Spain - but not 'brits abroad' destinations please

[SoTiredNeedHoliday]

Hello,
Never been to Spain but am looking to go this summer for a family holiday. Ideally a family beach location.
I have been put off the destination because of the embarrassing 'brits abroad / brits behaving badly' articles where Spain seems to attract a lot of those who don't know when enough is enough.

Any advice of lovely family locations in Spain near a clean, nice beach and a friendly relaxed town?

Thx

It's not any Brits she is avoiding , it's "that" type of Brit. Sitges is perfect

To me they are all the same. Sitges was perfect 30 years ago, not anymore. I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

Very relieved to hear this as we're visiting the area, for the first time, in September.

Nerja
Cadiz
Moraira

Oh come on! Most places other than the well known brits abroad places are beautiful.
Majorca, the east coast, Cala d'or or Cala ratjada.
Ibiza, the east coast, Cala llenya, Es Cana, Cala llonga, Santa Eularia. Been to all, incredibly lovely.

Planning on visiting Madrid and Zaragoza this year. Since there are so many Spain experts here may I jump aboard and ask if anyone has any top tips?

I did a tour of northern Spain from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela. We loved it but we are not sure on a beach for days or super high temps type of people. We loved it.

All of these sound like my ideal holiday!!

Pollensa and Puerto Pollensa in Majorca came to mind.
There are quite a lot of British, mind, but they're not boozy, loud places at all.
They're very quiet laidback family places, and Puerto Pollensa has a great beach if your kids like beaches.
There are authentic restaurants and there are also more tourist-friendly ones if your kids are fussy.
I like proper Spanish towns myself but we had fussy kids when it came to eating - they wouldn't have gone for the pigs cheeks that I remember eating in Barcelona for example!
So we used to go for places that had restaurants that would serve nice pizza at least.
I'm secretly excited about being able to go off piste when choosing holidays once both kids have flown the nest.

Mainland Spain we have been to Nerja prekids and post kids Moraira in a villa up a mountain. I found Nerja to be nice and quiet but yes, it didn't feel very Spanish. Moraira felt more Spanish actually, it's not a package holiday destination, no high rise hotels etc.

Used to live in rural southern Spain and still visit regularly.

Next trip, in September, two weeks travelling down through Spain. This time Leon, Salamanca, Casares in Extremadura then 6 weeks on the beach in Almeria province where there's lots of beautiful beaches, many pretty deserted as long as you don't go in August when all the Spanish arrive from Madrid and Barcelona.
We've been to most of the major cities over the years and some smaller ones. I particularly loved Cordoba for the Patios festival, Segovia, Zaragoza, Seville and Madrid, don't miss the Sorolla museum and gallery.

Soller or port de soller in north west Mallorca is magical. The old town of soller is reachable by 100 year old wooden train. Tapas bars surround an old square. Perfection

Tarifa/Zahara de los Atunes, my parents live in Spain and visit there every year, mostly Spanish tourists.

Surprised to see so many recommending Nerja, I went a few years ago and was pretty disappointed! It was full of places selling English breakfasts and although we don’t usually struggle to find good food on holiday, we did here! Ended up going back to one decent place two or three nights I think, rather than risk another rubbish meal.

We travelled there from Seville and visited Granada when we were there and the difference was night and day. They aren’t beachy though.

Madrid is good for a city break in autumn. No particular highlights I can think of, just
the Spanish atmosphere and lots of nice places to eat.

Also shocked at how many people suggesting Nerja, its in a good location and not Benidorm but not v "real spain" either

Girona is fab, as is Tarragona (the Game of Thrones cathedral steps making it a bit more touristy lately!)

Mojacar. The Pueblo Indalo is incredible!

Just don't go to a resort, surely? I've not really seen that ugly Brits abroad in Spain, even recently when I was in Alicante (once we got off the plane, and the majority headed off to Benidorm!).

Cities are always a good call: Barcelona, Girona, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, San Sebastien, Santiago, Toledo....then just find yourself a villa.

Also surprised at the love for Nerja. I actually prefer Malaga city which is quite Spanish.

@interferringma lots of nice bits to do in Madrid - Prado is great, I like to start in the bottom with the old Dutch ones like Hieronymous Bosch, then do Velaquez and Goya on the ground floor and then upstairs for more Goya and more modern stuff. Reina Sofia has Guernica and modern art and Thyssen is also worth a visit if you're not galleried out. Retiro Park (near the Prado) is lovely to go for a walk or picnic. For eating La Latina, Lavapies if you want some Moroccan flavours, late night bars in Malasaña, and if you're out all night, go for chocolate and churros in the morning. If you fancy doing a day trip Toledo and Segovia are both lovely and easy to get to.

Has anyone been to Galicia? What parts would you recommend, is it likely to be wet, and anyone know any decent sites for villas?

Thanks @Stokey ! Fabulous top tips! we plan to then take a train from madrid to barcelona and across the french border which is why i thought a stop in Zaragoza might be good... but would you perhaps recommend somewhere else? Not barcelona (been several times!).

We stayed beside the Rio Minho from which you can see Portugal from the other side. We used to walk down to the banks of the river in the evening and there are a few 'beach' bars serving nice food and drink. It was a few years ago and we did plenty of touring around the area. Some gorgeous beaches and interesting towns. We loved it. I think we stayed at the Finca Rio Minho (sp). It is run owned by an English couple but they have lived in Spain a long time!

Wow.

Mallorca - Couple days in Palma, then tourist train to Soller then tram down to Port de Soller for the beach. Just wonderful.

I suggest Sitges too- best of both worlds and so near Barcelona too.

Girona also lovely and my friend with a teen and pre-teen is off to Valencia this summer.

Galicia is wonderful. Check out the Cies Isles, playa de Rodas - as beautiful as the caribbean but with cold water :-D (no cars and can only stay in tents though but amazing day trip from Vigo) Santiago is lovely but very touristy, the walk up to the monastery in Fragas de Eume is wonderful, Lugo is a pretty cool walled town that you can walk the walls around, the (free) hot springs in Ourense are amazing - those are my favourite things to do every time we visit. Although the beach at Mino is quite nice too and Betanzos always looks like quite a nice little town when we drive through it. I would say if you can, hire a car and drive around. It may rain the odd day in summer, but it's always been hot when we've been but much greener than the south.

Majorca. I love Palma. Lovely city with beaches and the whole island within east reach. Amasing tapas.