Kalkan, Turkey
A Kalkan sundown is at all times a wonderful factor – the horseshoe-shaped bay deepening to azure blue towards an apricot-rose sky – however, in October, when the sunshine is low and the solar drops early, it’s nearly transcendentally pretty. In some Turkish resorts, you’d be sitting watching it surrounded by quiet streets, half-empty bars and that melancholic sense that one other season is over. In Kalkan, it nonetheless looks like summer time; the harbourfront eating places throng with guests, the day gulets (wood boats) nonetheless putter out and in of the bay and also you don’t have to attend an hour to get a taxi again to your villa.
For me, the very best factor about an autumn break – moreover the sunsets – is that I can go to a few of my favorite locations that simply get overrun in summer time. The glittering seaside at Kaputas, sandwiched right into a triangular hole on the mountainous Kalkan-Kas street, has grow to be a sufferer of Instagram; from Could to September, it’s unattainable to get close to. In October, the waters are nonetheless heat and the seaside – though nonetheless busy – has loads of area for a dip and a laze.
About 20 minutes’ drive inland, the mountain village of Bezirgan, which used to function a summer time retreat for wealthier Kalkan residents, settles again into full peace in autumn, save for the woodpeckers battering away on the bark of the almond bushes and the squirrels skittering by the leaves. The Lycian Approach weaves by the village, previous Ottoman-era grain shops, with the plush gardens of the Pirha Köy Sofrası restaurant an amazing guess for a plate of conventional manti (dumplings in yoghurt) or kofte (meatballs), earlier than setting off for a hike (they do implausible breakfasts too).
Again in Kalkan, it’s at all times cocktail hour someplace; typically on a roof terrace, with a jazz soundtrack floating out above the streets of the Outdated City. This yr, the Fountain Terrace Cocktail Bar has been in style, however I nonetheless love sitting within the Merkez Cafe, a Kalkan establishment for the reason that early Nineteen Nineties, smack-bang within the coronary heart of the village and a major spot for people-watching when the night begins.
And since the season’s finish is in sight, all of the restaurant house owners and waiters are cheerfully giddy, and the entire place swings with an end-of-term vibe. Sitting on the Blue Marlin (tucked away beneath the Pirat lodge) with a chilly Efes beer and a number of the city’s greatest meze, the one factor that makes me rueful is that will probably be a number of months earlier than I’ll be again right here once more.
White Home has doubles from £120 B&B
Annabelle Thorpe
Agua Amarga, Spain
Alongside Spain’s wild Costa de Almería are a handful of beautiful little cities and villages. San José might be the very best identified, placed on the map by its most well-known inhabitant, the late Joe Strummer, however 25 miles east is the actual jewel of the Almería coast. Agua Amarga is a typical Andalucían fishing village moonlighting as a classy low-key vacation vacation spot, good for late-season sun-seekers.
Its location, on a crescent bay, makes for spectacular sunrises and sunsets over the arid headlands that bookend the 500-metre-long seaside. Within the slender, whitewashed streets, a lush palm grove and splashes of pink bougainvillaea remind you that north Africa is only a brief hop throughout the Mediterranean. In the summertime, Agua Amarga’s unspoilt sands and turquoise waters entice loads of guests, however the vibe stays relaxed. There are a handful of eating places and bars round the primary plaza, and some eateries on the seaside, together with Los Tarahis, a conventional chiringuito (seaside bar) the place you’ll be able to take pleasure in dishes akin to arroz negro con bogavante (black rice with lobster) together with your toes within the sand. In winter, the city goes into hibernation, however in autumn the solar and sea are nonetheless heat and the bars and eating places are nonetheless open for enterprise.
Agua Amarga is just not the place to go to occasion. It’s a world away from the overdeveloped costas to the west and north, however it’s the good base to immerse your self in nature. Mountain climbing trails lead from the village over the cliffs to a string of remoted coves and the ruins of 18th-century forts dotted alongside the headlands. And for those who tire of following the shimmering sea, you’ll be able to strike out inland to discover the Cabo de Gata nature reserve, with its winding ramblas (dry riverbeds), prickly pears and eerie deserted goldmines.
