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Visit Corsica, France's Isle of Beauty

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Corsica Food and Wine Cultural Heritage Nature and Outdoor Activities Cities Coastal

Reading time: 0 min Published on 4 January 2023, updated on 16 April 2024

A miniature continent

Lying 200 kilometres from the French Riviera, France travel tourism destination Corsica is almost in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

Its landscapes, monuments, beautiful beaches and inviting Corsica resorts, make this heritage France vacation island an ideal destination for walking on the GR20, relaxing, and discovering the age-old heritage and traditions associated with the Corsican way of life.

The coastlines of the France tourism travel destination of Corsica, at a total length of over 1,000km dotted with quaint Corsica vacation resorts, are the most varied of French coastlines.

The Corsica vacation Natural Regional Park covers two thirds of the surface of this beautifully preserved heritage France travel region, which also boasts 5 nature reserves, marine parks and exquisite Corsica resorts.

"A Mountain in the Mediterranean"

The France tourism travel region of Corsica is a mountainous island, full of Dante-esque rock formations, cliffs, and lakes alternating with vast, rolling plateaus.

In the heart of Corsica, mountains are the gardian of regional traditions and identities, the nature-filled setting of villages with robust stone houses. Numerous walking paths can be found, like the GR20, which will take you through the center of an authentic and generous Corsica.

Some of these natural wonders can be found in the Gorges de la Restonica, the Monte Stello, and the cliffs of Bonifacio.

The Bonifacio Marina also invites you to relax along the Mediterranean cast.

A Land of Culture

Under Genovese rule before this France vacation destination became part of France, Corsica is proud of its vibrant traditions, its secular customs which are embodied by singing, music, craftsmanship and heritage France vacation Corsica resorts.

The Bonaparte House National Museum and the Museu di a Corsica retrace the history of Corsica.

If, in Bastia, you are impressed by the largest church, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in Corsica, the Romanesque charm of the Church of Murato will surprise you with its originality.

As for the Greek Church of Cargèse, this is a building which is at the heart of Corsican traditions. And the exceptional beauty of the Corsica tourism vacation Villages of Sant'Antonino and Piana, or the Lavezzi islands, will take your breath away.

Corsican Cuisine: a Cuisine Full of Character

The Corsica resorts vacation region has its own, very individual, cuisine. The various cold meats (coppa, lonzu, prisuttu, figatellu) can be accompanied by polenta made from chestnut flour or garnished soups.

Fish and seafood are accented with local herbs, including origano, marjoram and mint.

Brocciu, made with the whey of goat or sheep’s cheese, venachese, orezzincu and calenzana are some of the typical cheeses which hail from this land of shepherds. Honey is another important product in Corsica.

As for the artisanal French wines in this France travel region of Corsica, you will appreciate the quality of the AOC domains, such as Nielluccio, Vermentino, and Sciaccarello.

Corsica, a vacation resorts destination, offers some refreshing drinks, try Orezza, Zilia or Saint-George, or choose between a Pastis or a Cap Corse, diluted as an aperitif.

Explore Corsica in an Original and Fun Way

Hop on board the U Trinichellu/the Corsican train which links Ajaccio with Calvi, via Bastia.

It will take you as far as the citadel in Calvi, which really comes alive during the popular Calvi Jazz Festival and the Festival of Polyphonic Singing.

In autumn, the Festival of the Wind blows a breath of fresh air through the town. Catch some spectacular yacht races across the Mediterranean during the Imperial Regattas.

In Ajaccio and Sartène, the Carnival of Corsica ensures a festive and friendly atmosphere.

An island of pretty Corsica resorts, mountains and marvels, this France travel tourism destination is an enchanting place, whatever the season.

Have a fun-filled Corsica vacation!

By France.fr

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Corsica is the ultimate destination for lovers of the outdoors © Gary Yeowell / Getty Images

Close your right fist, with your thumb over your fingers. Now point your index finger and you have an almost perfect representation of the island of Corsica – essentially a mountain range jutting out of the Mediterranean, whose highest peaks remain snow-capped well into the spring.

Its people are proud of their island: many consider themselves to be Corsican first and (reluctantly) French second, even though the island’s most famous son, Napoleon Bonaparte, became emperor of France! You’ll see graffiti – usually in Corsican, which is closer to Italian than it is to French – calling for independence in the most unexpected places. The Corsican flag (known locally as A bandera testa mora ) is everywhere: a black profile facing left with a white bandana knotted at the back. Why? Nobody is really sure and there are many legends, but the latest academic hypothesis is that the head belonged to Black Egyptian Christian martyr Saint Maurice d’Aguane, whose Latin name Mauritius led to confusion that this was the head of a Moor.

