The whole area is having a regeneration, from new cycle paths such as the Exe Trail and Drake's Way to Torquay's shiny new seafront redevelopment and Exeter and Plymouth's cosmopolitan updates. For those who prefer the thrill of the great outdoors, Dartmoor is great for hiking, the north coast is the spot for surfing and along the south coast, sailing. The county has acres of sandy beaches, characterful fishing villages, rugged moors and coastal paths. If sunshine in the UK were guaranteed, no one would ever need look further than Devon for a classic beach holiday (except perhaps Cornwall). Temperature: 19☌ high 10☌ low Season: summer Travel time from London: 1 hour 10 minutes Time difference: GMT +0 The impressive belle-époque building is filled with marble and chandeliers and there's a spa. Where to stay: Hotel Maria Cristina, the official hotel of the Film Festival and a local landmark. The beginning of peak season has enough buzz to make this well-fed party town charming, without too much of the overcrowding that clogs things later in the summer – plus June has the smallest average rainfall after July. Pintxo-bar-hopping, in fact, is the thing to do you might try sea urchin roe on toast in one spot, the ear of Iberian pig in a wild mushroom emulsion the next. Bars spill out into cobbled streets, where residents and visitors clink glasses of txakoli, the local sparkling wine, which just so happens to pair perfectly with pintxos – the region’s artistic, avant-garde tapas. Summer in San Sebastian: is there anything more alluring? One of Europe’s greatest city beaches, Playa de la Concha, is awash with salty-haired surfers and tanned sunbathers. Temperature: 21☌ high 15☌ low Season: summer Travel time from UK: from 4 hours 30 minutes Time difference: GMT +1 Check our edit of the best hotels in Mykonos for more options. For large groups, takeover Villa Fleur – a beautifully designed, light space sleeping 12. Where to stay: Bohème, where guests laze around the kidney-shaped pool on grand super-loungers and bean bags at night, bearded bartenders turn out flawless Negronis at the chic Bilo Bar, all just a two-minute walk from Mykonos Town. If you need a culture fix, take the ferry to Delos, one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. Forget ouzo: magnums of Champagne are more de rigueur in Mykonos as you spend the night dancing to international DJs at Cavo Paradiso, and the days recovering by the bluer-than-blue Aegean sea at one of the hot new beach clubs. Those in the know flock to good-time Mykonos in June, when the nights seem to stretch into infinity and the sunshine bounces off the little white stone houses – and before the chaos of July and August. Temperature: 27☌ high 21☌ low Season: summer Travel time from UK: 3 hours 50 minutes Time difference: GMT +2 For more, see our pick of the best hotels on the Amalfi Coast. It has knockout terraced grounds and a swimming pool that seems to hover between sea and sky. Where to stay: Monastero Santa Rosa, a 17th-century former monastery dominates the shoreline about a kilometre from Amalfi. Follow up the Eurostar from London to Paris (two hours, 15 minutes) with the high-speed TGV to Milan (seven hours) or Turin (five hours), before venturing on to Salerno on a high-speed Frecciarossa (six hours from Milan, seven from Turin). Sustainable travel tip: You can get all the way to Salerno by train, and from here take a ferry to Amalfi (40 minutes) or Positano (35 minutes). Ravello, on top of the cliffs, has unquestionably the best views while Cetara – our little secret – is quaintly cute with a pebble beach to bronze on. Positano and Amalfi are the most famous villages, and although terribly touristy, they are also absolutely beautiful. And the light! June is busy, of course, but just ahead of the tour groups that clog the perilously winding road in their droves come July and August. Confetti-coloured houses and ornate domes and spires jostle for space on sheer cliffs, looking out over the azure Mediterranean sea. Temperature: 27☌ high 22☌ low Season: summer Travel time from UK: 2 hours 35 minutes Time difference: GMT +1Ī single visit to the Amalfi Coast is all it takes to understand the legions of love letters, poems and literature Italy has inspired.
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