No two ways about it, Sydney is spoiled when it comes to city beaches. The Harbour City is home to over 100 of them, but this hidden oasis is a far cry from the crowded shores of nearby Bondi. Accessible only by foot via the picturesque Coastal Walkway, the sandy beach itself is small, but the sandstone headlands and scattered boulders on both sides of the cove provide plenty of space for sunbathing. The tranquil, turquoise waters teem with marine life, making it a popular spot for snorkelers. Arrive early on a weekday morning and the place is practically yours. Paradise found.

Time almost comes to a complete stop at this picture-perfect enclave, a mere 15-minutes’ drive from Genoa’s bustling central port. But take your cues from the locals and reach this tiny old fishing village by foot. The hour-long walk along coast-hugging Via Corso makes for an idyllic stroll on a sunny day. Settle in for a long lunch of mandilli al pesto at Creuza de Mä, or grab a scoop of pistachio gelato and dip your feet in the salty sea. Spritz in hand, ensconced by pretty pastel buildings on the pebbly beach, you’d have no idea that Italy’s sixth-largest city lies just a stone’s throw away.

It’s not quite a beach, but then again, beaches are difficult to come by in the centre of a major city – Berlin being no exception. What the landlocked German capital lacks in shoreline, however, it more than makes up for in urban renewal, provocative use of public space and party vibe. Case in point: the Badeschiff – a public swimming pool fashioned from a cargo container that floats in the middle of the River Spree, designed by local artist, Susanne Lorenz. Fancy morning laps with the TV Tower looming in the distance? Or an afternoon lazing on the wooden deck? What about cocktails and a dance under the stars? Everything is possible.

Big Wave Bay sounds almost like a dreamt-up setting for a ‘60s surf movie and looks every bit the part, too: pristine sand and a rolling swell of azure water that lives up to its name give way to the upward sweep of unspoiled verdant hills. It’s one of Hong Kong’s more secluded beaches, cut off from the more commercial trappings of family-friendly Shek O beach by a country club and a couple of headlands. Surfers have flocked here for almost half a century, perhaps because it’s a part of an island that actually feels like one — a stark contrast to the hive of skyscrapers and shopping malls just 15 kilometres away.

Vancouver (yes, the same frosty Vancouver that hosted 2010’s winter Olympics) is blessed with some majestic beaches. Though divided into three distinct sections, the Spanish Banks is a single stretch of soft sand that runs along English Bay in West Point Grey, one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods. It’s best to visit in the morning or early afternoon, when the tide recedes to create a vast expanse of sand flats that invites joggers, kite-surfers, skim-boarders and ball-chasing dogs almost a kilometre further out, set against dramatic panoramas of the seemingly faraway skyline and the mighty, sometimes snowcapped mountains that rise up behind it.