Upmarket but not lux holiday destinations?

[gardaynia]

Can anyone think of some nice upmarket feel holiday destinations? We don’t need luxury but don’t feel relaxed in mass market destinations.

I think a good example would be somewhere like Anti Paxos or Patmos in Greece, bits of Menorca, or at a push somewhere like Padstow

Cadiz would be my suggestion
Lots of wealthy Spaniards from Madrid etc go there and the surrounding areas
Its surprisingly cheap as well but very very nice

Costa Brava. S’agaro. Lovely upmarket place. Close to St Felieux de Guixolles and also near to mountains.
You can either fly into Girona which is also lovely or Barcelona.
Loads to do in the area. Yes some very touristy places but equally some lovely less well known places.

Cascais in Portugal is lovely

Siena is wonderful and surprisingly not as full of tourists as I expected.

We walked past Rachel Johnson one day after lunch. Probably not what you're after but it stuck in my memory 😁

I also came on to say Siena - it is so beautiful.

Nice and surrounding villages. I especially like Antibes. Hotels can be very reasonable outside the summer months.

Agios Stephanos in NE Corfu. Very upmarket indeed!

Holetown or Speightstown in Barbados- you can go luxe but also rent a lovely villa or apartment.

Ile de Re in France, and Estepona in Spain

Cassis.

Rovinj, Croatia. Taormina, Sicily

Fiskardo, Kefalonia

“We don’t feel relaxed in mass market destinations” 😂

Begs the question - Why?

Another vote for Estepona Spain. So nice.

St. Jean de Luz near Biarritz. or nearby San Sebastian/Donostia. Gorgeous.

I could be here all night with suggestions, but they are two of my favourites.

Seville, Split, Bologna, or if you want beaches, the Atlantic Portugese coast, Puglia or Ile de Ré

Some of the islands in Croatia are lovely and fit this bill, we stayed on šipan and that was beautiful, quiet with some people coming on for a meal from their boats as they passed by but only one hotel on the island and super tranquil, we had an air BnB. Zaton in Croatia outside Dubrovnik is also lovely.

Tirana.

Taormina Sicily, Atlantic coast of Spain and France, actually most of France and Italy meets the brief. Avoid locations with ai hotels basically, we opt for b&b a lot (though not against an ai with entertainment once in a while, it’s possible to enjoy both)

Kefalonia is beautiful and there are some lovely quiet resorts like Katelios and Assos. Fiskardo is beautiful too but a bit posher

Switzerland. Obviously there is no beach but there are lakes and plenty to see and do.

Lots of areas in the south of France especially the villages inland as we enjoy lakes and mountains. Also the Loire area and Dordogne.

Atlantic coast of France , Montenegro is good. Albania is apparently up and coming ( haven't been though but friends liked it). Even Gozo, not as busy as Malta and more relaxed. North of Spain.

Tavira in Portugal is lovely

Some of the places suggested are very touristy!

You can’t move for tourists in Taormina, Split, Antibes, Bologna, Seville, San Sebastián…

Funchal, Madeira. Los Gigantes, Tenerife. Alghero, Sardinia. Menton, French Riviera. Bordighera, Italian Riviera. Do you mean not full of ‘British abroad’ pubs, £1 a pint, English breakfast, stag and hens, karaoke and drag shows, or just not full of international tourists? What time of year are you thinking? What are you looking for? Beach, history, culture, scenery, city-based, walking, food? Be more specific and we can help!