This nook of Spain is known for its film areas, notably Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns and Hollywood blockbusters together with Lawrence of Arabia and Conan the Barbarian. For UK cinephiles, British gangster traditional Attractive Beast was filmed in Agua Amarga, and Ray Winstone’s swanky villa is out there as a vacation rental (minus the boulder within the swimming pool).
The identify Agua Amarga interprets as “bitter water”, courting again to the nineteenth century and the contamination attributable to mining iron ore. These days are gone, and now Agua Amarga couldn’t be sweeter.
Resort Las Calas has doubles from £80
Lois Pryce
Cascais, Portugal
As lots of Portugal’s southern resorts put together to hibernate for winter, Cascais’s green-fingered municipal employees set to work in town’s well-manicured flower beds, guaranteeing a seamless seasonal rotation. Violas, primroses and cyclamen furnish pops of purple, magenta and orange beneath tall palms lining a promenade punctuated with palatial houses and pockets of golden sand. Even in late autumn, the semi-tropical scene banishes the blues.
My glad place when the low season rolls round, Cascais has sufficient power and ambiance to entertain, and is arguably at its best after summer time’s seaside throngs and Lisbon day trippers (Cascais lies 20 miles west of town, a 30- to 40-minute practice experience from Cais do Sodré station) have receded.
As soon as the summer time retreat of Europe’s the Aristocracy, Cascais is now Portugal’s year-round crowd-pleaser – and are available autumn, lodging costs are far much less aristocratic. There are stately manors and spa inns aplenty, however my decide is Casa Vela, a surprisingly spacious sidestreet bolthole. Its sauna, shrouded in tropical gardens imported by the proprietor and his grandfather, brings pleasure even on the chilliest days. And if rains do come, there are a clutch of cultural sights within the city, together with the pyramid-shaped, terracotta-hued Casa das Histórias Paula Rego, that includes works by the acclaimed Portuguese-British artist.
Nonetheless, with about 300 sunny days a yr, Cascais’s fundamental low season pull is for many who wish to be energetic open air. Blue-sky mornings see waterfront joggers move fairly squares carpeted in black-and-white calçada portuguesa (the distinctive patterned pavement mosaics), the hulking Fifteenth-century citadel, and a mustard-hued palace overlooking a cove. Swimming is bracing, however kayaking on the calmer waters the place the Tagus River meets the Atlantic greater than compensates.
Higher nonetheless, rent a bicycle and hint the craggy shoreline, which grows wilder because it arches north-west, with sheer cliffs showing within the distant haze. Praia do Guincho is the star, an excellent dune-backed seaside battered by winds that maintain surfers of all stripes properly sated.
A half-hour bus experience from Cascais, Sintra’s iconic palaces and quintas unfurl throughout the forest-clad mountains. Summer time within the city will check your persistence. However with fewer crowds within the low season, the essence of this former elite enclave and trove of European Romantic structure returns. Mountain climbing the hewn stairs to the Moorish Fort in thick fog is magical, whereas the colourful burgundy-and-yellow facade of the fairytale Nationwide Palace of Pena brightens the greyest of days.
Because the nights begin to attract in, you’ll be able to chase the dwindling daylight by heading to windswept Cabo da Roca at Portugal’s far western tip. Not solely are the sunsets right here spectacular, for a lot of autumn and winter they’re the newest in mainland Europe – a sweetener for the shorter days.
Casa Vela has doubles from €79 room-only
Daniel James Clarke
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Senigallia, Italy
Velvet Seaside (Spiaggia di Velluto) is the alluring identify for the miles of high-quality sand that fringe the city of Senigallia, in Italy’s Marche area. However from Could to September, that golden loveliness all however disappears below the umbrellas and sunbeds of seaside golf equipment.
Italians love the place, some returning each summer time for many years, however in excessive season it’s in all probability greatest left to them. Nevertheless, Senigallia has an attract past the seaside that may be loved year-round – and autumn is especially rewarding.
It’s identified in Italy because the “five-star city” for the variety of Michelin stars its prime two eating places maintain between them. At Uliassi (three stars) and Madonnina del Pescatore (two), bold domestically born cooks have stored each other on their toes for many years, and their fame has inspired different restaurateurs to up their sport.
