My fiance and I are torn between an exotic seaside honeymoon and a whirlwind tour of a major city. We love the idea of relaxing on the beach, but since we’re city folks at heart, and we’re afraid we’ll get bored after a few days on the sand. Is there a way to experience the best of both worlds?
A:
Absolutely. Spend a few days sightseeing in a city you love, then do like the natives and skip off to a nearby resort area to unwind. Some ideas: After enjoying the famous museums and exuberant nightlife of Paris, skip off to the French Riviera for a weekend of sunning and sailing. If you love the trendy neighborhoods and restaurants in San Francisco, play in the Bay Area for a weekend before renting a convertible and driving up California’s rugged coastline. Head north to the tiny seaside town of Mendocino and stay overnight in a New England-style B&B, and then make your way back through Napa Valley, where you can sample the local wines and soak in a mud bath for two in pretty Calistoga. If touring castles and cathedrals is your thing, spend a weekend in refined Lisbon, where you can soak up the medieval sites and sample Portugal’s heart-wrenching Fado music before getting some R&R in the hilly resort towns Sintra, Cascais, and Estoril.
