19 Of The Most Beautiful Beaches In Europe

From the windswept west coasts of Ireland and Portugal to sandy Baltic shores, and tropical turquoise seas lapping remote beaches on Crete to an island where a patron saint of lovers lived, the most beautiful beaches in Europe come in many forms different guises.

I’ve sought out beautiful beaches since the age of nine, when I first set eyes and foot on Rhossili Beach in my native Wales. It was unlike anywhere else I’ve seen before, and almost half a century on, it’s where the bar is still set.

We all have our own criteria for what makes a beach. Mine include the natural scenery and setting and the clarity and quality of the water. And rather than sit or lie on a beach I also enjoy a coastal walk while I’m there, and a small beach bar or pub to cool off at some point.

The beaches in this article are places to stir the soul, and are spread far and wide across the continent.   I’ll flag up the best beaches in Europe for families, suggesting some of the best beach resorts in Europe along the way.

19 of the Most Beautiful Beaches in Europe

1. Praia Do Amado, Costa Vicentina Portugal

Praia do Amado

Praia do Amado has everything you could want from a beach, that is if you don’t mind a relative lack of crowds, overpriced bars, beach umbrellas and everything that comes with an ‘organised’ beach.

It’s one of the best beaches on Portugal’s Costa Vicentina, in the south-west corner of the Algarve. This is Portugal’s wild west, its long, wide sandy beaches buffeted by the roaring Atlantic Ocean among the best surf beaches in Portugal.

We also love Praia do Amado for its cliff and mountain scenery, which is entirely free of the tourism development that has blighted some parts of the Algarve including Albufeira.

The area is part of the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina, so the environment is protected from much of this. It’s largely frequented by a surfing crowd, as well as day trippers and long-distance hikers tackling the Rota Vicentina trail.

Best for: Scenery lovers, hiking, surfing

Where To Stay – Carrapateiramar Guest House – spacious apartments with pool, only 2 miles from Praia do Amado

2. Durdle Door Beach, Jurassic Coast, Dorset, England

The natural rock arch Durdle Door is one of the most famous landmarks in England. It’s a magnificent sight, an archway on a headland separating two great beaches on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.

Durdle Door beach is a lovely sand and shingle beach with jaw-dropping views east to the arch.

It’s quicker to reach Durdle Door from the nearby village of West Lulworth, but if you can, try to visit west Lulworth, a 2-mile (3 km) walk to the east of Durdle Door. You need to arrive early if you’re driving, as the car park fills up quickly.

Lulworth Cove is a beautiful near-circle of pebbles and sand with turquoise waters and rockpools at low tide.  

Best for: scenery, coastal walking

Where To Stay – Castle Inn, West Lulworth – beautiful 17th-century traditional thatched inn, dogs also welcome

3. Keem Bay, Achill Island, Ireland

When we reached Achill Island on the west coast of Ireland, we were greeted by horizontal rain, outlines of mountains briefly emerging from the murk, and a dramatic bleak landscape of moorland and peat bogs.

Crete, the Algarve or the Spanish Costas it is not. This is the wild, windswept Atlantic coast of Ireland, one that cops the worst of the wet south westerlies but which is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe. And yet, if you continue as far west as Achill’s roads allow, you’ll reach one of the best beaches in Ireland and one of the most exquisite beaches in all of Europe.

The conditions I described above didn’t give the slightest hint of what we were about to see at Keem Bay. The mountains and moors suddenly give way to a gorgeous small beach (also known as Keem Strand) with tropical turquoise water.

It’s a sheltered spot, unlike much of the rest of the Achill coast. The sun briefly came out for us, a few minutes of fleeting but breathtaking beauty.

Best for: Dramatic scenery, romantics

Where To Stay – Ferndale Luxury Boutique Bed & Breakfast – top-notch B&B in Keel, a short drive from Keem Bay

4. Llanddwyn Island, Wales, UK

Tiny Llanddwyn Island, off the coast of the larger island of Anglesey, is one of the most beautiful islands in Europe.

It’s a small tidal island in North Wales, UK, with two stunning beaches and lighthouses at its end. The only way to get there is on foot, around half an hour’s walk along glorious Newborough Beach.

Llanddwyn is one of several Welsh islands to have links to a Celtic saint – in this case it’s St Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers.

Llanddwyn is a remote spot, and one of the best coastal locations I’ve encountered working as a photographer over almost thirty years. There are no facilities on the island, just a few wild ponies grazing and views of the peaks of Snowdonia and the Llyn Peninsula to inspire your awe.

Best for: Scenery, romantics, beach walks

Where To Stay – Chateau Rhianfa – Loire Valley-inspired chateau overlooking the Menai Strait, half and hour’s drive from the main Llanddwyn car park

5. Rhossili Beach, Wales, UK

The Gower Peninsula in Wales is one of the best beach destinations in Europe. It was the first part of the UK to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and has three of the best beaches in the UK (the others are Three Cliffs Bay and Oxwich Bay) along just 50 km of coastline.

