Best beach holidays in Europe

Good evening. Almost every year, for the last 15 years, I’ve been to the Bay of Arcachon, on the south-west coast of France, with my family. We usually stay in an apartment in Arcachon town. It’s a happy place; everything speaks of summer joy, from the lively promenade to bistros serving moules and chilled rosé, and families playing beach tennis on the sand.
We’ll take a ferry over the bay to Cap Ferret to cycle the pine-studded headland, calling at fishing villages along the way, and stop at the market to eat canelé pastry and people-watch. Along the coast, cabins once used by fishermen are now simple food shacks, where we feast on seafood served with ice-cold white Bordeaux.
For Lois Pryce, European beach perfection is found in the Catalan seaside town of Cadaqués, where the Pyrenees give way to the sea. “Cadaqués is an aesthete’s paradise: nothing jars the eye,” she writes. “Fiercely protected by a group of local artists in the 1950s, it has pulled off the rare feat of retaining its charm without becoming a Disneyfied caricature, or a fossilised museum piece.” Indeed, Dali called it “the best place in the world”.
Edwina Pitcher is drawn to surfers’ paradise Peniche, 60 miles north of Lisbon, and the islands of the Berlengas archipelago off the coast where the water is as “clear as sea-green stained glass.” Over in Italy, Ben Aitken discovers a love of Pesaro’s public beaches, beach bars and boardwalk strolls, while Jennifer Barclay recalls low-key Donoussa in Greece’s Small Cyclades. From her base in Stavros village, it’s easy to explore the five square mile island - with trails leading to pale sand beaches and a coastline dotted with old windmills.
Whichever beach you’re lured to this summer, I hope you find your happy place.