Hi ruth,

welcome to fodors! you join a select few brits who have found their way here.

the place that immediately sprang to my mind was Barcelona. warm enough for your Dad, near a beach, plenty to do, sea breezes, easy transport, some pedestrianisation. ok, it's a busy city, but it ticks all the other boxes.

and very easy to get to from most airports in the UK.

Does it have to be Europe?

Thank you very much for the welcome and for your suggestion! Barcelona is definitely one for us to consider, my Mum lived there for a while so it would be nice to visit! It's good to have some reassurance it would be warm enough, too.


Unfortunately we are pretty much restricted to Europe, flights to outside generally cost too much/are hard to access.

Sounds like you would love the Bernese Oberland--Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Murren, Grindelwald, Spiez, and Thun.

Dad could sit out on the deck of one of the boats that cruise Lake Thun or Lake Brienz to get plenty of sun, air, and water.

Thin

ruth - of course we can't guarantee hot temps in Barcelona in summer, but you don't want it too hot, do you?


here's the trip advisor info about the summer climate there:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g187497-s208/Barcelona:Spain:Weather.And.When.To.Go.html

looks ideal to me!

I had the same question back in January, here's a link to my post and the replies there:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/less-hot-in-august-help-plan-trip-avoiding-stifling-heat-is-one-criteria.cfm

We decided on the Brittany region of France--which isn't one of the countries you're choosing from--but you may find the other suggestions helpful.

I would love to visit the Bernese Oberland. We were around Lake Geneva two years ago and it was incredible. Looks good!

And yes looking at the weather Barcelona does look right on the mark!

Thank you for the link to the similar question! Brittany is one to consider although we have been a few times before I'm sure it has so much more to offer.

Thank you all very much for your help, I really appreciate your suggestions, it's really useful.

re Brittany, you might like it, but whether it would be hot enough for your dad is debatable.

when we went in 2010 it was absolutely baking hot - as hot as anything I've experienced in summer in Italy, but last year it was wet and chilly, very similar to home, [Cornwall] most of the time.

if you want a higher probability of hot weather, you need to go further south.

Here are some more ideas.. Chalkidiki and the island of Thassos in Northern Greece, both have very good hotels, amazing sandy beaches and nightlife.

clausar - they will be VERY hot.

climate in Northern Greece is not very hot.
Here are the average temp. in Kassandra, Chalkidiki

Climate May/25 Jun/30 Jul/32 Aug/32 Sep/28
Average max in °C

and here is Thassos
May/21 Jun/26 Jul/28 Aug/28 sep/24

These are the average maximum temperatures of each month in Celsius, i don't find them very hot, given the fact that the weather is very dry.

yes, clausar, those are the averages.

which means that it may get a lot hotter during the day - July and August both showing 28C in Thassos, and 32C in Kassandra. Barcelona is 26C.

annhig, these are the average High temperatures....not the average temperatures....
It's not a competition between destinations, but just another suggestion of places that are warm but not hot.

If you want to avoid anywhere very hot, definitely avoid Greece in August. We have been there a few times, it's one of our favourite countries, but would never go back in August. It was stifling, night and day.

How about Nice in the south of France? Your Dad could sit on the (pebble) beach or by a pool and you could shop or wander the Old Town or do day trips. There are lots of places you can visit by bus or train - Eze, St Paul de Vence, the Rothschild mansion at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Cannes, Ventimiglia over the Italian border has a big market, etc.

We rented an apartment there but if you wanted a pool I think you'd need a hotel.

Kay

I was in Thessaloniki in July, 2007.

I can remember walking from my hotel, The Makedonia Palace, to the Starbuck's in town and I thought I was going to drop dead from sunstroke.

Thank Lanvin that the hotel had a swimming pool.

Rodos is also stinking hot in July.

Thin

A multitude of questions!

When the Spanish think of North they think of the area the English spealers know as Green Spain. That is the area between The Basque country and Galicia. The area between Barcelona and the French border is Northeast Spain.
Going back to Green Spain you can reach there by car and driving through France, catch a ferry or fly to various cities direct from the U.K.

The area is huge so pick one area, travel less and see more! All areas have a different feel and culture. The landscape can vary too.
Most of the cities and town will have pedestrian areas, although you may find more vehicles drive through them than in the U.K. as normally there are no restrictions of delivery times and flats have underground parking for the residence.
The whole Green Spain is fronted by beaches. San Sebastian is said to have the best urban beach in Europe and the Islas Cies in Galicia was once voted the best beach in the world.
Weather is always hard to predict. But in general the Spanish from southern parts escape the heat and vacation along the north coast for the cooler weather. I bet someone will point to weather history site but that will be no indication of what is going to happen.
In relative terms most of the North coast is quieter than say Barcelona although San Sebastian seems to appeal a lot to the posters on this forum. I think it is for the food and that beach.

Generalising about the weather in any particular country is foolish. Look at the live webcams on http://www.snowcam.gr/ today (May 6th) and you will still see snow on the mountains of Greece. In the hottest of countries you can find cooler weather, even during August, in the mountains.

Greece has a phenomenon, the Meltemi, which brings cooler weather to islands in the Aegean, especially the Cyclades. When the Meltemi is blowing, the islands are 10 degrees cooler than in Athens. The Meltemi is strongest in July and August.

Thank you all so much for your help! Nice in particular seems perfect, I've been researching the hill towns near by. Ventimiglia in particular sounds a wonderful day trip.

The info about Spain is also very much appreciated. It's one to consider!

Again, thank you all very much !

The Italian Riviera is a great idea. Another is the Italian Alps.

But, don't you need a car to see the Italian Alps?

Thin

For a complete change, how about southern Sweden? Ystad is a popular summer place. Or some of the islands further north around Stockholm?