While the roots of Sitges' artistic reputation date back to the late 19th century, when painter Santiago Rusiñol took up residence there during the summer, the town became a centre for the 1960s counterculture in mainland Spain during the Francoist regime, and became known as "Ibiza in miniature".

Sitges has been referred to as the Saint-Tropez of Spain,[4] with property prices approaching those of the most expensive European cities, the main reason for this being the setting by the sea and the surrounding Garraf Park [es; ca].

During the Middle Ages, a castle was built in Sitges, owned by the bishopric of Barcelona, which later ceded it to count Mir Geribert (1041).

The latter held it until 1308, when Agnes of Sitges sold the town to Bernat de Fonollar, after whose death it went to the Pia Almoina, a charitable institution, to which it belonged until 1814.

Some others, after having amassed a certain fortune, settled back in Sitges, generally living on rent or investing in sectores like wine or shoe making.

After Spain lost its overseas territories as a result of the Spanish-American War in 1898, the migration flow from Sitges to Cuba continued, but most of the trade ended.

The tourist boom of the 1960s ended the era of shoe making and made local economy essentially depending on tourism and services.

Due to the wave of artists settling in the town in the wake of Santiago Rusiñol, who established his studio (nowadays Museu del Cau Ferrat) wealthy families from Barcelona built summer residences in Sitges, especially in the garden city known as Terramar.

Intellectuals like G. K. Chesterton, who visited the town in 1926 and 1935, or the German boxer Max Schmelling, who trained for his match against Paulino Uzcudun in Terramar Hotel in 1934.

The British war journalist Henry Buckley (author of The Life and Death of the Spanish Republic, 1940) lived for a few months in Sitges during the conflict, marrying a local woman.

It is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Olivella and Begues, to the west by Sant Pere de Ribes and Vilanova i la Geltrú, to the east by Gavà and Castelldefels, and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea.

The report refers to a meal that three days before had gathered together a selected group of Catalan artists and intellectuals, including Santiago Rusiñol, Miquel Utrillo and Gaietà Buigas.

The British School of Barcelona (BSB) also operates a campus in Sitges, providing education for primary (3-11 years), located in the upscale neighbourhood of Vallpineda.

From 1908 to 1920, events were staged over public roads from Sitges to Canyelles to Vilanova i la Geltrú, and from Mataró to Vilassar de Mar and Argentona.

Albert Divo won the only Spanish Grand Prix held at the banked Sitges Terramar driving a Sunbeam.