Sun, water sports, quaint town, restaurants, beach ? Europe but where?

[jenthehen]

Looking for a week in June, family of 4 including 2 teens after exams have finished. Just want to relax in the sun whilst they relax hiring stand up Paddle boards, boats or kayaks. Somewhere pretty not brash and a short flight from Manchester or close by? Everywhere seems so built up. I’m picturing a tranquil holiday to ease post exam stress. I don’t particularly want to hire a car as I’d rather just walk or use public transport. Any suggestions (I’ve searched for hours but not found anything that fits the bill) I’d rather self cater or small campsite lodge etc

Or the Italian Lakes? The scenery is beautiful, and you can hop from one quaint town to the other on the ferry.
We’ve stayed on Lake Como and Lake Maggiore. Cannobio on Maggiore is nice, and there’s a site just up the hill with a river to swim in too. You can walk down to the town and also get the boat into Locarno, where there is a fabulous lido next to the lake.

I'd second @rrg1's suggestion of Catalonia, it's such a lovely area. You can also tag a few days on at the end in Barcelona.

Thanks Mumsnetters, great suggestions and really helpful.

Cavtat in Croatia. Pretty town, plenty of bars/restaurants overlooking the harbour where the fancy yachts are (my teens spent many an hour googling who owned them and how much they were worth, and loved watching the locals practising water polo in the sea in the evenings) 40 minute ferry ride or 30 min bus to Dubrovnik. Beautiful!

We rented an apartment 20 paces from the sea. Small shingle beach around the corner where we hired canoes, kayaks etc. And the best bit, 10 mins taxi ride from airport, and aircraft noise was not a problem.

For me, if I don't have access to a pool, I have to be near the sea so I can take a quick dip (it's very hot during July/Aug, but will be better in June) and finding a place near the sea usually guarantees being able to walk on the flat.

Cascais, near Lisbon. Just fantastic. Can't comment personally on watersports but it's on the Atlantic coast and very windy! Popular with surfers. Lovely town, not touristy. Sea is bloody freezing though!!!

Cavtat is sounding appealing. Possibly the most straightforward.