This stunning island has few museums, art galleries, cinemas or theaters. Instead, Corsica is a destination for those who love outdoor activities: hiking, swimming, sailing, kayaking, diving and great food at the end of it all.

Traditional Corsican food is more mountain than maritime. As chestnut trees and wild pigs abound, you’ll find both these ingredients in many a hearty Corsican dish such as wild boar stew or the different varieties of cold meats such as figatellu . You’ll also find chestnuts in many forms in Corsican deserts and pastries. Cheese runs the gamut from mild ( brocciu which is the basis for a variety of both savory and sweet dishes) to extremely strong ( casgiu merzu or rotten cheese). And you can wash it all down with one of the local wines, which are closer in taste to Italian wines than continental French ones.

Around every corner is another jaw-dropping landscape: a stone chapel perched atop a small hill with sheep-studded fields at its feet and snow-capped mountains behind, or a steep ravine of pink granite with a fast-running river at the bottom. Don’t forget to bring your camera.

1. Hike the GR20 (aka Fra li Monti)

This is the mythical 200km-long (124 miles) hiking route, mostly along mountain ridges, from Calenzana in the north to Conca in the south, that most French people associate with Corsica (along with the beaches of course).

Reputed as one of the toughest hikes in Europe, it will take an experienced hiker 16 days to complete with every night spent in a refuge. Of course, you don’t need to hike the whole length of it. You can just do a small segment in a day and get a taxi to pick you up or end (or start) your hike at Vizzavona where you can get a train. The northern section is the hardest as the path can be steep and rocky – in the south, the path is smoother and a bit flatter.

It's unwise to do this hike unless you are well prepared and it should not be attempted by any child under 12. You should only undertake it between June and the end of August. Earlier in the year you may find sections of the path blocked by snow and the refuges, although open, have no guardians. Later the streams you can drink from might be dry. Detailed information and instructions can be found on this dedicated website .

​ 2. Drive from Francardo to Porto

The narrow D84 road from Francardo to Porto is only 78.6km (48.8 miles) long but driving it non-stop would take two hours – "twisty" doesn’t even begin to describe it. But this road is so spectacular that you’ll make multiple stops, not only to admire the landscape of giant granite fingers, deep gorges, Alpine meadows and lakes but also because you’ll be competing for road space with Corsica’s wild black pigs, cows and other vehicles, particularly in the summer months.

Detour: The road climbs up past the village of Calacuccia and its eponymous lake – a hydroelectric reservoir – to the col de Vergio (Vergio pass) at 1467m (4812ft), where you’ll see an abandoned ski-lift, the only remains of the island’s biggest ski resort before it was shut in 2007. As you head down towards the sea through the pine forest of Aïtone, and before you reach the village of Évisa, you can stop and walk about 600m (1968ft) to some small waterfalls and natural pools that are safe to swim in.

​ 3. Explore the island by train

If the thought of driving along Corsica’s vertiginous roads or hiking the GR20 doesn’t appeal, then the train is the answer. The line heads north from Ajaccio to the central Corsican town of Ponte Leccia (2hrs 40mins), where it branches west to Calvi (1hr 50mins) or east to Bastia (1hr 45mins).

The train winds its way through the mountains giving you wonderful views of Corsica’s highest peak, the Monte Cinto (2706m/8878ft,), stone villages seemingly grown out of granite rocks, fields dotted with sheep and goats whose milk is turned into pungent Corsican cheeses, and across rivers and gorges, sometimes winding back on itself so you can look down and see the railway line below you.

Amusingly some of the stops are optional, so if you want to get off the train at any of these, push the button next to the train door. If you’re at the optional station and want to get on the train, wave at the train driver.

Planning tip: You can buy a €50 Pass Libertà which allows you to travel wherever and whenever you want for 7 consecutive days. Timetables and fares can be found on the official website (in French and Corsican only).

​ 4. Find Bastia’s historic heart

Bastia , Corsica’s economic capital, tends to get overlooked by tourists. And that’s a shame because it's a town designed for its 52,000 inhabitants rather than tourists and has plenty to keep you entertained for at least a day.

Terra Vecchia , the historic heart of the city, brackets the old port. Its landmark building is the church of Saint John the Baptist , the biggest in Corsica and built in the 1600s, although the facade and identical bell towers on either side were added in the 1860s. This part of town is small, so don’t hesitate to turn into the narrow streets to explore and wonder how some of the grey-and-beige crumbling buildings that crowd in on each other are still standing. Look for the small niches in the facades that hold a painted statue of a saint and question the safety of a tangle of electrical wires as you make your way past the vast church and onto the southern side, then up the beautiful imperial staircase known as the Falata à a Gabella into the Terra Nova (there’s also a lift about 150m/492ft beyond the staircase if you prefer).

