where shall i go next year??

[frazzled74]

me,dh dd9 and ds 7 plus a 10 month old dc. 1 week in may/june half term. We want relaxing, a little bit of culture, a few nice places to eat, swim in sea and outdoor pool, not too tacky touristy , safe and friendly and our budget is less than £2500, ideas please?

Calvi in Corsica. Not cheap (much as we tried to make it so) but classy, nicely buzzy, relaxing and beautiful. Could just about squeeze in budget for a week. Perfect beach for kids. Oh and the foreign legion's parachute regiment do training and mock rescues on the beach, which will keep you and the children enthraled in different ways... Little train along the coast is fun and means you don't need a car. I think Calvi is like a very low-key St Tropez - it is where v rich people who don't like glitz go. Hugely expensive restaurants alongside pizzerias and local food places, great shopping, fab castle, high mountains all around. Love it. Apparently Ryanair wanted to fly to Calvi airport but local tourist people decided against it as they want to keep it exclusive. there are some chartered flights, or fly to Bastia and drive over, although you don't really need the car other than that. Algajola along the coast is tiny but lovely too.