16 of the Best Beach Cities in Europe

Join locals for summer on the French Riviera — also known as the Côte d’Azur. Favorites include the year-round Plage Beau Rivage and Blue Beach.

The medieval port city’s mild weather is ideal for travelers interested in sailing, and travelers can easily find quiet, isolated beaches on the islands scattered around the Dalmation Coast.

Charming Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, has beautiful beaches that are swallowed gradually by the warm waters of the shallow Baltic Sea. Visit in June for 24-hours of sunshine and temperatures are just as favorable.

Travelers loved biking along Copenhagen’s sandy beaches and waterfront parks.

Could this be the next Portofino? This buzzy Italian city on the edge of the Adriatic has an impossibly blue bay rimmed with beaches.

One of the best beaches in all of Croatia, Dubrovnik’s popular Banje Beach is close to the city’s Old Town, and boasts plenty of beach clubs.

“Beaches are great,” said one T+L reader. “It’s the cleanest part of the Mediterranean, and people are friendly.

The best way to experience County Galway’s distinctly Irish, wild coastline? Spend a weekend at the cozy Dolphin Beach House.

Europeans have long known that Belgium’s ample coast is a beautiful — and convenient — beach destination. Bruges is only 15-minutes (by public transport) from the popular resort town of Ostend.

For a quintessential, sandy beach day, head to the nearby beaches of Praia de Matosinhos or Praia do Ourigo.

Yes, Dublin has beaches. Beautiful beaches. Skip crowded Sandycove and head instead to Tower Bay Beach, just 30 minutes north of Dublin City.

Heading to one of Lisbon’s beaches? One reader recommended the “lovely beaches” of Cascáis — a wealthy coastal town in the suburbs of Lisbon.

If you’ve maxed out on museums and piazzas, spend an afternoon at Lido Beach. Visitors can take a vaporetto to this seven-mile island in the Venetian Lagoon. Do it right with a negroni in hand.

Whether you stay in the city or head to one of the nearby islands, Istanbul’s upscale beaches are a perfect place to cool down on a hot summer day.

“The beauty of the city and its location are what makes San Sebatian a wonderful tourist destination,” raved a T+L reader. “You can spend hours just strolling the streets window shopping, or walk along the various beaches for a different vibe.”

With beaches, mountains, history, spectacular architecture and wonderful food, a T+L reader claimed this is the best of Spain’s cities. And, according to the vote, the best beach city in Europe.