The Modernista Route lets you discover the imprint left on Sitges by Modernisme thanks to the initiatives of Santiago Rusiñol i Prats (Barcelona, 1861 - Aranjuez, 1931) —one of the foremost Catalan Modernistes— and to the fortunes of the so-called "Americanos" —the people from Sitges who, enriched from their stay in the Spanish colonies, returned home and beautified the town’s streets with their new houses of Modernista aesthetic.

The route begins at the railway station, a symbol of the new era and of the country’s modernity. It continues along the streets of the centre of town —Carrer Illa de Cuba and Carrer Francesc Gumà— where one can discover the Modernista architecture of some of the most prominent architects of the times, such as Gaietà Buïgas, and where one can enjoy the decorativism of some of the façades (wrought iron, ceramics, sgraffito work, stained-glass windows...). Some examples are Casa Bonaventura Blay (1901), Casa Manuel Planas (1908) and Casa Pere Carreras (1906). When possible, one can see the interior of the Teatre Prado, a Modernista building that hosted two of the Modernista Festivals that Rusiñol organised in Sitges and a meeting point of many of the leading Modernista figures.

The route continues with a visit to a “pati blau” or blue courtyard, the only remaining example of the once-typical courtyards of Sitges. This blue courtyard was a source of inspiration for Rusiñol, who not only devoted some paintings to it but also a play called precisely El Pati blau.

Next we continue across Cap de la Vila square, site of another of the Modernista houses, this one belonging to the “Americano” Bartomeu Carbonell i Mussons, and we come to the Plaça de l'Ajuntament or Town Hall Square, presided over by the Town Hall itself, in the Neo-Gothic style —which was very popular among the Modernistes— and the Market, the town’s first Modernista building.

The visit ends at the Cau Ferrat Museum, which was originally the house-studio of the artist and collector Santiago Rusiñol. It shelters a magnificent picture gallery with works by El Greco, Ramon Casas, Ignacio Zuloaga, Picasso and Rusiñol, among many others, as well as a valuable collection of wrought-iron, ceramics and glasswork.