34 destinations in this category
Menorca · Spain
Small, sheltered coves with calm water and none of the crowding of Mallorca or Ibiza. The island is small enough to see all of it from a single base.
Heads up: Many coves need a 15–20 minute walk through pine forest. With a pushchair, half of them are out.
Picos de Europa · Spain
Trails at every level within a short distance of each other, and villages where you eat well and cheaply.
Heads up: The Cares Gorge route is long (about 22 km return) and not suitable for small children, whatever the guidebooks say.
Oporto · Portugal
Compact, walkable, and the best balance of price and food quality in Europe. Frequent flights from Spain.
Heads up: It's a city of steep hills. With small children or bad knees, expect to use the metro more than planned.
Sierra de Gredos · Spain
Natural river pools, short trails and affordable rural houses two hours from Madrid. A good first mountain trip with kids.
Heads up: The best-known gorges fill up on July weekends. Go midweek or start early.
Costa de Almería · Spain
Cabo de Gata has the least developed beaches on Spain's Mediterranean coast, and the water is swimmable by May.
Heads up: There's almost no natural shade or beach bars in the park's coves. Bring water, food and a parasol.
Costa de Tarragona · Spain
Shallow beaches and long promenades, with the densest concentration of family accommodation in Spain.
Heads up: August is saturated and prices spike. Outside peak season it's a completely different place.
Cerdeña · Italy
Clear, shallow water on the north coast, with beaches that hold up against Caribbean comparisons.
Heads up: You see nothing without a rental car. Add it to the budget from the start.
Pirineo aragonés · Spain
Valleys with trails at every level, glacial lakes to swim in and villages with good value. Comfortable highs in high summer.
Heads up: The Ordesa car park fills by 8am in summer; you have to use the shuttle bus.
Costa de Lisboa · Portugal
City and beach without changing base: Cascais and Costa da Caparica are half an hour from the centre.
Heads up: The Atlantic has strong swell and cold water. With kids, pick the sheltered beaches at Cascais.
Andorra · Andorra
Skiing in winter and high mountain trails in summer, within driving distance of Barcelona or Toulouse.
Heads up: No airport and no train: road access only, with long queues in ski season.
Baviera · Germany
Munich as a base with the Bavarian Alps an hour away by train, and lakes to swim in during summer.
Heads up: Oktoberfest sends accommodation prices soaring; if that's not why you're going, avoid those two weeks.
Brujas y Gante · Belgium
Intact medieval old towns, half an hour by train from Brussels and from each other.
Heads up: Bruges fills with day trips between 11am and 5pm; stay overnight and you'll have it nearly empty.
Chipre · Cyprus
Europe's longest swimming season: the water is still comfortable well into October.
Heads up: July and August bring extreme inland heat. The island is divided: check the crossing points.
Costa croata · Croatia
Clear water, a thousand islands and historic cities like Split and Dubrovnik on the same coast.
Heads up: Almost all beaches are stone: bring water shoes. Dubrovnik in August is unbearably crowded.
Laponia finlandesa · Finland
Northern lights, guaranteed snow and activities organised for families.
Heads up: Auroras are never guaranteed: allow several nights and don't book solely for them.
Liubliana y los Alpes Julianos · Slovenia
A small country where you have a capital, alpine lakes and a strip of coast within a two-hour radius.
Heads up: Lake Bled is crowded in summer; neighbouring Bohinj is prettier with a tenth of the people.
Luxemburgo · Luxembourg
An old town above a dramatic gorge, and free public transport across the entire country.
Heads up: Expensive for accommodation and food, and seen in two days: fit it inside a wider route.
Malta · Malta
A small island with fortified cities, very clear water and everything under an hour by bus.
Heads up: There's very little sand: most swimming is off rock platforms. Check the beaches before booking.
Tirol · Austria
Valleys with summer cable cars that lift you to 2,000 metres without walking — ideal with children.
Heads up: Many villages include transport and lift passes with accommodation: ask before booking separately.
Canarias · Spain
The only part of Spain with comfortable swimming temperatures twelve months a year. Each island differs: Tenerife and La Palma have serious mountains, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are beach and volcano, and La Gomera and El Hierro are the quiet ones.
