Restful holiday ideas

[paap1975]

DP and I always seem to come back from holidays totally exhausted from having done too much and I find I'm dreading going away again (ridiculous, I know). Do you have suggestions for a 7-10 holiday somewhere warm where there would be a bit of culture, but not too much?

Cyprus (paphos area) maybe.

Italian lakes - Como is the quietest of the bigger ones ime, then Maggiore and Garda most hectic. All accessible to cities and culture. There are smaller ones like Lugano and Iseo too.

Andalucia. You could stay in a peaceful country villa or rural hotel soaking up the sun by the pool, and just make the occasional trip to cultural highlights like Granada, Cordoba or Seville (or so many other beautiful towns like Ubeda, Antequera or Carmona!)

How about the French Riviera? There are some totally enchanting little villages/ small towns between Nice and Monte Carlo. All have lovely bars and restaurants, spectacular scenery, beautiful sea.
There are some great walks and quirky interesting places that a worth a trip out for half a day or so ( Eze, Rothschild Gardens) and Nice and Monte Carlo have plenty of sights but nothing you can't put off for another day if you just want to get some sun, walk around and eat and drink.
Better before it gets too hot in the summer and avoid, unless you are part of the super rich around Grand Prix time.

Thank you for your suggestions. Some interesting ideas there.

Or Tuscany, even in high summer it is easy to get off the beaten track.

Weirdly I did an activity holiday years ago and it is one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. There was camping [which I hate] but someone else did all the hard work, there was trekking [I only carried a little day bag], accommodation was not luxurious [camping or 2 star equiv hotels], and someone else did all the cooking while we were out on the trail.

It was serenely quiet in the mountains, we saw a ton of stuff by literally walking through it but with exception of Macchu Pichu itself most places were stunningly empty. We had very little booze [though got rat arsed on a few occasions], excellent food and lots of exercise. Came back in a very zen place.

www.exodus.co.uk/peru-holidays/walking-trekking/high-inca-trail/tps-94740?flights=1

Thanks Tread. Hadn't thought of anything like that but it's certainly interesting!

The other really nice chilled pre kids holiday was Florence for two weeks. Typically a long weekend destination we stayed slightly out of town, within 20 mins walk of the centre but with access to a pool and gardens in self catering accom. We could spend the morning sightseeing, pick up some nice food for lunch, come home and laze about the pool for the afternoon before heading out for dinner in the evening.
Hired a car for a couple of days and did Siena etc but generally it was fab. If the weather was rubbish there was lots to go and do and if it was blistering we could knock 3 hrs of religious art on the head on the grounds that we had two weeks to fit it in :)

You could pick any small European capital with good weather to do similar. Stay in Sintra near Lisbon, Copenhagen or Stockholm.

I think Spain is a good idea. Go to the beach. I advise La Barrosa beach. By the way you can see it right now on worldcams.tv/beaches/spain-beaches . It's cool, right? :) It has fine white sand and works well for families. It's a very beautiful place.