If Uliassi’s well-known €280 tasting menu is past your finances, Senigallia has loads of progressive, high quality locations which are extra inexpensive. It’s laborious to eat badly right here, however fish followers will relish the exquisitely ready uncooked stuff at Cuoco di Bordo (two programs from €34) on the seafront. The extra rustic Rimante (two programs from €27), within the cobbled centre, affords super-friendly service, nice pasta and a roast goose speciality. For pizza nights, close by O’sarracin has superlative margheritas (€8.50) and engaging ragù-filled arancini to start out.
Pizza al formaggio, in contrast, isn’t pizza in any respect, however a form of savoury panettone, flavoured with parmesan and pecorino cheese, possibly with chunks oozing out of a heat slice. It’s often an Easter deal with, however bakery Pandefrà makes it from October till Could. Autumn in Senigallia additionally brings wonderful recent produce (chestnuts, persimmons, grapes and pomegranates; pumpkins, greens and radicchio) to cooks and market stalls.
And, in fact, it brings the olive harvest, with new oil to style in native delis and on the Festa dell’Olio Nuovo (6-10 November) in Scapezzano, three miles inland, reached by a nice hour’s stroll up the quiet Strada di Fontenuovo (there’s a bus again).
With a lot consuming, you do must work up an urge for food. Mountain climbing the Heron Path alongside the Misa River will assist, and affords downy oaks of their autumn finery, however the very best stroll for me begins on the splendid Rotonda a Mare gallery on its Nineteen Thirties pier, heads inland on quiet lanes to Gabriella and Montignano villages, then descends to the coast for a sundown stroll again alongside that – now peaceable – Velvet Seaside.
Al Foro Annonario has doubles from €80 B&B
Liz Boulter
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France
Tucked away within the nook of France simply earlier than the Basque coast runs into Spain, Saint-Jean-de-Luz hangs on to the heat of summer time slightly longer than the remainder of the west coast. Its attractive crescent seaside is sheltered by two headlands and so, because the Atlantic crashes towards the remainder of the coast, you’ll be able to dig your toes into the golden sand as the ocean gently laps the shore and actually really feel as for those who’ve escaped the world.
The city makes for an amazing introduction to the French Basque Nation, with its conventional crimson or inexperienced timber-framed structure, adorned in lots of instances with strings of the native espelette chilli pepper – its light warmth infuses lots of the native dishes. Decide up a pot on the native market corridor, which is an effective place to search out different hero merchandise of the native delicacies, akin to Ossau-Iraty cheese and black cherry jam.
Elsewhere, the patisserie Maison Adam is the place to search out the native almond macaron known as the pare gabea (it means incomparable in Basque), which was first made in 1660 to have a good time the wedding of King Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse of Spain. Their nuptials came about simply not far away on the Saint-Jean-de-Baptiste church – half-built on the time – which has a very detailed gilt altarpiece that was put in in 1669, in addition to a three-tiered gallery for the congregation. In the meantime, a votive ship hanging from the ceiling is a nod to the city’s shut relationship to the ocean, with small fishing boats departing the neat harbour to fish for hake, an area speciality.
You may enterprise out on to the seas too, with a ship journey on the small cruiser Nivelle V (€20), which fits alongside the coast in the direction of Spain, first passing the Seventeenth-century cylindrical fort at Socoa and its sea wall that juts throughout the bay. As you cruise previous the Flysch cliffs, which appear to be layers of diagonally stacked cardboard, you would possibly spot just a few silver flying fish leaping out of the steely blue Atlantic.
On arrival again at port, take the brief stroll throughout the bridge that spans the River Nivelle to the neighbouring village of Ciboure. It’s a warren of crimson and inexperienced Basque townhouses that overlook slender streets winding up the hill. Between them sits the restaurant Chez Mattin (mains from €28), an area establishment, the place chef Michel Niquet serves his signature dish, ttorro, a fish stew that was invented by his grandfather.
The Madison has doubles from €125. For extra info, see saint-jean-de-luz.com
Carolyn Boyd
All lodging costs are for October/November and have been right on the time of publication