Please help me come up with a holiday destination!

[Prosaic]

A week in June - where do you go?

DH and I aren't into resorts, but we do love a bit of sunshine, a mix of urban and outdoor activities and most of all, good food. We'd prefer not to have to rent a car and somewhere not hugely crowded. Our last holiday was to Seville and Granada and we absolutely loved it, if that's any indication of what we like.

Any ideas?

Bilbao. Spain beautiful.. very urban and so much to see! A truly wonderful place

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Girona as a base for the Catalan feel of an ancient small city then the train to Barcelona for the middle few days to marvel/lose one's mind at the beatuy of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and the Med.

loire valley france.
the Dordogne

Lisbon/Sintra/caiscais area of Portugal. Culture, architecture, beaches. Lovely.

The best food I've had in holiday has been Bologna / Modena. Bologna is so beautiful as well (Modena also not at all shabby 😀).

Or Tuscany - Florence/Pisa/Sienna

Ooh yes to Cinque Terre too, we loved it. Flew into Pisa, very easy to get train to Cinque Terre. We went in June and the trails weren't too crowded (busy yes, but not unmanageable) and we had a night in Pisa on the way home, plus a day out in Lucca by train which was beautiful.

Stresa Lake Maggiore, or the Cinque Terre. Or Ischia.

Malta is beautiful.

Lake Garda is beautiful. You can get a boat all across the lake, lots of pretty villages great food and wine. And do a day in Verona on the bus. And cheap flights into Verona as well

Cavtat in Croatia. It’s beautiful, close to Dubrovnik too.

Another vote for Lake Garda. Peschiera del Garda is lovely, and a good base...hotels overlooking the lake and great transport links...bus, trains etc. Agree with previous poster re a day in Verona, and you could do Venice too. Some beautiful places around the lake for day trips - just take the bus - including Sirmione, Malcesine and Lasize.
Also agree re Santiago de Compostela or San Sebastián...amazing, and food superb.

Lake Garda looks absolutely beautiful. I've looked into Lake Como more, it's hard to decide when they're both so scenic! I think Amalfi is out (too expensive, eeek) but Cinque Terre still in the running. I just got back from Spain a month ago so I'm probably not going to go back there so soon - Portugal I'm a bit on the fence about, it doesn't excite me for some reason. Portuguese tarts though...

Anyone a fan of Crete?

I think I need to whip out an Excel spreadsheet to weigh up all of these options

Yep, Crete lovely (in fact all the Greek islands I've been to are) have you considered island hopping? Fly to Athens then ferry to islands...fly back from Santorini? Accommodation cheap and the hotel owners pick you up from the ferry/drop u back off, so no car required.

Lake Garda is a great base...from memory we caught a train to Venice and visited Verona, then Sirmione, Malcesine via a lake ferry. We did have a car too though. I love Italy, it is a favourite and I would love to explore Sicily at some point too.

Lisbon/Cascais/Estoril - great mix of city/coast/culture and all very easily doable by train. Day trip by bus to Sintra.

Sicily is one of my favourite places ever, but I'd go for longer than a week.

Lake Garda is beautiful. Malcesine is a good base.
Amalfi coast also lovely.

Dordogne is lovely, but I'd want a car.

The coast between Biaritz and Bordeaux is lovely - there's a village called Contis Plage which is well worth a look. Or Biscarosse for somewhere a bit more developed.

My choice would be a week in a mountain village in Mallorca, but I see you're veering away from Spain.

Another vote for Cascais. Some great restaurants and fantastic walks. Short train ride to Lisbon and easy to get to Sintra too. One of our favourite holiday destinations ever.

Just don’t stay at the pousada - we froze, even when the weather was glorious. Villa Italia and Albatroz were both lovely stays.

For me, it would have to be Montpellier

All the culture you could want, exquisite countryside, excellent public transport, the very best beaches and some of the best restaurants I've ever found ... and it costs much, much less than the Riviera

Another one here for Kalkan Turkey... not crowded... beautiful views/great for walking & wandering/amazing choice of restaurants & cafes... lots of sightseeing/trips to do if the mood takes you...

Mustique

Another vote for Silicy here - Siracusa (must be on Ortigya though) or Taormina. Food to die for, croissants filled with ice cream for breakfast anyone?

Cinque Terre is lovely, but you don't need a week. Lakes Como and Garda and also lovely, but you need a car.

My vote would be for Cascais, near Lisbon. You can take the train or tram or Ubers to get around, it's got a beach, it's next door to Estoril, it's a charming little town, you can spend time in Lisbon, visit Sintra - it's perfect for what you want.

I see I'm not the only one to recommend Cascais!

And no, I'm not really fan of Crete. If you're tempted then look at Hania and Rethymnon, but don't stay in/near Iraklion or the east coast - they're horrible for the most part! And if you add con- before the word Crete you'll get an idea of the building style in many of the crowded, tacky towns.

Best car free holiday we had recently was cycling in the Loire valley. Did a self guided trip with your baggage taken ahead. Ate fabulous picnics we bought on the way. Accommodation was cheap and cheerful. Loads to see on the way. Cycling was flat, easy and well signposted cycle paths.

I liked Croatian food, especially the Italian influenced stuff.

Malta...meh.

fantastic ideas on here ,place marking for reading later !

Albania is lovely, especially the far south. Butrint national park is well worth a visit.