I’ve been lucky, dare I say ‘blessed’, to pull up a sun lounger on some pretty awesome beaches in Europe this year, so wanted to share some my favourites, which have all earned their places for different reasons. Just don’t ask me to choose my overall favourite!
Best beach for dog walks
Plage Bonaparte, near Plouha, Brittany, France
Walk through the archway that leads to this historically significant beach and what unfolds in front of you is quite breath-taking and not too far removed from a Cornish coastal scene. It is just over the water, after all.
This beach was a high point of the resistance during the Second Word War. In 1944, 135 British, Canadian and American airmen and agents were secretly evacuated by boat from the sands to the UK, in eight different operations.
There is ample parking in the winter months (I’ve visited several times, but always early in the morning, at different times of the year) and I’m told the approach road also gets lined with parked cars in the school holidays. In the mornings, it’s utter bliss to stride across the sand, barefoot, wishing a cheerful ‘bonjour’ to other dog walkers.
Access to the beach is steep, so bear that in mind if you are nipping to the two public loos near the car park, from the beach, and take your own picnic as there are no bars or restaurants on this elongated slither of Breton sand, bordered by steep cliffs.
Tip: before you go, check tides (to avoid arriving to find it’s high tide and there’s nowhere to walk) and also when you can and can’t walk dogs on the sands (there are set hours in peak season). Take poo bags and always clear up after your dog!
Best beach for feeling like a local
Chances are, when you visit this rather remote and wild beach, with water so clear it could’ve come out of a tap, that you’ll be the only non-French or Italian on its fair sands. Approached by a narrow, sandy, winding, bumpy and sometimes steep road off the main coastal route, you’ll bounce over a train track before finding yourself in the car park of the Ghjunchituo (or Junquidou) Restaurant.
We visited in early July, before the peak season, so I imagine this road could become a bit of a nightmare when really busy, as overflow cars will have no option other than to line the approach road. Patrons can park in the restaurant car park (there is also a shack to pee in for a small fee) and it’s well worth it, as this sublime spot has numerous cute, panoramic terraces and a delightful menu.
Given it’s beautiful remote nature, there are no public loos, nor were there sun loungers to rent when we were there.
Tip: take cash with you, as the restaurant doesn’t accept cards
Best beach for all the family
L’Estartit, Torroella de Montgri, Catalonia, Spain
My dad chose Estartit as a holiday destination for us as a young family, when it was a popular spot for package holidays, about 50 years ago. While the package holidays have long since stopped, it has retained such a special place in our hearts that, half a century later, we are still going!
Dad – the legend that is Billi Cara de Nino (Spanish for ‘Billy the Kid’) – chose Estartit and its 5km of long, gently shelving beach because of its safety for youngsters and hence we’ve subsequently taken our own kids back there time and time again. So much so that it’s etched in their hearts too.
This is a vast and deep swathe of sand and we’ve been the only ones on it in June. Peak season is a different story, though, and friendly Jose the sun lounger and pedalo owner (half Catalan, half Mancunian) does a roaring trade (€6 for a sun lounger per day).
You’ll also find a lovely selection of xiringuitos (our favourite is Ictineo) and Can Pau at the end of the digue (the lovely owners also have a restaurant in town) provides a civilised spot for a Martini as you exit the beach, at the end of a hot day.
We visited in June and September this year, when you can park your vehicle in the vast car park directly on the sand. It can be a free for all and get a little hectic in July/August, so be warned. There’s a reason why lots of cars around here have bumps and scratches.
Tip: avoid the festival de San Joan (last weekend in June) when there is a massive concert on the beach. Not only are there irritating rehearsals of Spanish soft rock rehearsals during the day, the entire beach car park is closed to make way for the stage. Guess who had their car removed by the police and had to pay a fine to get it back a couple of years ago?
Best beach for people watching
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, Picardie, France
I couldn’t not mention the happiest little town on the planet, could I?
The cute northern French town aside, the beach at Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, which also played its part in history and has connections with the British royal family, is its crowning glory.
