Reasonably priced city break near a beach?! :)

Hobsons_Choice

I spent a few days in Alicante in April. Stayed at the Melia Hotel and had a lovely room overlooking the beach....all you could hear at night was the sea lapping gently across the sand. Breakfast there was great, as was the weather.
Alicante's an interesting town, most people just pass through but it's certainly worth a visit, lots to see and do, an interesting old town as well as a vibrant new town.
Blimey - I sound like a travel agent (I'm not)!

blizeH

Thank you, they both sound like great options! I think my main worry with Alicante is that we want somewhere we can go for a week and have plenty of things to see and do - we are going with a student, but I think she would be more interested in the culture, markets, soaking up the atmosphere, seeing the landmarks and learning about the history rather than going out partying fwiw

Archergirl

Portsmouth, if the weather is nice.

hamsterfan1

My in-laws rave about Lisbon - I went to Barcelona once & didn't like it - can't say why, it was just the overall feeling about the place, hot, dusty etc

agrinnall

Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante are all great, but my picks would be a bit further south, either Malaga or Cadiz. Marseille has a good beach too.

rachhh

I second Malaga, beautiful city and cheap to get to and stay in!

blizeH

Thanks guys, interesting you say Malaga - my uncle has an apartment in Fuengirola (30 minutes from Malaga and Marbella) which he may let us stay in for a week - will have a good look into both places now! Ty!