Sitges Carnival 2026

Sitges Carnival is Spain's most celebrated LGBTQ+ carnival — five days in February in the small coastal town of Sitges, 35 minutes by train from Barcelona, that transforms the town into one of Europe's most flamboyant carnival spectacles. The Sitges Carnival tradition stretches back to the nineteenth century, but the event's current identity as a gay-dominated celebration developed during the democratic transition of the late 1970s. The parade — the Rua de la Disbauxa (Parade of Debauchery) — is the centrepiece: elaborate floats, extraordinary costumes, drag queens, bear groups, and 25,000 visitors packing the streets of a town with a permanent population of 28,000. The Rua de la Extravaganza closes the carnival on the final Sunday. The surrounding days are filled with themed parties, bar events, and the specific carnival atmosphere of a town that has been doing this for 150 years and knows exactly how to do it. Sitges Carnival is one of the best reasons to visit Spain in February, when the town's coastal temperature is mild, the summer crowds are absent, and the carnival energy is extraordinary.