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It´s time for the Girona Flower Festival 2011 also called "Girona, en tiempo de flores" in Spanish or "Girona, en temps de flors", which takes place from the 7^th to the 15^th of May.

Enjoy your holidays in Spain and choose a holiday apartment in Barcelona. Thus you will be able to attend the beautiful festival. You can even find a cheap apartment in order to save your money for other activities.

The whole city is decorated by different flowers, making a colorful and good smelling city out of it. You can even take part in a competition about the arrangement of the flowers.

In this festival it is not only about the flowers, indeed, there are also concerts and shows in flower gardens. You can find more information on the main webpage of the Girona Flower Festival.

How to get to the Girona Flower Festival :

By plane:

If you spend your holidays in Girona, you can book a flight to Girona, as the city is served by an airport. If your flight is to Barcelona, don't worry there are shuttles which go to Girona and back.

By train:

If you are on vacation in Barcelona and you want to go to the festival, you can take the train (Renfe). The travel time is approximately 1h20.

Where to stay:

You can choose an apartment in the old city of Girona. But you can also choose to spend your vacation in Barcelona, which is only one hour to Girona. Find an hotel in Barcelona in order to profit of both cities.

So take this chance to discover the city of Girona in at its best colors, smells and lights.

San Joan in Barcelona is the celebration marking the start of the summer season and the day with the longest period of daylight in the year. The San Joan celebrations are on the evening of the 23rd June. The day after is the Saint John's day, the 24th June, is a public holiday in Catalonia and Spain. The San Joan fiestas take place from sundown to sunrise on the night before Saint John's day, and are also called "verbenas," which means open-air fiestas or celebrations. In Spanish it is also named as "La Nit de San Joan" - the night of Saint John.

In ancient times the summer solstice was considered the most important event of the solar year. The element of fire stands as the symbol of abundance, purity and fertility as it is today one of the central elements in the Festival of San Joan. The festival is marked by fireworks and bonfires enlightening the skies of Barcelona. Don´t miss it, take the opportunity to do a trip to the European metropolis and book a central Barcelona hotel or Barcelona apartment.

Coming back to the festival of San Joan, the element of this festival is fire. The flame to light the fires is called the "Flama del Canigó," which is taken to different villages every year. There are bonfires, called "hogueras" in Spanish or "fogueres" in Catalan everywhere in Barcelona and Catalonia. If you like to follow one of the traditions, take part in the rituals of fire purification, which are said to cleanse your sins and get rid of your bad luck by burning something. For the bonfire old furniture is often used to symbolize a gesture of "out with the old - in with the new!

 A big part of any Catalan festival is the food. During San Joan it is a tradition to eat Catalan 'Coca' desserts. Coca is a bread base stuffed with various kinds of fillings. The size of the bread should be twice as long as it is wide!

Have you thought about spending your summer holidays in Costa Daurada? If you prefer spending your holidays at one of the most popular beaches, I recommend you to book an accommodation in Sitges . In this town with 26.000 habitants and only 35 kilometers from Barcelona, you can go to 17 different clean and sandy beaches.

Did you knew that Sitges is also called the St. Tropez of Spain? This is due to the property prices which are similar to the most expensive European cities. Another reason for this is the setting of the sea and the surrounding of the Parc Natural de Garraf.The seaside village Garraf is located between Sitges and Castellfels.Compared to the other beaches of Barcelona, it is the most quiet one and there for an ideal place for families, as it is already famous among local families. You will also find there nice restaurants with a view on the bay.

In general, the beaches of Sitges are lively, clean and busy. You are likely to feel relaxed on all of Sitges's beaches. With an apartment in Sitges you can easily bring a parasol and make sure that you bring your sun cream. The beaches provide very little natural shade and in the summer months the sun is very strong.

If you are looking for particular beaches, you may also be able to find what you want. Besides to the family beaches, sitges has gay-friendly and nudist beaches. Below I listed all of the beaches in Sitges, providing more detailed information.

List of all beaches in Sitges:

Platja Sant Sebastiá

This beach is popular amongst all groups of people. It stands more on its own than the beaches at the other side of the church.

Platja de la Fragata

Most popular beach with families and overlooked by the town's whitewashed church. For the children there are volleyball nets and pedalo to hire.

Platja de la Ribera  

One of the large beaches, which is busy as it is close to the town. It is for any kind of group.

Platja d'Aiguadolç

Sitges' most eastern beach. it is popular with both nudists and those in swimwear.

Platja dels Balmains  

One of the three beaches that is to the east of the Sitges Church. It is mostly nudist and offers a great view with mountains.

Platja de la Rodona

The town's main gay beach which is always very busy.

Platja de l'Estanyol

 Another long and busy beach, popular with all groups of people.

Platja de la Riera Xica   

A rather narrow and long beach. It is popular with all groups.

Platja de la Barra

This beach is slightly more of a cove and is towards the edge of town so it can often be less crowded than the more central beaches. It is popular with all groups.

Platja de Terramar

Another slightly less bust beach due to its location and due to the distance from the city centre. It is popular with all groups.

Platja de les Anquines

A beach, which is small and in a cove. A good option if you are looking for some peace and quiet. It is popular with all groups.

How to get to Sitges

Sitges is very close to the Barcelona International Airport. During the high season, you can catch a train from the Barcelona Sants station. You don´t need to buy tickets in advance, since as many as 4 trains leave every hour. Catch the train at the Passeig de Gràcia metro station towards "Vilanova / St Vicenç." It will take you approximately 25 minutes to reach Sitges beaches by train.