So here’s the deal: My partner wants a nice relaxing holiday this summer where she can spend several days lounging on the beach doing nothing. I like beaches but spending a whole week on one will bore me to death. I prefer going to museums (historical, technical, social, political – art not so much) and exploring old cities, ruins, castles, catacombs, churches, etc. Natural beauty is also nice provided we don’t have to travel too far to see it. Neither of us particularly care about nightlife. So can someone recommend a good Mediterranean destination where there is both a nice sandy beach within walking distance of hotels, and also a city with lots of interesting museums and ancient or medieval buildings?
Italy is probably not a good idea, since we’re already going to visit friends in Sicily in June. Ditto Egypt, as she’s already been there several times. I’m rather partial to going somewhere slightly off the beaten path, like Montenegro or Albania, but would settle for somewhere more conventional like Greece or Spain. We’d consider Northern Africa or the Middle East but flights there tend to be much more expensive from where we are than those to the European coast.
In Spain the closest to that are Barcelona and Valencia, but in the summer they’re both ovens and their “in-town” beaches are full of middle-aged dudes looking for easy meat while the wife is out of town (Rodríguezes).
Mallorca may be a good option if you stay in Palma; some of the “visiteable” spots are out of town (organized day trips will probably be a better option than driving yourself). If you don’t mind having some of the nicer-to-visit spots outside the town, Sitges is pretty (quite a few modernisme buildings), has some very nice museums, a very good beach and it’s close to Barcelona - same as the people from Barcelona take the train to Sitges to visit its beach or attend the movie festival, you can take it to go see moooore architecture. Both of them have large international airports; be careful if you’re flying to “Barcelona”, as there are two other airports nearby which get marketed under that name while being in different provinces (Girona and Reus).
Turkey! I can’t give you any specific city recommendations (I’m going there this summer) but along the Aegean/Mediterranean coast there are bound to be places that fit your description. There are even beaches near Istanbul, but I don’t know how great they are. I’m guessing really crowded, but I don’t know what kind of beach bathing your wife is into.
Two ideas that come to mind off the top of my head are Toulon, France - Mediterranean port, major naval hub for France for centuries, and some just lovely vistas. The wikipedia page lists any number of interesting museums and historical sites. I don’t have specific confirmation of sandy beaches in the area, but I have trouble imagining that there are none.
For a bit further afield, there’s Split, Croatia - a city that grew up around the pleasure/retirement palace that Diocletian built. The palace is occupied, now, by all manner of buisnesses and residents, but there are still segments open for public tours.
Rhodes. Incredibly beautiful beaches, and Rhodes town is a walled Crusader town with a wonderful archaeological museum.
Or Crete. Also full of incredibly beautiful beaches, also has a great archaeological museum, plus Minoan ruins everywhere, and then there’s Knossos which if you’re at all into archaeology will leave you speechless for days and oh God I want a holiday in Greece.
Everything In your first paragraph seems to indicate that you are describing Rhodes. I recommend staying in the village of Faliraki, a few miles south of the city.
Car rentals are very reasonable and motorcycles or scooters are downright cheap. The beach is topless, so you might not get too bored there. The island is full of ruins, old temples and churches, a fort, the museum is in a castle, and incredible views abound. (I vividly remember sitting on a hilltop watching sailboats bob in a small bay and realizing why they call that color Mediterranean Blue.) No language barrier; they really do all speak English. You can take the ferry for a day trip to Turkey.
Barcelona’s a great city to visit but we didn’t think much of the beaches. As **Nava **says it is an oven in August so make sure you have air con in your accommodation!
Istanbul meets the non-beach requirement but I don’t know of decent beaches within easy reach of the city. The Aegean and Med coasts of Turkey have the beaches and there is plenty of historical sites but I can’t think of a city that quite meets your spec.
Croatia is a good choice. The palace in Split is great but I don’t know how much else there is for a week, ditto Dubrovnik.
The bigger Greek islands sound the best option - I’m hoping Crete is the place - we’re going there for the first time in September!
I was going to suggest Naples, which has castles to visit, a great beach a short trip away, and and Pompeii. But I see you don’t want Italy.
Okay, Lanzarote, then. A small island full of interesting places to visit. Great beaches, several interesting towns, Visit a vinyard and sample the local wines. Travel up the volcano, and down into the volcanic caves. See the works of César Manrique. Take a ride in a submarine. Lots of stuff. Okay, not Mediterranean.
I’m all for it if it meets the criteria set out in my original post. However, I’ve heard that the beaches are polluted by sewage. Whether the city offers any cultural or historical activities geared towards tourists I’m not sure; do you know? Even so it probably wouldn’t be my first choice; I expect access is only through Israel, and as I’m interested in visiting Arab countries in the future I don’t want my prospects for doing so dashed by the presence of an Israeli border stamp in my passport.
Over where? May Day is big everywhere in Europe. It’s a national holiday in most or all countries here, and there are usually big marches in the streets and open-air events. If I want to enjoy May Day I don’t need to travel.
If you end up in the Costa Brava most of the “cultural places” will be outside of town; do not, do not, do not ever drop by Lloret de Mar: it’s become Hooligan Central.
Croatia. Plenty of old cities, ruins, castles, catacombs, churches. The beaches are rocky and rarely sandy, but the water is beautiful and they are close to hotels and restaurants for lunch and drinks. I suggest staying 2-3 days in one place for you to explore and then taking a ferry to another place for the next few days. If you have one week, maybe two or three stops. I’d suggest Dubrovnik- Korcula-Split or Dubrovnik- Hvar-Split. Jadrolinija is the ferry company there and they go to most of the islands and ports so you have flexability. You won’t need a car if you go this route.
Thanks, everyone, for all the great suggestions. Yesterday we just got an invitation to a wedding near Budapest for 23 May, so it would be good if we could combine that with the beach holiday. I figured we could take a train to Split or Dubrovnik, but it turns out that Dubrovnik has no train station, the closest one being two hours away by bus; and that even to get to Split is a 15-hour journey. So now we’re looking at flying somewhere out of Budapest. Unfortunately, the flights to Corfu, Heraklion, Rhodes, Zakynthos, and Mallorca don’t start until June. However, there are scheduled flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Málaga, Paphos, Thessaloniki, Larnaca. There are also some irregular chartered flights to other destinations that we might be able to take.
The island is full of ruins, old temples and churches, a fort, the museum is in a castle, and incredible views abound. (I vividly remember sitting on a hilltop watching sailboats bob in a small bay and realizing why they call that color Mediterranean Blue.) No language barrier; they really do all speak English. You can take the ferry for a day trip to Turkey.