To Barcelona for the weekend? Nice, but rather pre-pandemic. Post-pandemic, if we can call this moment that, the big airlines have quietly been adding international destinations to their route maps that are slaking Americans’ thirst to flash their passports anew in foreign lands. With an emphasis on places that are off the typical tourist radar, they are also making it easier to shun big city congestion and get to the good stuff, such as sandy beaches, quicker. Case in point: United’s new non-stop flight from Newark to Palma de Mallorca in Spain. 

That passengers at European airports are still experiencing colossal flight delays and cancellations — London’s Heathrow has resorted to capping the number of passengers who can depart from the airport to 100,000 daily until October 29 to cope — is another reason to dodge the larger ones for a while longer if you can. With that in mind, here are five beaches in Europe that are suitable for short getaways, with new flight options taking the sting out of the tiring transatlantic journey. 

St. Tropez/Plage de Pampelonne

Plage is French for beach and St. Tropez is French for glamor. But the best thing about the mythic town’s most iconic beach is not the celebrities who frequent it but the beauty of the spot itself. Technically speaking the three-mile long Plage de Pampelonne is in Ramatuelle, but no matter: when people speak of the 1960s heyday, Brigitte Bardot, and “that St. Tropez tan,” this is the place they mean.  

While the area in and around “San Trop‘” as the French call it has no shortage of chic beach clubs, do not come to Pampelonne expecting a seaside promenade or souvenir stands. There is mainly just the breezy beach, sand dunes, a very blue sea and — mais oui — very good chances of spotting some very wealthy European glitterati soaking up the sun. And, as I said to my editor recently but in a different context, forget Paris! There’s still time to catch a non-stop flight on Delta from Newark direct to Nice. From there, rent a car and drive 62 miles west to find your beach bliss à la française. 

Mallorca/Platja de Muro

United’s thrice-weekly flight to Palma de Mallorca, capital of the Spanish island of Mallorca, has been very popular this summer and it is no surprise why: the largest of the Balearic islands has the best variety of beaches and also the most, from secluded coves with translucent water to wide curvy expanses of fine white sand that invite comparisons to Bora Bora. Platja de Muro, facing broad Alcudia Bay on the island’s northeastern coast, falls into the latter category; the beach has different names in places but it is all part of the same 21-mile arc of prime Mediterranean seashore.

Astir Beach and Zolotas Beach (Four Seasons), Greece

Famous as the onetime sandy stomping ground of public figures like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Joan Collins, Astir Beach is the toniest sliver of sand on the Athens Riviera, south of the Greek capital. The beach is typically favored by well-heeled Athenians, Russian millionaires — though not this year — and celebrities. Separated from Astir Beach but adjacent to it is the smaller and even more exclusive Zolotas Beach, which belongs to the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens. The crowd-free setting there is distinctive for its shallow aquamarine waters and luxurious sun beds.

This summer there are numerous non-stop flights from New York’s international airports and Athens, an airport which despite its size has so far avoided the kinds of delays seen at other major European airports.

Lido di Venezia

Those who think that Venice is not a beach town are only partly correct. For the Hollywood set the famous swimming pool at the Hotel Cipriani has long functioned as the city’s unofficial beach town, but Venice is surrounded by water, after all. But the best place to soak some Adriatic sun is along the Lido di Venezia, the seven-mile long barrier island that flanks the western side of the Venetian lagoon. It is by no means the most beautiful beach in Italy, but it’s got salty sea air and plenty of atmosphere.

It is also relatively easy to access. Both United and Delta have non-stop flights from New York airports to Venice Marco Polo Airport. Delta’s flights are codeshared with ITA Airways, successor airline to the defunct Alitalia.

Algarve, Portugal

So many Californians have been moving to Portugal, despite or because of the pandemic, that the locals now want them to leave. All the more reason to make your sojourn in the Atlantic coast country brief. A long weekend is enough to get a taste of its jaunty if  earthquake-prone capital, Lisbon and then head to the Algarve, where delectable beaches like Praia da Marinha beckon. Both times this correspondent flew from New York to Lisbon he did so aboard TAP Air Portugal — the food was forgettable but the in-flight wines were as fine an introduction to the Iberian republic as any.