Flying from Aberdeen in September

A palm-lined seafront under the hilltop Santa Bárbara castle, with long city beaches and an old quarter of narrow streets.

• Beach
• Old town
• Mild winters

Picasso's home town: a Moorish fortress above the port, tapas bars below, and a city beach a short walk from the centre.

• City break
• Tapas
• Museums
• Mild winters

The largest Balearic island: Palma's Gothic cathedral, the Serra de Tramuntana mountains and hundreds of coves.

• Beaches
• Mountains
• Palma city break

A walled old town beside the Ria Formosa lagoon, and the gateway to the Algarve's cliffs and coves.

• Algarve coast
• Old town
• Golf

Gaudí's Sagrada Família and Park Güell, the Gothic Quarter's lanes and a city beach at Barceloneta.

• City break
• Architecture
• Beach

The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre, with cafés on every corner and Disneyland Paris east of the city.

• City break
• Museums
• Food

Museums that are free to enter, West End theatre and the Thames bridges, a short flight from the regions.

• City break
• Museums
• Theatre

Wawel Castle above the Vistula, one of Europe's largest medieval market squares, and the Wieliczka salt mine nearby.

• Old town
• History
• Salt mine