The best-known of these is Rhossili Bay, a sublime curve of 5 km (3 miles) of perfect golden sand.

The village of Rhossili is 80 metres above on the clifftop, so there’s a 10-minute descent to the beach. Even in the peak summer season, you don’t have to walk far to find acres of sand to yourself.

Surfers tend to head to the northern end of the beach, near the village of Llangennith, which is more exposed to waves coming in from the west. Also look out for Worm’s Head, a tidal island that resembles a dragon basking in the sea.

Rhossili is more than a bit special – it has been voted the best beach in Europe, and made the top ten for the same accolade many times. It has also been voted the third best beach in the world, and been rated among the top ten places to watch a sunset in the world.

Best for: Scenery, coastal walking, families

Where To Stay – Culver House Hotel – one of the best places to stay on Gower, a hotel with apartments in nearby Port Eynon

6. Agios Pavlos Beach, Agia Roumeli, Crete

A sign above Agios Pavlos beach reads, “Do not follow me, I am lost too… Welcome to Agios Pavlos.” The name means ‘St Paul’, and it is believed that he once stopped at this remote beach en route to Rome, and a tiny Byzantine church was built above the beach almost a thousand years later to commemorate this.

This is a gorgeous little church, and the beach is amazing too.

It’s a 4 km hike from the village of Agia Roumeli to Agios Pavlos, or a boat ride from the harbour there. It’s an incredibly uplifting place, surrounded by the soaring peaks of Lefka Ora, the White Mountains of Crete.

The beach is part pebble, part grey sand, and the seawater aquamarine, clean and pristine. A taverna is open during the season (until late October) – I had one of the most satisfying cold beers of my life there, gazing across to the mountains.

Best for: coastal walkers, scenery, history, solitude

See Also: 15 Best Churches in Crete To Visit

Where To Stay – Paralia Hotel and Taverna, Agia Roumeli – beachfront hotel next to the start of the walk to Agios Pavlos beach

7. Balos Beach, Crete, Greece

A trip to Balos Beach is one of the top three or four things to do in Crete, and one of the most popular Crete tours you’ll find.

It’s in the remote north-western corner of Crete, and the vast majority of visitors opt to get to Balos beach by ferry (included on all Balos tours) rather than the dirt road from the port of Kissamos.

The ferry to Balos beach takes you to Gramvousa island first, stopping for up to two hours where you can relax at gorgeous Gramvousa Beach for a while.

You then continue to Balos, which is one of the very best Mediterranean beaches, and one that regularly appears in best beaches in the world polls. The beach is in a lagoon, with high mountains on one side and a steep cape on the other.

Part of the beach faces the lagoon, and is ideal for kids paddling. The other part faces the clear azure waters of the Mediterranean. If you want to cross from the cape side to mainland Crete and the snack bars, you’ll have to paddle a few metres, sometimes a little more.

As with the other Crete beaches we’ve written about here, October is by far the best time to visit Balos beach, when it won’t be anything like as crowded during summer peak season.

Best for: Families, scenery, landscape, walking

Tours – This Balos tour from Chania or Rethymno includes pickup and drop-off, return ferry tickets and time at Gramvousa and Balos Beaches

See Also: 30 of the Most Famous Landmarks In Greece

8. Falassarna Beach, Crete, Greece

Falassarna beach in Crete is a strong contender for our most beautiful beach in Europe. It’s certainly one of the best beaches in Crete, hidden away on the west coast of this incredible island, and backed by a curve of rugged mountains.

It feels like a wilderness at the end of the world, and we fell spectacularly in love with it.

Falassarna (also spelt Falasarna or Phalasarna) isn’t one beach but five, roughly 5 km (3 miles) end to end). The main beach is a long stretch of golden sand with crystal-clear water up there with the best we’ve ever seen.

There are also some smaller beaches and coves along the way, and there are a couple of fantastic natural sheltered rock pools for kids to swim in safety. You’re never far from a taverna or beach bar, whichever beach you’re on.

There are also dunes and boulders galore to explore – we all thought we were in paradise.

Best for: Incredible scenery, watersports, swimming, families

Where To Stay – Falasarna Bay Hotel – our base in Falassarna, an apartment hotel overlooking beach and coast, utterly stupendous views

9. Praia Dona Ana, Algarve, Portugal

The beaches in Lagos Portugal are known the world over. The first time I visited Portugal I travelled down from Lisbon especially to see them, and was blown away.

They are widely acknowledged to be among the best Algarve beaches, and they deserve to be on any Portugal itinerary, especially if it’s your first time in Portugal.

