Village
Sant Pere de Ribes is a municipality in the Garraf comarca, in the province of Barcelona, situated in the south-west of the Garraf massif, between Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú, with a small coastal strip. It has 32,705 inhabitants (INE 2025), spread mostly between two settlements of about 15,000 inhabitants each: Ribes, the historic centre and municipal capital, and Les Roquetes, which began to be built in the 1950s following the arrival of workers from Andalusia and Murcia and of the cement colony of Vallcarca, in Sitges. The municipality is completed by three villages of medieval origin, Puigmoltó, les Torres and Vilanoveta, and several housing developments, in addition to the castle of Ribes and various rural watchtowers.
Monument
The castle of Ribes, also called de Bell-lloc or de Sota-ribes, stands on a steep hill next to the old church of Sant Pere de Ribes, on the right bank of the riera de Ribes, at the exit of the village towards Vilanova i la Geltrú. Documented since 6 May 990, in the charter of settlement granted by bishop Vives, it was always linked to the episcopal see of Barcelona. After a raid by Almanzor, it was entrusted to the Ribes family, who gave it their name and to whom it remained subject as a fief until the late 14th century, when bishop Ramon d'Escales recovered the rights over the place, which Barcelona kept until the abolition of feudal rights in the 19th century. It has been a warehouse, a shop, an archive, a prison and, for more than thirty years, the residence of the dancer José de Udaeta.
Monument
The Torre del Veguer is a fortified house of medieval origin in Sant Pere de Ribes, owned by the marquisate of Ferrer-Vidal. Documented since 1318, it took its current name when its owner Frederic d'Avinyó held the office of veguer of the Penedès in the 15th century. In 1883 the Vilanova industrialist Josep Ferrer i Vidal acquired the estate and remodelled it, giving it the fortified appearance it retains today, with a square tower, battlements, machicolations and corner towers with neoclassical loopholes. The house has been linked since the 15th century to a wine-growing tradition begun by the Hieronymite friars who had previously occupied the place: its wines won a gold medal at the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exhibition and were exported to Bordeaux in 1930.
Monument
The Torre de la Serra crowns the south-east corner of the la Serra farmhouse, on a hill west of the municipality of Sant Pere de Ribes. It is a defensive tower with a quadrangular floor plan, joined to the rest of the farmhouse, among whose outbuildings the wine cellar stands out. The complex, with ground floor and upper floor under a tiled roof, has a façade with a voussoired flat-arched doorway and several rectangular openings. The name Sasserra appears linked to a 12th-century property and to a family settled there in the late 13th century, but references to the present building begin in the 16th century, when the property belonged to the Roig de la Serra family, who added the tower when they enlarged the house; the Roig family has remained the owner to this day. An inscription from 1806 records a later extension.
Monument
Can Bruguera is a farmhouse in Sant Pere de Ribes (Garraf), situated on the pla de les Torres; its defensive tower is declared a Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection), and the farmhouse, a bien cultural de interés local (local-level heritage protection). The farmhouse, with a rectangular plan and four bays, preserves a round-arched doorway with voussoirs whose keystone is dated 1510, and on the first floor a painted sundial bearing the motto Passa però no s'immuta. The tower, much rebuilt, stands facing the south façade; it has a square floor plan with loopholes. The property, documented since the 18th century, belonged to the Bruguera family until 1934, the year in which Baltasar Bruguera was murdered; around 1940 it was bought by the Mestres-Segarra family.
Monument
The Clot dels Frares complex is a building declared a Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection) in the municipality of Sant Pere de Ribes (Garraf), on the former grounds of the Autodrome. It consists of a farmhouse with ground floor, upper floor and attic under a four-pitched roof, and a defensive tower with a square floor plan, linked to it by a bridge, which preserves remains of Baroque sgraffito. The place may correspond to the old lordship of Vila-Rúbia or Vila-Roja, extinguished in 1410; the name Clot dels Frares is linked to a community of Hieronymites established in 1413, or to the fact that in the early 18th century the estate belonged to the Society of Jesus. The farmhouse, from the 17th century, served as the Royal Pavilion during the years of the Autodrome and is today a summer residence.
Nature
The Parc d'Olèrdola is a natural and archaeological area protected since 1992 by the Generalitat de Catalunya, which extends across the north of the Garraf, between the municipalities of Olèrdola (Alt Penedès) and Canyelles (Garraf), with an area of 608 hectares. Its terrain, gentle but broken by cliffs and rocky outcrops, culminates at 358 metres of altitude at the Talaia. The Mediterranean climate, with very dry summers, gives rise to vegetation of Aleppo pine woods, low scrub, dry meadows and vineyards, and a heat-adapted fauna with endemic cave-dwelling species unique in the world. The main attraction is the historic complex of Olèrdola, with archaeological sites declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection), and it offers routes such as the GR 92-3 and the Water and Wine route.
Activity
The Festa Major of Sant Pere de Ribes is celebrated on 28 and 29 June in honour of Sant Pere, patron of the town, with bell-ringing and firecrackers on the eve, stick-dances at the farmhouses and fireworks at the Castell de Sota-Ribes; the municipality also celebrates a second festa major, that of Sant Pau, around 25 January.
Activity
The traditional weekly market of Sant Pere de Ribes.
Activity
Sant Pere de Ribes's grape harvest festival, part of the Garraf wine route.
Curiosity
Culinary tradition of the Garraf, with the local red wine as its standout product.
Historical milestone
A document from the 6th of May 990 records the first mention of the Castillo de Ribes and grants franchises to the settlers of the area. It is one of the oldest settlement charters preserved along this stretch of coast.
Historical milestone
Born in 1998 and trained on the pitches of the Garraf, the midfielder became a player for Barcelona and for the Spanish team that won the world championship in 2023, and a consecutive winner of the women's Ballon d'Or.
Food and drink
The calcareous slopes of the interior of the massif are included in the Penedès designation of origin and in that of cava. They give whites of xarel·lo and reds of garnacha on small estates, with wineries open to visits.