Never been to Europe but we'd like to head somewhere along the southern France coast and/or SE Spain (not Seville area) and even over to Genoa area of Italy . . . however, other than like a 1 day visit, we are not looking at spending a lot of time in huge cities like Barcelona, Marsailles, or even Genoa . . . suggestions for smaller (touristy is fine) towns or cities near the coast that would be good to spend time in - preferabbly multiple ones as we dont' mind traveling 4-5 hours between . . . if there are other regions that would be better please recommend, but it will be summer and the 95-105 temps of very southern Spain might be a bit much (85-90 is fine) and definitely don't want Paris . . . looking for places that have a little history, aesthetic, and even the usual tourist tours/shopping, etc. . . Thanks!
Posted by
4713 posts
The good news is you have hundreds of options, but that is also the bad news. I would peruse your flight options and see if you can narrow it down a bit that way. Transport logistics will largely shape this trip, because all of these coastlines have what you are seeking, though I would say Italy and France more so than Spain.
For the Italian Riviera, I found the DK Eyewitness guide book really helpful, and I see it has a new version published.