder how they can walk.
We did not have much time to hang out. If I return another time, I will spend the whole night partying in the streets, not only watching the parade.
The bus wait to go back to Barcelona
The only negative was a big one: we found out that the train to Barcelona was stopping between 10h30 and 1h30 am. After the first minutes of disbelief, we went to look for the bus back to Barcelona.
A few buses dropped by, vomiting tens of drunken students each time, but we had to wait a while for the ones going to Barcelona.
By the time it was our turn to hop on, it was 1h15 am :(. We have been waiting for almost 2h30 in the cold. At least we bonded with our fellow passengers while waiting desperately for transportation.
If you go to Sitges Carnival next year and rely on public transportation, be ready for the cold wait!
Update 2023
I was mentioning here that we had seats with blankets that particular night. I don´t think that it was a usual thing happening during the festival. The norm is that you wait, standing in the streets. I don’t want you to be disappointed if you go and don´t have that possibility.