Need suggestions - where to go (Europe)

[Pantofolaio]

We have two DSs 20 & 18 who are still willing to go on hols with us…We go on one holiday a year, and I’m trying to please everyone. We have always booked independently, no interest in resort-type holiday.

I’m hoping to get suggestions of maybe less obvious places that might meet the wish list below.

Warm: We are not afraid of hot weather. DH in particular wants it to be sunny - not a summer holiday otherwise in his mind.

Don’t need to hire car: have hired a car plenty of times but don’t want the stress this year.

Interesting things to visit - places, museums, shops. Love history, architecture, art but also quirky shops etc.

In an ideal world I’d like somewhere like Venice, pedestrianised, self-contained, but with lots to see, and trips to islands etc. Beaches not important. Nightlife not important.

So I’ve been looking at Spain, Portugal, Italy mainly. Flights to Greece and Croatia are too expensive from my airport. We’ve been to lots of Western/South-Western France before as well as Austria/Germany/Poland.

I’ve been looking at places like Ischia/Naples, Lucca, Seville, Valencia, Porto, but would welcome comments on them but also suggestions of other cities/towns etc that others have been to that might not be obvious. Thanks for reading!

I really liked Genoa/ Genova. It's 4 hours by train from Nice if you can get cheaper flights there (or take the train!). It's got a great public transport network- the train goes all the way along the coast, with lots of pretty stops. And it's backed by the mountains, so it's a kind of vertical city- with free lifts and funiculars!
It's a relatively gritty, untouristed city(meaning cheap accommodation), but the centre is very beautiful- as with all Italian cities- and it has suburbs which are picture perfect Ligurian fishing villages.
Great food, too- it's the home of pesto and focaccia.