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It is the sunshine enclave that has long lured British holidaymakers to its beaches – and its popularity shows no sign of waning, according to a new survey.

What's more, this much-visited place in the sun is not Spain, but its neighbour Portugal.

Research by a holiday insurance firm into what – in the eyes of British travellers – makes for a great holiday destination, has placed Europe's most south-westerly country in the top spot.

A place in the sun: With pretty towns such as Lagos, Portugal's Algarve region is big with Britons

Schofields questioned 2,614 British holidaymakers who have enjoyed a beach break in the past 12 months, and stayed in a holiday home.

The study asked them to rate five European holiday enclaves on the basis of accommodation, food, entertainment, local welcome, and overall enjoyment factor.

Portugal achieved an impressive total of 41 out of a possible 50, and scored highly (out of 10) on accommodation (nine), food (eight), entertainment (seven), local welcome (eight) and overall enjoyment (nine).

This meant that it eclipsed Greece (38 out of 50), the UK (35) and Italy (32).

France, perhaps surprisingly, finished bottom of the poll with a total score of 30, and low ratings of just five for local welcome and six for overall enjoyment.

It might be suggested that the absence from the survey of Spain – a country that has almost become a second home for Britons – rather detracts from the results.

Grab your bucket, bring a spade: The beaches along the south coast of the Algarve are a haven for sun-seekers

But equally, Portugal offers plenty of attractions to please sun-worshippers seeking a week on a lounger – not least its southern Algarve region, where the likes of Faro, Albufeira and Carvoeiro are festooned with hotels in sight of the seafront.

'Portugal seems to be the destination of choice at the moment for British holidaymakers,' says Phil Schofield of Schofields Holiday Home Insurance.

'What we found interesting is that the high point of almost every holiday is the accommodation, which scores highest or joint highest out of the categories for all countries except Italy.'

While the UK only finished third in the table, it did top a sub-category.

According to the survey, holidaymakers who had stayed in the UK were twice as likely to return to the same place compared to those who had holidayed anywhere else in Europe.