Europe's Top 50+ Beaches

• Maspalomas Beach // Spain

  

  Set on the southern tip of the island of Gran Canaria is a little slice of the Sahara Desert. Over the centuries the fine golden sand here has been sculpted into an extensive network of dunes extending several hundred metres back from the beach. With a landscape like this you won't be surprised to know it hardly ever rains and… read more »

• Playa de Las Conchas // Spain

  

  Playa de las Conchas lies on the northwest coast of the little island of La Graciosa, five kilometres along a gravel road from the ferry departure point back to Lanzarote. Its almost white sand stretches for 600 metres beside shallows the colour of turquoise. Reaching a maximum width of around 100 metres, Playa de las Conchas is surrounded by the… read more »

• Playa del Reducto // Spain

  

  Immediately to the west of downtown Arrecife, the beautiful white sands of Playa del Reducto circle around shallows sheltered by a natural reef. Suitable for children to play in the gentle waves as a result, it has a Blue Flag award for its cleanliness and range of facilities.

  The recently-renovated promenade behind the beach is the home of most of these… read more »

• Playa del Camisón // Spain

  

  Located within an almost entirely closed off bay created by artificial breakwaters, Playa del Camison has some of the calmest waters of any beach in southwest Tenerife. With soft sands that gently slope into warm shallow water, it is a good beach to visit with young children keen on their first beach experiences.

  Although the sand itself is free of stones,… read more »

• Playa del Médano // Spain

  

  Bisected by the Barranco de los Valos ravine, Playa del Medano offers one of the southeast coast's longest and widest sand beaches. Situated at the heart of a large bay, it shouldn't be mistaken for the much smaller Playa de El Medano closer to the town of the same name.

  Made up of Tenerife's typical dark volcanic sands, Playa del Medano… read more »

• Playa del Duque // Spain

  

  Playa del Duque is a Blue Flag beach sitting on the southwest coast of Tenerife. An upmarket option tucked back from the open waves of the Atlantic Ocean, its shallows are protected on one side by a short rocky promontory and on the other by an artificial seawall which separates it from Playa El Beril.

  Part of the Costa Adeje,… read more »

• Playa Jardín // Spain

  

  Playa Jardin is a city beach on the western flanks of Puerto de la Cruz on the northern coast of Tenerife. Comprising almost black sand, it was created from scratch in the 1990s so that residents and visitors to the city didn't have to travel too far to soak up the island sun or splash about in the shallows while… read more »

• Playa de la Tejita // Spain

  

  Southward facing, Playa de la Tejita is located immediately to the west of the hill called Montana Rosa, a short distance from Tenerife Sud International Airport. One of the island's clothing optional beaches, the dark coloured sands run for around a kilometre, giving plenty of options for seclusion for those looking to go au naturel. Away from the tide line… read more »

• Playa de Las Vistas // Spain

  

  A giant of a beach, Playa de las Vistas lies close to the ferry terminal at Los Cristianos on Tenerife's southwest coast. Reaching from one end to the other of the neighbouring bay, it is divided into two parts by a short spit of land topped with a fountain and has a total length of around one kilometre.

  Wide enough for… read more »

• Playa de Abama // Spain

  

  The point at which the Barranco de Chabugo ravine meets the Atlantic Ocean, Playa de Abama sits on Tenerife's west coast. Reached via a turning off the TF-47, and the nearest bus stops, it is easily reached by road from Abama golf club and surrounding areas.

  Although backed by a luxury hotel, the golden sands of Playa de Abama are public,… read more »

• Elli Beach // Greece

  

  Elli Beach is also known as Rhodes Town Beach. Possibly the busiest and liveliest of all the island's beaches, it has held the crown as one of Rhodes' top beaches since the 1970s, when the jet-set first started to arrive on the island.

  An ideal city beach, Elli Beach offers everything today's beachgoer could want, from canoes and water sports options… read more »

• Playa de Ses Illetes // Spain

  

  Located just a stones throw away from the party island of Ibiza is the small island of Formentera. Despite its proximity Formentera can only be reached by boat and feels like a different world. There are several beautiful beaches around this unspoilt island but the Playa de Ses Illetes is the best of the bunch with its fine white sand… read more »

• Bolata Beach // Bulgaria

  

  Located in a neat little enclave flanked by smooth brick-red ridges, Bolata Beach is one of Northern Bulgaria's best kept secrets. A near perfect semi-circle of sand, protected by breakwaters, this is a quite unique little cove, and one of very few beaches in the area.

  While Bulgaria's beaches are beginning to become better-appreciated by the outside world, this cove has… read more »

• Diamond Beach // Iceland

  

  Diamond beach on the south coast is one of the most visited beaches in the whole of Iceland. About 6 hours from the capital Reykjavik this black sand beach sits at the mouth of the Jökulsárlón lagoon. Here huge chunks of ice gather from the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier which in turn is fed by the largest icecap in Europe - the… read more »

• Sólheimasandur Beach // Iceland

  

  In geological terms, the black sand plains of Sólheimasandur are a baby. Formed centuries, rather than millions of years ago the bleak landscape here is the result of glacial action caused by an eruption of one of Iceland's largest and most active volcanoes - Katla.

  However, this uniquely Icelandic landscape is only the backdrop to Sólheimasandur beach's main attraction -… read more »

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