Coastal city break, public transport, quieter accommodation

[dovesquare]

DH and I have 5 nights to go somewhere in September. We would like a mix of chill and city break. We’ve done Barcelona a few times but we have always liked how it’s on the Coast with excellent transport links to towns and villages where we can get a villa or air b and b for some down time.

We are considering Nice for this reason. We can get to Monaco, Cannes etc all by train but still be somewhere along the coast to chill in the evening, beach walk etc.

I think Valencia might also be a good option but I wonder if you can suggest anywhere else? Preferably where it is still warm in September but I am open to all suggestions. Flying from Scotland.

Adding in we have done Palma.

What is it that you’re wanting to do in the city part of your break? And which airport in Scotland?

Bordeaux! Not strictly coastal in the city but lovely river and not too far from a lovely coast you could travel out to

We can do Edinburgh or Glasgow. We aren’t far from either. City side of things, the usual. Sightseeing, local food, drinks, markets, a general wander. Not that keen on churches and religious things but enjoy architecture.

I’ve never been but a couple of my friends really liked Gdansk.

I loved Nice, and yes it’s very easy and quick to get to lots of other towns along the Riviera. We loved Antibes. You can also book a tour of medieval villages by minibus. That was an excellent day out.

Malaga is a great city and Alicante is lovely too but a bit smaller but plenty of smaller towns around to visit

I’d second Bordeaux - it’s a really lovely city with a great setting on the river - but it would take a lot of your holiday time up with travel. Flight to Paris, then train from there - 2 hour flight to Paris and then minimum 4 hours on the train.

Nice is wonderful, would definitely be my choice. We went to Valencia a few weeks ago and while it was nice, I felt like we’d done it after a couple of days.

I loved Nice too. Spent time pottering around the city and did a few day trips out to small towns to visit the beaches. Really felt like you were getting out of the city.

I also liked Valencia but it’s a very different vibe. Very much a city beach.

Nice would feel more different to Barcelona.

I love Nice. Seville or San Sebastián are 2 others options for you consider.

Pula Croatia

Nice is nice, but slightly further down the coast is Antibes, even nicer and much quieter. Even more chichi. Expensive. Trains to everywhere too so very handy. Cycle route into Nice.

Alicante is wonderful - if you hire a car there are some wonderful smaller towns nearby to explore. I would recommend Altea, Denia and Murcia.

Definitely Nice.

What's your budget @dovesquare?

Another vote for Malaga. The town- not the beach resorts along the coast. The bus from the airport takes about 20mins and used to cost 3euro. The town is easy to walk around. Great food, museums, fruit/veg market, castle, beach etc. A mix of locals, Spanish tourists and some European tourists. 1 memorable day trip was getting the train to see the famous bridge in Rhoda. We also had one of the best meals I've ever had there.

I’ve had multiple rave reviews from people who’ve been to San Sebastián.

Lisbon - coastal with beach at Cascais

Porto - beach at Foz

Antibes, Valencia, Malaga, Cadiz, Sestri Levante

Someone painted a great picture of Valencia the other day. However, you might not be able to fly there from Scottish airports, but look on Skyscanner to be sure. We travel in September a lot and the starting point is usually a Skyscanner everywhere search for 'where can we fly to for sensible money that also meets our requirements for a nice holiday'.

Malaga or Alicante would also be great, Seville would also be a good option and you can get the train to Cadiz in under an hour for the coast, also Jerez and Cordoba, as well as loads of smaller, interesting places. Also Valetta in Malta, but the nicest 'quiet' parts of Malta are the north and Gozo, so the logistics are a bit tricky. It's a tiny island and there's plenty of buses but they're so slow, take an age for the distance travelled.

I love Antibes and Nice but would choose Antibes as a base. One advantage is you get on the trains going east before the crowds get on in Nice so easier to get a seat!

In Nice the Promenade des Anglais is lovely for a stroll but the beach is cobbles not sand.

There are several sandy beaches in Antibes and you can take an easy flat walk for quite a long way along the coast.

I love Croatia. The whole country is coastline!
For a city base I've stayed in, and loved, Dubrovnik, Split and Trogir.

San Sebastian is amazing - but not the easiest to get to, even from London. In September there are no direct flights.

There's a direct coach to San Sebastian that runs several times a day and only takes just over an hour from Bilbao airport, which has cheap direct flights from a few airports in the UK.

Malaga - lots to do and see, easy rail links if you wanted to get to Granada, Sevilla etc. Great and very inexpensive local transport. Fantastic food. And wine. 😀