Europe's Top 50+ Beaches

  • Plage de Pors-Carn // France

    Plage de Pors-Carn
    Jeanne Menjoulet

    Just north of Penmarch and close to hotels, museums, and other leisure activities, Plage de Pors-Carn lies in a small area of protected coastline where grassy dunes lead to wide near circular bay encompassing two kilometres of fine white sand.

    Shielded from the largest waves of the Atlantic Ocean by the Pointe de la Rue de Flots at its southern end… read more »

  • Cala Agulla // Spain

    Cala Agulla
    © lapping

    Set in a beautiful bay on Mallorca's northeastern coast is the Blue Flag award winning beach of Cala Agulla. With a good-sized stretch of white sand, crystalline blue water and an unspoilt backdrop of mountainous landscape this is one of the island's most picturesque beaches.

    A short distance to the south of Cala Agulla is the resort of Cala Ratjada. Although… read more »

  • Plage de Kermor // France

    Plage de Kermor
    © Chris Leather

    Facing south, the almost straight ribbon of sand that is Plage de Kermor stretches for more than three kilometres, although it takes on a name change to Plage de Teven towards its western end. Located roughly midway between Sainte Marine port in Combrit and the quaint village of Île Tudy, the beach provides the perfect blend of natural majesty… read more »

  • Zahara de los Atunes // Spain

    Zahara de los Atunes
    Luis Rogelio HM

    Also going by the name of Playa el Carmen, Zahara de los Atunes is never unduly over crowded, even during the peak summer months, thanks largely to its sheer size. Stretching for more than six kilometres, its dune-like landscape of fine sand is backed by low cliffs, coastal flora, and unobtrusive villas.

    Offering waters so clear they have been awarded… read more »

  • Cala Granara // Italy

    Cala Granara
    fabrizio.binello

    Set on n Isola di Spargi in Sardinia's Maddalena Archipelago is Cala Granara, another stunning beach that you could easily be forgiven thinking you were on a tropical island. Backed by lush island plants and palm trees, it is quite unusual in that most Italian beaches are backed by rugged cliffs.

    The shallow and clam turquoise waters lapping the silvery sands… read more »

  • Playa del Cañuelo // Spain

    Playa del Cañuelo
    Triedros

    Playa del Cañuelo is a shingle beach some 400 metres in length. Situated on the border between Malaga and Granada, it is within Acantilados de Maro Cerro Gordo nature reserve. It's location within this protected region of coastline ensures there's no rampant development. Instead, visitors to the beach will find a couple of well-regarded restaurants catering for all your food… read more »

  • Lourdas Beach // Greece

    Lourdas Beach
    Paul-Fogg

    Lourdas Beach is easily reached from Argostoli, 17 kilometres away, by both car and bus. Also known as Lourdata, the beach sits at the base of high cliffs on one of the island's largest bays. A bus provides access for those who don't want to walk. Lourdas' northernmost end is primarily sand, slowly turning to shingle the further towards the… read more »

  • Vega Beach // Albania

    Vega Beach
    Tomasz Lewicki

    Set on a short stretch of rocky coastline roughly 150 metres long by 15 metres wide, Vega Beach is a manmade creation close to the city of Vlorë. Access from its fine off-white gravel surface to the sea is via steps bypassing the rocks, which may make it a little tricky for some younger children. That said, a short pier… read more »

  • Copacabana Beach // Croatia

    Copacabana Beach
    Nick Savchenko

    While not yet as famous as its Brazilian counterpart, Croatia's Copacabana Beach has a huge amount to offer. Located in Seka Bay, on the north side of the Lapad Peninsula, Copacabana has views to Daksa and the Elafiti Islands. It lies very close to Dubrovnik's tourist zone of Babin Kuk, used as a base for exploring the UNESCO-listed Old… read more »

  • Slovenska // Montenegro

    Slovenska
    Bratislav Tabaš

    Simply translating as ‘Slovenian Beach' since the architect who designed the area behind it hailed from that part of what was then a united Yugoslavia, Slovenska Plaža runs unbroken for a magical 1,600 metres.

    Comprising sand interspersed with naturally-occurring pebbles, it is a beach with great facilities, making it more than suitable for family outings to this beautiful stretch of coastline.… read more »

  • Perazica Do // Montenegro

    Perazica Do
    Zlatomir Bacic

    With dramatic cliffs to one side, and a near-flat entrance into the stunning colours of the Adriatic Sea on the other, Perazica Do Beach is as alluring as any in Montenegro. A few hundred metres in length, it boasts only a handful of sun loungers, hired out on a first come first served basis.

    Its western position makes Perazica Do Beach… read more »

  • Rhossili Bay // UK

    Rhossili Bay
    © Anthony Brindley

    Rhossili Bay is allegedly the finest beach in Britain and one of the best in the world. Whilst I am not going to disagree that this is indeed a stunning beach I think there is an awful lot of competition and it has quite a lot to live up to. So, just what makes Rhossili beach so great? 

    Well, three miles… read more »

  • Matala Beach // Greece

    Matala Beach

    The fishing village of Matala was just that until the 1960s. However, since then, like many other things, it hasn't been quite the same! It was then that Matala became a popular destination for hippy travellers attracting the likes of Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell (who even wrote a song about it) in its heyday. 

    Many of these hippies… read more »

  • Rauðisandur beach // Iceland

    Rauðisandur beach
    © Fyletto

    Rauðisandur or Red Sand beach is a huge expanse of sand in the remote Westfjords region of Iceland. Unlike many of this volcanic island's beaches Rauðisandur has what we might consider normal coloured sand - most beaches here have black sand. This is probably where the name comes from as the sand does have a reddish hue to it in… read more »

  • Phaselis Beach // Turkey

    Phaselis Beach
    © Tatiana Popova

    Set on the aptly named Turquoise Coast and backed by pine covered mountain slopes are the three little sheltered bays which make up Phaselis beach. This area between Kemer and Olimpos is part of a protected national park and the scenery is everything you would expect. The beaches at Phaselis are a welcome relief from the somewhat overdeveloped package resorts… read more »