Originally Posted by
seafeather
Three healthy women, about 70 years old, want to visit some islands after a trip to Paris in June. . . are Greek islands too hot and crowded? how about Majorca in June. . . . we are thinking of renting an inexpensive house somewhere and exploring . . . .we need beaches for swimming, good food, cute shops, things to do .. . . .any suggestions?
I'd say stay in Italy. Lots of coastline, plenty of shopping, great food, lots of things to do (antiquities, Renaissance, Hot Springs, eco-tourism, etc) great rental rates for homes or villas, and easy to get to from Paris. I don't know where the swim beaches are, you'll have to find that out.
Greek Islands vary with the season and the island. Most of them are packed and expensive in tourist season/June. The food is great and the beaches are world renown. Shopping is plentiful. I heard that 1/3 of the GDP of Greece is tourism related. There's not that much to do on some of the islands, because (unless you're on Crete), they're pretty small. It's easy to take the ferries from one to the other, though.