Praia Dona Ana – Lady Ana Beach – is the pick of the beaches in the area. It’s a stunning sandy beach backed by golden and ochre cliffs, the turquoise sea dotted with honeycomb rock stacks. It sounds like something out of a fairytale, and it’s an astounding sight.

Try to visit in springtime, before the crowds pack it to the rafters. After visiting you may not be surprised that this has been voted the most beautiful beach in the world.

Best for: Scenery, families, sheltered swimming, coastal walks

Where To Stay – Carvi Beach Hotel – 3-star beachside hotel, perfect location, and only a short walk or bus ride from the town centre

10. Tenby, Wales

Tenby in West Wales is one of the most beautiful coastal towns in Europe. It has four beaches and a gorgeous harbour surrounded by pastel-coloured 18^th century houses, one of the most picturesque places in Europe.

It’s also the departure point for Caldey Island, home to a Cistercian monastery and yet more stunning coastline.

The four Tenby beaches are all quite different in character. North Beach and Harbour beach (the latter is submerged at high tide) are on one side of Castle Hill, with stunning views of the Harbour.  On the other side of the headland, Castle Beach looks out over St Catherine’s Island, a 19^th century fort on an outcrop of rock, and South Beach is its continuation to the right.

The partly medieval town above is wonderful too, especially on quieter summer weekdays. Far and away one of the best seaside towns in Wales, and best beach towns in Europe.

Best for: Setting, harbour, families, boat trips

Where To Stay – Atlantic Hotel, Tenby – one go the beautiful od hotels on the Esplanade overlooking South Beach and Caldey Island

11. Red Beach, Santorini

Santorini Red Beach is one of the most popular Santorini beaches, even though there are signs everywhere telling everyone not to go there. Most of the volcanic Santorini beaches have ‘black’ or pencil-grey sand, whereas Red Beach stands out because its sand is, well, red.

The beach’s sand and cliffs are a deep red hue, and together with the clear turquoise water, it’s visually perhaps the most striking Mediterranean beach you may ever see.

The reason signs warn people away is that there have been land slips there in recent years, with sections of cliff falling down onto the beach. It’s safe to see Santorini Red Beach from a distance, as in the shot above, but I decided not to venture down onto the beach itself.

Best for: Dramatic scenery

Where To Stay – Akrotiri Hotel – great family-run hotel very close to the Red Beach viewpoint, the Akrotiri Minoan archaeological site and Akrotiri Beach

12. Kedrodasos Beach, Crete, Greece

The south-west corner of Crete has two of the best sandy beaches in Greece. One of them attracts thousands of visitors a day in summer, while the other, a mere 2 km away, would be lucky to attract twenty.

Elafonissi beach is one of the most enticing beaches in Greece, a series of wide sandy beaches and smaller coves all with an alluring frosting of pink sand along the shoreline. If you visit Elafonissi in the summer season (June to September) you’ll be jostling for space, especially on the mainland part of the beach. October is the best time to visit, with the temperature in the mid 20s Centigrade.

No such problems at Kedrodasos, whose name means ‘cedar grove’. There is one main beach and a series of small coves, with a mixture of dunes and juniper trees separating them.

The crystal-clear water is exceptional, among the best we’ve seen anywhere in the world. You’ll see the occasional naturist or hiker, but will have a whole section of this sublime beach to yourself if you want it. 

I preferred the ambience of Kedrodasos to that of Elafonissi, but both are among the best beach destinations Europe has, so do all you can to make time to see both.

Best for: Setting, scenery, serenity, solitude

Where To Stay – Elafonisi Resort by Kalomirakis Family – the best place to stay in this remote corner of Crete, and two miles from Kedrodasos Beach

13. Skagen Beach, Denmark

The northernmost place in Denmark is also its sunniest. It’s also home to some of the best white sand beaches in Europe. The long, flat Skagen peninsula, north of the city of Aalborg in North Jutland, has an endless long beach on each side, with the largest sand dune in Denmark on the northern side. The lighthouses are the only feature on the skyline.

The Skagen beaches are so long that they always have plenty of space, even in summer, though accommodation is harder to come by. If you continue to Grenen, at the tip of the peninsula, you’ll be at the point where two seas meet. Skagerrak (and Norway) is to the left, and Kattegat (and Sweden) is to the right.

It’s an awe-inspiring place, whose unique light inspired the Skagen art movement in the late 19^th century. You can still stay at the beachfront Brøndums Hotel where the artists regularly met.

Best for: families, beach walks, beach train ride

14. Cefalu, Sicily, Italy

If you’re looking for one of the best European cities with beaches, look no further. Cefalu, on the north coast of Sicily, is a small city with an impossibly beautiful sandy beach and an implausibly photogenic backdrop of medieval houses along the seafront.

