THE BEST BEACHES IN SPAIN

Spain does not have a beach season. It has a beach civilisation. From the Balearic coves where yachts anchor stern to stern, to the Atlantic sweep of the north where the summer is greener and the water braver, every stretch of sand has its own audience, its own rituals and its own dress code. Some countries measure summer in temperatures; Spain measures it in mornings that begin with an espresso at the chiringuito and end, twelve hours later, barefoot at dinner. We have spent years watching how each of these beaches dresses, and this is our edit: eight places where the Spanish summer truly happens, and what we would wear on each one.

Ses Illetes, Formentera

The Mediterranean at its most persuasive. A tongue of white sand between two seas of improbable turquoise, where the yachts of half of Europe drop anchor and lunch stretches until the ferries leave. The dress code is barefoot luxury: nothing that shouts, everything that lasts. We would wear the sculpted simplicity of the Cruise Swimsuit with the The Rope Waterproof Necklace, a golden piece that goes into the sea with you and comes out ready for the beach restaurant.

Ses Illetes, Formentera. Photo: acediscovery, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cala Comte, Ibiza

Ibiza has louder addresses, but none with this light. Cala Comte faces west across a scatter of islets, which makes it the island's great sunset theatre; by seven in the evening the rocks are a front row. It asks for colour and ease, a bikini that moves from swim to sundowner without ceremony. Ours is the Holi Bikini, worn with the Seastar Necklace, because the sea deserves to be quoted, not just visited.

Cala Macarella, Menorca

The postcard that made Menorca famous: a horseshoe of pines, cliffs and water so clear the boats seem to levitate. Macarella rewards those who arrive early and stay late. We will not pretend to be neutral here. One of our favourite pieces carries this beach in its name, the Macarella Army Bikini, designed for exactly this kind of day: a swim, a walk to Macarelleta next door, and hours of doing beautifully little.

Cala Macarella, Menorca. Photo: Paul Stephenson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Es Trenc, Mallorca

Mallorca's wild card. No promenade, no hotels, just kilometres of pale sand and shallow water that photographs like the Caribbean and feels defiantly Balearic. It is a beach for purists, and for swimwear that works as hard as the sun. The Paraty Bikini belongs here, with nothing else except salt, a straw bag and a long afternoon.

The Golden Mile, Marbella

Marbella is the opposite proposal: the beach as social calendar. Between the beach clubs of the Golden Mile, lunch is a production, and the walk from the sunbed to the table is a runway of its own. This is the moment for the Riviera Jumpsuit over the swimsuit and the Cannes Glossy Earrings catching the light. In Marbella, golden is not an accent. It is a language.

Playa de Bolonia, Tarifa

At the southern tip of Andalusia, Bolonia is where Spain goes boho: a giant dune, the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia behind the sand, wind that styles everyone's hair better than any salon. Layers are survival here. The Melides Kaftan over the Melides Bikini is our formula, light enough for the wind, elegant enough for the sunset at the beach bar.

Bolonia at dusk, Tarifa. Photo: El Pantera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

La Concha, San Sebastián

The most elegant urban beach in Europe, and we will not be taking questions. The white railing, the belle époque bay, the swimmers doing their morning lengths with the discipline of a city that takes pleasure seriously. La Concha calls for the retro monochrome elegance we wrote about in The Perfect One-Piece, finished with the Twilight Pearls Choker, because pearls and the Cantabrian were always meant to meet.

La Concha, San Sebastián. Photo: Ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Playa de Silgar, Sanxenxo

The Galician summer capital, where a good part of Madrid decamps in August, sailboats fill the marina and the evening paseo is an institution. The north wears its glamour quietly. It is no coincidence that one of our pieces carries this town's name: the Sanxenxo Choker, worn here with the Beach Pearls Necklace layered over a simple black swimsuit, is our tribute to the Atlantic side of the Spanish summer.

The 48-Hour Suitcase

A practical note, because summer rarely waits. Whether your holidays have not started yet, or you are already on one of these beaches and discovering that the suitcase is missing exactly one piece, our express service delivers anywhere in Spain in 24 to 48 hours. The bikini arrives before the tan does, in time for the holidays that are only beginning. Browse the swimwear collection and the bikini edit, and let the missing piece meet you at the beach.

What to Wear on a Spanish Beach

If we had to pack one formula for all eight: a sculpted swimsuit or a bikini with real construction, a kaftan that forgives wind and long lunches, flat leather sandals, and golden jewellery that does not fear the sea. Spain dresses up for the beach in a way few countries do, and the fastest way to look local is to treat the walk to the water as part of the look. There is also a quiet reason our pieces feel at home on these shores: everything we make is crafted between Portugal and Spain, from materials sourced where Europe does them best, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and German. A European summer, made in Europe. For the evening, the rules we wrote in From Beach to Dinner apply from Formentera to Sanxenxo.