Hi forum,
I am in the early planning stages of a trip to visit family in the French Alps (traveling with my husband and 9 year old). I'd like to do a roughly 5 day stretch in a small coastal town in France, Spain, or Italy. I'll likely be there in the end of May or EARLY June. I did this several years ago in Collioure and that town was perfect. I can imagine it gets flooded with people in the high season, but when we were there it had a great balance of charming town, beach, surrounding sites, restaurants, and shops. And it wasn't so too much travel from the Alps. I'd love suggestions from this great group!
(I'll post in Spain and Italy as well)
Cinque Terre is always nice. And those dates of end of May / Early June should not be too touristy. If you have not been, I highly recommend it.
My first thought was Collioure too!
SW France, the French Basque area, could meet your requirements. We stayed in Spain but spent two days on the french side and would love to return there. St- Jean de Luz, Bayonne.
We enjoyed staying in Provence in Ramateulle. It is up on a hill with sweeping views of the Mediterranean and it’s broad , sandy beaches.
Hi Susan, since you’re visiting the French alps, why not cross over into IT from there. Rick Steve’s FR guidebook will tell you how to do it. I would then head over to the Cinque Terre. Milan would be a good base to fly home from. https://www.smartertravel.com/from-france-to-italy-over-mont-blanc/
Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm going to look into these.