European Seaside Gems

La Baule is a popular seaside resort in western France, which has long been home to French high society's seaside residences. La Baule is a mix of wealthy family's villas, luxury hotels and less prestigious seaside apartment buildings creating an original and unique atmosphere of social diversity. It is full of historic places, castles, walled cities, 19th century seaside resorts and many typical Breton fishermen villages.

 

Mykonos is one of the most cosmopolitan islands in Greece, known for its diverse and intense nightlife! We recommend visiting the Church of Panagia Paraportiani which they started building in 1425, this impressive, whitewashed church actually consists of five other churches attached all together. Also famous for its beaches and windmills some built as early as the 16th century, they are one of the most recognized landmarks of Mykonos.

 

The Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain. While part of the Costa Brava coastline lent itself to tourist developments on a very large scale, other parts have retained a more traditional look and have become "hidden gems" for visitors who want a little more than sun, sand and sangria.

 

Langelinie is a pier, promenade and park in central Copenhagen, Denmark, and home of the statue of The Little Mermaid and the Gefion Fountain. The area has for centuries been a popular destination for excursions and strolls in Copenhagen.

 

Port de Sóller is a village, and the port of the town of Sóller, in Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Two lighthouses sit on the headlands on either side of the bay, La Badia de Sóller. The bay and the estuary of the river which comes to an end here attract all kinds of marine birds like ducks, geese and gulls!

 

Sunny Beach is a major seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. It is the biggest and most popular holiday resort in Bulgaria, and is home to over 800 hotels! There are also 130 restaurants and numerous live music bars, pubs, nightclubs, discos, and cafes.

 

The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay has been inhabited since antiquity and has some well preserved medieval towns. It is an important tourist attraction in Montenegro.

 

Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, on the Black Sea coast. It sprawls along the shores of the Black Sea and against the background of the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. The city has been selected to be the host of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014, as well as the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix from 2014 until at least 2020.

 

Ayia Napa is a resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus, famous for its sandy beaches. Apart from being a family holiday destination, in recent years, it has become a 'party capital' similar to Ibiza and Mykonos. Ayia Napa attracts a large number of tourists and features a number of pristine sandy beaches, on which water sports such as water-skiing, windsurfing, canoeing, scuba diving, and speed boating have become very popular.

 

Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is in the traditional province of Lapurdi of the Basque Country. Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a fishing port on the Basque coast and now a famous resort, known for its architecture, sandy bay, quality of life and French cuisine.

 

The Bay of Gibraltar is on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It opens to the south into the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. The bay is a breeding area for several dolphin species and is also visited by whales. The other major draw for tourists is scuba diving: the area is rich with wrecks and historical artifacts such as Sherman tanks from the Second World War, and ancient anchors from Phoenician and Roman ships!

 

Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands. Corfiotes have a long history of hospitality to foreign residents and visitors, typified in the twentieth century by Gerald Durrell's childhood reminiscence: My Family and Other Animals.

 -Tracy Smith