We live in Sitges, Spain, right on the Garraf coast, and one thing surprises people every time they ask us for beach advice: it's not one beach, it's about eleven of them lined up along the town promenade alone, plus a string of wilder, clothing-optional coves just beyond it (and, technically, Garraf village and Port Ginesta in Castelldefels).

That range matters because Sitges gets typecast fast, mostly as either a party town or a gay beach town, and neither label really does it justice. Yes, there's a well-known gay beach and a nude beach, and we'll get into both. But there's also a calm, central family beach that's five minutes from the train station and a run of quiet coves south of town where we go ourselves, as a straight couple, just as often as anyone else does (but maybe a bit earlier in the morning than the party boys).