Heads up: Northern Tenerife and Gran Canaria are cloudy many days while the south is clear; if you're going for sun, check which side your accommodation is on.
Mallorca · Spain
Far more than the beach cliché: the Serra de Tramuntana has real mountain trails and stone villages, and the northeastern coves rank among the Mediterranean's best.
Heads up: In July and August prices double and small coves fill before ten. A rental car is effectively essential.
Riviera Maya · Mexico
Turquoise water at 28 degrees, cenotes for freshwater diving and Mayan ruins close by. Works equally well as a beach trip or a cultural one.
Heads up: From May to October sargassum affects many beaches and it's hurricane season. Check the sargassum report before picking an area.
Ibiza y Formentera · Spain
Formentera has the clearest water in the Spanish Mediterranean, and northern Ibiza looks nothing like the party island of the magazine features: small coves among pine woods and quiet villages.
Heads up: In July and August prices spike and the Formentera ferry fills up. If you're there for the coves and not the nightlife, avoid San Antonio.
Algarve · Portugal
Golden stone cliffs with coves tucked beneath them, clean water and prices below the equivalent Spanish coast. The Lagos and Sagres stretch is the most dramatic.
Heads up: The Atlantic is colder than the Mediterranean, between 19 and 22 degrees. And some coves are only reachable by steps or by boat.
Costa de Murcia · Spain
The Mar Menor is a warm, shallow lagoon that suits small children perfectly, and a few kilometres away you have the open, barely developed coves of Calblanque.
Heads up: The Mar Menor has suffered serious pollution episodes; check the current year's water status before booking in that specific area.
Islas Jónicas · Greece
Corfu, Kefalonia and Zakynthos have clear water, far more vegetation than the Cyclades, and barely feel the meltemi wind that batters the Aegean in summer.
Heads up: Zakynthos has clearly defined party-tourism areas. For calm, pick the north of the island or Kefalonia outright.
Roma · Italy
Two thousand years of history piled into a walkable centre, with the Colosseum, the Forum and the Vatican within strolling distance of each other.
Heads up: Colosseum and Vatican Museums tickets sell out: buy them weeks ahead with a time slot. And July and August pass 35 degrees with no shade.
Barcelona · Spain
One of the few large European cities with a genuine urban beach, and a concentration of modernist architecture that exists nowhere else.
Heads up: The Sagrada Família and Park Güell sell out days ahead. The centre is heavily crowded in summer, and there are pickpockets on Las Ramblas and the metro.
San Sebastián y costa vasca · Spain
La Concha is among Europe's best urban beaches, and the area packs in a density of good cooking that's hard to match, from pintxos bars to fine dining.
Heads up: One of the priciest areas in Spain for accommodation, especially in August and during the film festival. Cantabrian water sits around 20 degrees even in summer.
Madrid · Spain
Three world-class museums within ten minutes' walk of each other, enormous parks and a street life that runs late.
Heads up: In July and August it passes 38 degrees and many neighbourhood businesses close for holidays. The Prado and Reina Sofía have free entry windows at the end of the day.
Valencia · Spain
Combines a historic centre, an urban beach and the Turia gardens — nine kilometres of park in a diverted riverbed. Very easy with children.
Heads up: During Las Fallas in March the city transforms and prices spike. It's spectacular, but it isn't a quiet trip.
Asturias · Spain
Mountains and sea less than an hour apart: you can walk a Picos de Europa trail in the morning and be on a sandy beach by afternoon.
Heads up: The water is cold, 17 to 19 degrees, and it rains often even in summer. Always keep an indoor plan B.
Costa Brava · Spain
Coves between pines and cliffs, linked by a coastal path that runs along the water's edge. The Begur and Calella de Palafrugell stretch is the prettiest.
Heads up: Many coves are reached by steps and parking is very limited in summer. Arrive before ten or use public transport.
Madeira · Portugal
A vertical island with trails alongside irrigation channels running through the interior, volcanic natural pools and mild temperatures twelve months a year.
Heads up: There are almost no sandy beaches: swimming is in natural pools and off platforms. Roads are tight-cornered and steep.