The 10 best European beaches featured in Post Magazine
Whether you’re waiting to join the tourist throng or seeking sand, sun and solitude, there is a stunning stretch of coastline to suit everyone
Top 10 beach lists are subjective things. Do you prefer pounding surf or child-friendly tranquil seas? Amenities and accessibility or “just like Croatia 25 years ago”? Are you waiting for the new airport to open the coast to tourism or hurrying to get there before the place is ruined? This countdown – in no particular order – is restricted to European beaches that have featured in Post Magazine travel articles. Well, someone had to do the research.
1 Sardinia, Italy The Italian island has enough sublime stretches of squeaky sand to keep any self-respecting beach lover happy for weeks. In 2013, I tracked down a spot in the northwest of Sardinia that I’d misheard a number of times as “spagerdelplozza”. Spiaggia della Pelosa turned out to be a screensaver come to life, with colours so swimming pool-like that you could almost smell chlorine. Alternatively, if you have money to burn, join rock stars, oligarchs and footballers on Sardinia’s glitzy Costa Smeralda, where there are dozens of achingly beautiful beaches to enjoy. Take a towel, sun cream and a yacht.
2 Costa Brava, Spain There was a time when northern Europeans spent two weeks in large Costa Brava resorts and returned home with golden tans, souvenir castanets and a newly acquired taste for cheap plonk. The brash holiday towns are still going strong but there are also countless tiny coves known only to Catalan tourists. Sa Tuna is far enough off the beaten track that you won’t hear much English spoken on its golden sands. Or much Spanish, for that matter. Whitewashed cottages tumble down to clear seas; fishing boats bob in the bay and the calm seas are ideal for snorkelling.
