Everything you would expect, plus a whole lot more for a whole lot less: Ondine Cohane finds four rising destinations that rival the qualities of the familiar classics without either the crowds or the cost. How does $2,500 a week sound, including the flight across the pond? The quest begins with a Mediterranean port, then on to a Spanish cultural powerhouse, an English water-sports mecca, and a gem of a Portuguese city. Plus—the art of tracking the best deals for flights to get you there

CASSIS

The Côte d'Azur without the attitude—or the price tag
Near Marseille, Provence's underrated rough-diamond metropolis

Here was a good place to test the thesis of unsuspected values: that right next to one of Europe's most legendary playgrounds, the French Riviera, you can find a jewel of a seaside hideaway which, in turn, leads to a dreamy corner of Provence and a gutsy port city—all at a cost that's as soothing as the experience, with authentic B&Bs for under $200 a night and stellar restaurants with prices that won't induce heartburn. So it is that at one o'clock on a warm day in early October, I'm walking through the port of Cassis, searching for a fishing boat to take me on a tour of Les Calanques, a distinctive series of fjords indenting high, pine-covered cliffs from here to Marseille. But this being the Mediterranean, every kind of business is closed for lunch. Everything, that is, except the harborside restaurants with their sprinkling of late-season tourists. So I happily order a heap of moules marinières and a glass of local Bandol white wine and wait for the sailors to return from their siesta. It's only a short motorboat ride from here to Les Calanques, but the fjords feel more Southeast Asian than French. Translucent emerald and turquoise water that's choppy on the open sea suddenly calms into swimming pool conditions within the natural harbors. Jacques Cousteau types dive in the caves below. Small sailboats sit offshore, while sunbathers who find their way here by foot, kayak, or boat lie along the worn rocks and tiny beaches, reading, picnicking, and diving from the cliffs. Unlike the magnets of the Côte d'Azur—St-Tropez, Cannes, and Nice—Cassis, a former fishing village, remains a low-key, glitz-free Provençal getaway that's a favorite of French insiders. In fact, the very absence of celebs is a matter of civic pride. And Cassis's position, tucked under the spectacular red rocks of Cap Canaille, means that development is relatively limited, with the main action centered along the waterfront. Getting there from neighboring La Ciotat reinforces the sense of isolation: The Route des Crêtes is a dizzying mountain pass with the sea on one side and white sculpturelike rocks that look plucked out of the American West on the other. When you do break away, it's less than an hour's drive to cultural centers such as Aix-en-Provence and Marseille and to the excellent vineyards surrounding Bandol. The perfect itinerary combines the beach, the countryside, and Marseille, a port town that's quickly becoming a gastronomic center and is one of the most culturally diverse cities in southern France. The traffic gets snarled in summer, but the roads are easy to navigate outside the peak months. And if you avoid high season, hotel room rates are a fraction of their usual cost, especially if you book into the family-owned (and often charmingly eccentric) chambres d'hôtes that lie among the olive trees.