a stripy seaside village

Forget Disneyland – we reckon this little town in Aveiro, Portugal is the closest you can get to living in a fairytale (albeit with a slight whiff of salt water and seaweed). Sitting just south of Porto, apparently the teeny village of Costa Nova do Prado used to be home to fishermen, who painted their houses with a rainbow of stripes to make them stand out against the pale white sand. We prefer to believe that it's the prime holiday spot for Punch and Judy and their many puppet pals, where they can stick it to The Man's Hand and spend some time sunning their wooden appendages.

Either way, we know where our next beach-and-sunshine break will be. Browse through more pretty pictures over here.