The golden coast south of Barcelona: wide sand, the Garraf hills, and the most liveable seaside town in Catalonia — Sitges.

Where the Costa Brava is for retreating, the coast south of Barcelona is for living year-round. Sitges combines seventeen beaches, a modernist old town, an international festival calendar and a fifteen-minute run to the airport — which is why its Vinyet and Terramar quarters hold some of the most consistently valued villas in Catalonia. Castelldefels and Gavà Mar, closer still to the city, are the quiet choice of athletes and executives.