Even in the height of summer, I have never seen this beach full. It just keeps absorbing people, whether to picnic on its sands, kit surf, speed sail, play beach volleyball, drop kids off at a beach club, dance to one of the regular DJs, canter a horse along the water’s edge or sit in a deck chair at one of the bars and watch the well-heeled Parisians promenade by.
The expanse of sand shimmers white to pale blue to pink as the day passes and a boardwalk can take you from one end to the other. The sand stretches for approximately 12km and connects Canche Bay to Stella-Plage. You can also walk to neighbouring Merlimont, if you have the energy. I’ve never found the urge to be tempted away from Le Touquet and its bonhomie, to be honest!
My favourite seasonal, summer spot on the sand is the now very Ibiza-y bar just to the right at the bottom of the main steps, near to the old water park (which is soon to be developed into a five star hotel). It’s soooo very Touquet!
Tip: new this year on the beach were the hireable and utterly boujee, very 1920s beach tents, cabins and ‘baskets’ in blue and white stripes. Grab a bottle of champagne and book ahead with Vic Cabin: 06 07 72 01 80
For suggestions on how to spend 48 hours in Le Touquet, read this.
Best town beach
You’d be forgiven for wandering through the pétanque terrain or Roman market in this lesser-celebrated Riviera-style Corsican town and not realising there’s a pristine beach a few steps away. But it’s here that chichi beach clubs pack away their sun loungers at night, place tables directly on the white sand and provide diners the opportunity to watch the sun plop off the horizon and into the waves, as they feast on fruits de mer.
Convivial and bustling little sun-bleached L’Ile Rousse enjoys a mild microclimate, nestled as it is amongst the lush vegetation of surrounding hills, with not one but three beaches. Take to a sun lounger and watch the huge ferries to the mainland come and go.
Close proximity to the town means you can either have lunch at one of the superb beach establishments (each with different colour parasols and sunbeds), where they bring your lunch to your sun lounger, or you can pop into town to get a baguette from one of the boulangeries.
We had dinner with our toes in the sand at Le Marinella, in the most unforgettable setting.
Tip: while there is parking in and around the town, be aware that one of the car parks is used for an international pétanque tournament which takes place every September. How very French (or Corsican, I should say).
Best beach for sundowners
Aiguablava, near Begur, Catalonia, Spain
The happy hubbub of satiated diners clanking cutlery, hugely chatty Catalan families enjoying picnics and the gentle crashing of waves is what you can expect to hear at this unbelievably beautiful, pristine each on the Costa Brava, best enjoyed with a cocktail in hand.
You’ll likely be rubbing shoulders both with Jordi from Girona and Camilla from Kensington in this up-market little piece of paradise (properties around Begur are some of the most expensive in Spain).
There is a relaxed attitude to nudity on the beaches here and Catalans are not shy people.
Los Acacies, overlooking the beach, serves the best pinas coladas known to man (€10 each) which come in disposable cups, so they can be enjoyed on the beach. Jordi who makes them to order is lovely too. Award-winning Toc al Mar (which literally means ‘touch the sea’) has one of the best locations of any restaurant I have ever known – and the fish is fresher than fresh. Ask to see the catch of the day, if only to take a photo for Instagram.
Parking is limited and while there is an overflow car park, I would recommend ditching the car, ordering another pina colada and staying overnight in the magnificent, if modern, parador which overlooks this eye-wateringly pretty spot and carefully balances on a towering promontory.
Tip: wear slip-on swimming shoes in the water as the mostly sandy beach has one or two rocks which can make entry and exit a little perilous, especially after the second cocktail.
Best beach for jolly vibes
Serignan Plage, near Beziers, France
We happened upon a vibrant little oasis with warmest of welcomes on a sweeping stretch of sand when holidaying in neighbour Spain in a very wet June, this year. Waking to the sound of rain on our terrace one morning, we literally looked on my phones for where the sun was that day and chased it up the road, heading north towards Beziers, then turning right toward the coast. Our research was that extensive, but we struck gold!
How well rewarded we were. Serignan Plage itself appears to be a fairly modern, low-rise development behind the dunes – the star of the show being the vast beach.
