Somewhere like Malaga?

[Origamiheaven]

Last year we had a lovely holiday in Malaga. Me, dh, 2 ds, (19 and 21) and their girlfriends. Malaga was a perfect balance of city vibe with history, shopping and beach. We would like to do a similar holiday but where? Any ideas? The flights have to be affordable as girlfriends pay for themselves

barcelona

Following as I love Malaga. Siges maybe?

Valencia
Porto
Palma

Lisbon - beautiful city and only 30 mins train to the beach

Valencia although the city centre is further from the beach than in Málaga. It's compact and walkable. Good metro and cercanias links for visiting other towns in the area. The airport is a 25 minute metro journey from the centre.

Palma has a very similar vibe to Malaga.

Another vote for Palma! Mahon would probably work too. Alicante is quite a similar vibe to Malaga although I prefer Malaga.

Tarragona and Cartagena are both cool coastal cities, but would involve more complex travel from the airport.

I think the package of good food, usual good climate, manageable sized city with good architecture, right on the water and proximity to an airport is my citybreak gold standard!

Outside of Spain, I think Nice, Brindisi, Split and Corfu Town also fit the bill.

Porto

Thankypu for all the suggestions. I need to do some research x

We love Malaga and have had several great long and short breaks there. Last year we had a week in Alicante, and said how much it reminded us of (a smaller) Malaga. It had the same mix of beach, old town, castle, churches and museums. It was also less crowded and less expensive. With a shorter flight, easy access to and from the airport and good local transport for exploring the local area, it came a close second to Malaga for us.

Palma is good. Interesting galleries and museums, fantastic Cathedral, lovely bars and restaurants, a brilliant food market, and you can get the old train andctram to Soller for a day out. Its lovely.

Another vote for Palma/Port de Soller, I just love Mallorca. Porto is very lovely too. Ciutadella is lovely on Menorca - much, much better than Mahon IMO but we had a car to visit the beaches and historic sites. Menton on the south of France is very lovely - or Cannes combined with beautiful Ile St Marguerite with it's amazing under water sculptures that you can snorkel for free.

Seville

Seville has no beach in any reasonable commute, but plenty to do as it's a big old place.

We have also enjoyed Palma and Alicante .

Try Cadiz or Valencia