Atlantic Coast Escapes Few Travelers Consider
Wide, wild beaches without the Med crowds
Portugal's western coast
The Portuguese coast is one of the great underrated road trips in Europe. Ericeira, an hour from Lisbon, is a World Surfing Reserve. Peniche has the Berlengas islands as a day trip. Further south, the Alentejo coast is empty, and the south-western Algarve around Sagres still has the wild edge.
Drive yourself. Stop at every miradouro. Eat percebes (gooseneck barnacles) at least once.
Brittany
Brittany is the underrated corner of France. The Pink Granite Coast at Ploumanac'h, the Crozon peninsula, the walled town of Saint-Malo, the megalithic alignments at Carnac, and the medieval Quimper old town. The food culture is its own thing: crêpes, kouign-amann, cider, oysters from Cancale.
Asturias and Cantabria
Spain's green north is the antidote to anything you imagined about the Costa del Sol. Cliffs, deep coves, surfable beaches, and the Picos de Europa mountains 30 minutes inland. Llanes and Ribadesella are the prettiest coastal bases. The food is cider, fabada, and very fresh seafood.
Galicia's Costa da Morte
The Coast of Death gets its name from shipwrecks. Today it's a string of small fishing villages, dramatic lighthouses, and empty beaches at the western edge of mainland Europe. Finisterre, the so-called end of the earth, is the symbolic conclusion of the Camino de Santiago, and a sunset there earns the trip.
Suggested itinerary
- Portugal road trip: Lisbon to Lagos via Ericeira, Peniche, and Vila Nova de Milfontes. Ten days.
- Brittany loop: Rennes to Saint-Malo to Crozon peninsula to Quimper. Eight days.
Local highlights
- Ericeira's surf reefs
- Pointe du Raz in Brittany
- Playa de Torimbia in Asturias
- The Costa da Morte's lighthouses in Galicia
- Lagos to Sagres on Portugal's southwestern Algarve
Nearby destinations
Other places worth combining with this trip: Nazaré, Belle-Île-en-Mer, Llanes, Finisterre.
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