We parked near the riding stables (parking was free in early June, but always check signs to make sure), followed the path through the dunes and placed our towels on the sumptuously deep and comfortable sun loungers at Tongcoco – a beach club-cum-bar-cum-restaurant.
Don’t believe the bad rap the French get, as they couldn’t have been friendlier – and there was a banging playlist to boot (Bob Marley must appear on every French beach establishment’s playlist). We loved it so much that we went back the next day, when they remembered our names and greeted us like old friends.
Four of us hired sun loungers, had lunch and drank there all day, with the total bill coming to around €140.
Tip: If you do cross the border in a hire car, make sure you’re covered by insurance. I have a feeling that, if you don’t tell your rental company, you may not be covered.
Best wild beach
Cala de Treumal, near Lloret de Mar, Catalonia, Spain
Skirting the edge of Lloret en route to Treumal, we thought we made a bit of a faux pas, but leaving the Irish bars and neon in our rear view mirror and turning left towards the coast, we passed a sparkling Rolls Royce and rethought our misconceptions.
Park in large car park (pay on exit at the kiosk) and walk down to the beach and the sight of this ‘cala’ (or cove), as at reveals itself between the pines, will literally take your breath away.
Sun loungers are available in peak season, but be aware that after the festival of San Joan (end of June), this beach gets busy and you’ll be fighting for space on the sand. Separated by a small ‘corridor’ of rocks, Cala de Treumal merges into Santa Cristina Beach, which feels slightly less remote and rugged, but is still stunning, nonetheless.
The Xiringito Cala Treumal is one of the best you’ll ever come across, with great seafood and a mean Catalan rosé wine. It also has tremendous views, overlooking the rugged beach.
Tip: every time we’ve been, the surf has been quite aggressive. The sea drops away and deepens very quickly, so beware if you’re not a confident swimmer.
Best beach for up-market beach clubs
A complete contrast to the nearby, more remote beaches, Calvi is far more structured and chic, where you can expect to see model-types air kissing as they greet each other, carrying teacup pooches under their arms, alongside families enjoying a day at the beach.
With the iconic citadel of the town as your vista to one side and rolling pine-clad hills and mountains to the other, there’s an avenue of these beach clubs along the 6km of beach. A train track also skirts the beach (there are very few trains) and you’ll swim in some of the clearest water you’ll ever see, on a beach which gently shelves away from the shore.
The beach clubs all have different colour windbreak-style ‘partitions’ between them and between other beach goers. These do block your views to either side, giving privacy, but also shelter you from any wind and make your little spot of the beach feel incredibly exclusive. I was glad our ‘partitions’ were turquoise and not dark brown, like some of them were, though.
Tip: consider booking your sunbeds in advance. We plonked our towels down at the first one we liked, only to be told that they were fully booked. Most of them were full and we had to drop into several before three sun loungers could be found for us (after much head scratching, French shrugging and moving stuff around).
Best beach for boat trips
Cala Giverola, near Tossa de Mar, Catalonia, Spain
If you get itchy feet and fancy seeing a bit more of the Costa Brava, or ‘rugged’ coast, once you feel you’ve worked enough on your tan, you can take a trip on a glass bottom boat, which stop at blissful Cala Giverola and nearby Tossa (around €20 per adult).
That said, I’ve watched the boats come and go and never had the urge to do anything of the sort – but had to find a way of mentioning this lovely beach in my round up.
The main landmark at this beach is the friendly Pola Giverola Resort, initial sight of which does give somewhat of an impression that this is a private beach. However, there is public parking and you can use the facilities at the hotel, including the restaurant with a terrace overlooking the sea. When we last went, there was a jazz band playing, members of which all jumped into the pool (with instruments) when they’d finished.
The cala itself is reached via a winding coastal road which has hairpins in sections, so you might want to make sure your rental car an automatic, for all of those hill starts.
Tip: hold on to your knickers in the surf. I nearly lost mine (and got a mouthful of sand) in a most un-ladylike, slightly humiliating fashion, when trying to exit the sea.
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