Forget the obvious and overcrowded stretches of urban sand and get yourself on to these seaside havens .

To drop and flop on a beach or to pad around a city, flitting between small plates and large glasses? The two need not be mutually exclusive on your next European holiday. The continent plays host to some of the world’s best beach cities, where culture, good weather and great food combine to create epicentres that give you the best of everything. We’ve selected five underrated beach cities to provide some inspiration when planning your next holiday.

Where to stay: Hotel Splendid

Best beach: Pizana, 1.1km from city centre

Montenegro is home to one of Europe’s last unspoiled coastlines – think Croatia a decade ago, before the hordes of party people and yachtsmen moved in. Although diminutive, Budva more than holds its own among the world’s better-known beach cities. The city walls ringfence a cavalcade of beautiful open-air piazzas, great-value restaurants and authentic Balkan history. Pizana is its number one beach, with over a dozen secluded coves if you’re looking for a bit of privacy. Gaze out onto the island of Sveti Nikola, just under a kilometre away. It used to be connected to Budva by a long sandbar, but today you can charter a boat for around €10 and nip across for a day of unabated isolation. Hang around for the extraordinary sunsets before heading back to the mainland for octopus ragu and a glass of icy Adriatic white at Konoba Stari Grad.

Where to stay: Barracart Apartments Best beach: La Malvarrosa, 5km from city centre

Spain’s third city doesn’t get the same attention as Barcelona and Madrid, but that’s just fine: it’s only too happy to go under the mass tourist radar and go about its business as a thriving cultural and coastline hub with more than 300 days’ sunshine a year. It’s a city of polar opposites. On one hand, you have the historic old town with centuries-old tapas bars and monuments. On the other, you have Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (the City of Arts and Sciences), which houses some superbly futuristic buildings designed by local architect Santiago Calatrava. La Malvarrosa is the pick of the playas, with fine white sand stretching 135m into the water. If you’re there around lunch, make time for the paella at La Pepica. King Juan Carlos and Mr Ernest Hemingway were united in eulogy for its arroz marinera.

Where to stay: Hotel 71 Nyhavn

Best beach: Amager Beach Park, 5km from city centre

You know Copenhagen for its inimitable sense of style. You might even be familiar with its world-leading restaurant scene, but we’ll wager you won’t know it for its beaches. More than 15 dot the coastline and a summer highlight for locals is the Hundested Sand Sculpture Festival, where international sand sculptors convene to create out-of-this-world tableaus. The north section of Amager Strand (conveniently with its own Metro stop) is a 2km beach of pure beauty. Gentle sand dunes and seagrass combine for bucolic effect, and a promenade houses a string of excellent coffee shops. Shoot into town in less than 10 minutes to visit Tivoli Gardens and Strøget, where locals shop for day-to-day essentials.

Where to stay: Tuvana Hotel

**Best beach: Konyaalti, 10km from city centre **

Summer brings highs of 33ºC, 14 hours of sunshine and zero rain to the largest city on the Turkish Mediterranean. It is home to some superb beaches, but the best is Konyaalti, with the azure seas and champagne sand that epitomise the Turquoise Coast. Konyaalti nestles between Antalya’s stark cliffs and the Beydağlari mountains that make a superb backdrop to a day’s lounging. But make sure you leave the sunbed for an afternoon to check out the city’s markets. The fabrics, rugs and tapestries you’ll find here are produced by skilled craftsmen and are available at a fraction of the price you’d pay in Western Europe. Stop into Seraser for a raki-spiked cocktail to watch the sun go down.

Where to stay: Scandic Grand Marina

Best beach: Pihlajasaari, 4km from city centre

Finland might not be the first place that springs to mind when it comes to a beach break, but when summer rolls round, there are few better places in the world. In 2011, Monocle ranked Helsinki number one in its World’s Most Liveable Cities index, which aggregates quality of life by looking at a city’s culture, environment, health and infrastructure. That’s saying quite a lot when you consider that for eight months of the year the city is shrouded in 16 hours of darkness. Winters are dark and cold, while summer brings warm temperatures, complete sunlight and surreal white nights that see locals sipping lakka, a punchy, amber-coloured cloudberry spirit, until the early hours. Hietaniemi Beach is the popular choice as it’s so close to the city centre, although there are a further 30 public beaches along the coast and the banks of the Vantaa river, which never seem crowded. Check out Aurinkolahti for a quick swim or get the 15-minute ferry to Pihlajasaari. The island couldn’t be more Scandi if it tried, with self-serviced saunas, icy plunge pools and a restaurant with its own salmon smokery.