Cefalu is a great place to visit as it’s one of the best Italy beach destinations, and has so much else to see, including the enormous imposing Romanesque cathedral and the Temple of Diana, the latter perched high above the city and beach on Cefalu’s steep Rocca.

Best for: Scenery lovers, history, families, gelato!

Where To Stay – Ossuna Bay Hotel – immaculate hotel in perfect location in the Old Town, a few metres from the superb beach

15. Sellin, Rügen Island, Germany

Our selection of top beaches in Europe wouldn’t be complete without a beach with a pier. They’re a northern European phenomenon, with the UK having by far the most, but there are also examples in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Poland.

I’ve always considered the elegant Clevedon pier in Somerset, England the most beautiful pier I’ve seen, but as this article is about beaches, I’ve gone with Sellin, a spa resort on the spectacular Rügen Island on Germany’s Baltic coast.

Sellin has a fantastic long, wide sandy beach and the outstanding Seebrücke, its handsome pier stretching out into the Baltic (Ostsee in German). The pier is a superb example of German resort architecture (from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries), and there are several villas in similar contemporary style on Wilhelmstrasse, the grand street leading down to the pier and beach.

The island of Rügen is also worth visiting for the white chalk cliffs of the Jasmund National Park, and for something completely different, the Nazis’ intended mass holiday camp at Prora, one of the most intriguing World War 2 sites in Germany.

Best for: families, swimming, architecture

16. Podrače Beach, Brela, Croatia

Brela is a small resort town on the mainland Dalmatian coast between Split and Dubrovnik, looking out towards the island of Brač.  It’s on a particularly enchanting part of the Croatian coast, with fine pebbly peaches, wondrous clear Adriatic water and rocky islets.

Brela has three beaches – Punta Rata, Filipinska and the smallest, idyllic Plaža Podrače. It’s barely 50 metres long, but what beauty. There’s a small rocky promontory partly covered with trees, and small fishing boats bobbing in the crystalline azure water, with the mountains of central Dalmatia in the distance.  A stunning place indeed.

Best for: Families, scenery

Where To Stay – Villa Dalmatia Apartments – great Mediterranean beach resort apartments very close to Podrače beach

17. Palombaggia Beach, Corsica, France

Corsica is right at the top of my personal Europe bucket list, an island of extraordinary beauty of which I yearn to see much, much more. It has some of the best sandy beaches in Europe, and our pick of these is the Plage de Palombaggia, on the south-east coast of Corsica between Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio.

It’s a long white sand beach with exceptionally clear water which is shallow for quite a distance from the shore, making it a good option if you have kids with you.

There are restaurants and bars along the beach which run the sun beds and umbrellas – expect a minimum of 10 euros for the day.

At one end of the beach there’s an idyllic scene with rock formations, beautiful shallow water and a lone pine tree. A stunning and very underrated part of the world.

Best for: families, scenery

Where To Stay – Hotel Ambassador Palombaggia – the closest hotel to the beach (450 metres away), a beautiful quiet resort in the umbrella pines

18. XI BEACH, KEFALONIA

As our contents list shows, Greece is one of the countries with the best beaches around Europe. One of the most striking Greece beaches is Xi Beach, on the Paliki peninsula in Kefalonia, one of the Ionian islands off the country’s west coast.

Xi Beach is most memorable for the contrast between its reddish orange sand and greyish white cliffs.  It’s a largely ‘organised’ beach, with some sections with beach bars, sun beds  and umbrellas. You may see some visitors covering themselves in clay from the bottom of the cliffs – it is believed to have curative properties, and to cleanse the skin.

Best for: Families, swimming, scenery lovers

Where To Stay – Apollonia Asteras Resort and Spa – 5-star luxury resort within a minute’s walk of Xi Beach

19. Playa Gran, Tossa de Mar, Catalunya, Spain

Tossa de Mar is one of the best places to stay on the Costa Brava, around 100 km up the coast from Barcelona. We’ve chosen Playa Gran, the main Tossa de Mar beach, because of its delightful setting beneath the fortified walls and towers of the Castle in the Vila Vella (Old Town).

The beach is around 400 metres long, and fills up quickly when the party crowd are in town during the summer months. Spring is the best time to visit when Catalonia temperatures are usually into the mid-20s Centigrade by late April. Tossa is one of the best beach holiday destinations in Spain, with plenty more beaches along the coast around the town.

Be sure not to miss Playa de Codolar, a picturesque narrow sandy cove the other side of the Castle headland.

Best for: Scenery, families, nightlife

Where To Stay – Hotel Diana – beachfront luxury, astounding views

More Europe Beach Guides

• Best Beaches in Crete
• Elafonissi beach guide
• Balos beach guide
• Falassarna beach guide
• Guide to Chania beaches
• Best beaches on the Algarve Portugal