Planning tip: There’s a bustling market – the locals call it u mercà –  just north of the old port on the Place de l’hôtel de ville. Open from 8am to 1pm every day except Monday, it gets particularly animated at the weekend with many Bastiais (residents of Bastia) meeting at the cafes after their shopping for a chat and a drink.

​ 5. Discover seven centuries of island history

​The upper part of the city of Bastia, or Terra Nova, with its straight streets and well-kept colored facades, clusters around the Genoese citadel or bastiglia which is where the town got its name. The Governors’ Palace, built in 1530, hosts the lovely city museum covering seven centuries of the city and the island’s history. There’s enough here to keep you busy for about two hours. On a clear day in the terraced gardens, you can see the Italian island of Elba 57km (35 miles) away where Napoleon spent his first exile, and the old port and the city spread out below you like a map.

Planning tip: If you’re in Bastia on the second or third Saturday of July, don’t miss the A Notte di a Memoria (the Night of Memory) , a historical reconstruction of the Middle Ages ceremony signaling a change of Genoese governor. It involves a lot of drums and flag throwing and some 200 or so Bastiais in period costume parading from the citadel down to the old port, so you can stand anywhere along the route and watch.

6. Don’t miss Les Calanques de Piana

These red-and-pink calanques (narrow, steep-sided granite valleys or inlets) are part of a Unesco World Heritage site on the west coast between Calvi and Ajaccio and are unmissable. The best approach is from Piana. As you drive carefully north along the narrow road winding its way through rocks and scrub bushes, the rocks will start getting bigger, fashioned into fantastic shapes that every person interprets in their own way: where one will see a lion, another will see a human or yet another a strange gargoyle. You’ll get tantalizing glimpses of the sea far below. In the summer the road gets quite busy, so don’t stop on a bend to admire the view.

Detour: There are a few car parks along the route, notably at La tête du chien (dog’s head) from which there is a 1.2km (0.7 miles) easy path to a rocky platform that provides a prodigious view of the calanques and the Gulf of Porto. There are four other hiking paths through the Calanques – ask the Piana tourist office for a map.

​7. Explore the ancient churches of Cargèse

This village, south of Porto, is home to one of Corsica’s most beautiful churches, which also happens to be the only Greek Orthodox church on the island. Saint Spyridon was built by the Greek descendants of the 600 who fled the Ottomans in the 17th century and settled in this coastal village.

The community originally built a small church but by the mid-19th century, they'd outgrown their original place of worship and began the construction of Saint Spyridon in a neo-gothic style. In accordance with Byzantine rite, the altar is hidden from the nave by a wooden partition (an iconostasis). This one is beautifully decorated with icons (some of which were brought by the first Greek inhabitants and date back to the 13th century) of saints and angels on a gold background. The church walls are covered with frescoes and the ceiling is painted dark blue dotted with gold stars – all illuminated by several large, multi-layered brass chandeliers.

What makes Cargèse remarkable is that just across a small gully from Saint Spyridon is the pale yellow facade of the neo-Baroque Roman Catholic church, the Assumption, built in the 1800s. The richly-decorated, colorful interior, recently restored, is also neo-Baroque.

From the photogenic shaded little square in front of this church, there are lovely views of the sea. Take the path that leads down to the port and enjoy lunch at one of the lovely restaurants that are crowded with locals even during the off-season.

​​ 8. Get to know Napoleon in Ajaccio

You cannot escape Napoleon Bonaparte in his birthplace. Ajaccio is the capital of Corsica because he decided it should be, switching it from Bastia in 1811. He’s everywhere, in street names and museums and watching mournfully over the pétanques players from atop his pedestal in the Place d’Austerlitz.

The Palais Fesch , so named as it exhibits the art collection of Cardinal Joseph Fesch, Napoleon’s maternal uncle, is the island’s major art museum. Fesch began his collection whilst accompanying his nephew on the two-week Italian campaign in 1796. By the time he died in 1839, he had accumulated more than 16,000 works of art. They’re not all on show but the permanent exhibition has some exceptional works by Renaissance artists such as Bellini, Botticelli, Titian and Veronese, as well as 17th-century artists Poussin and Van Dyck. 

Napoleon’s parents, Charles and Letizia Bonaparte, are buried in the imperial chapel in the right wing of the palace.

Detour: A five-minute walk from the art museum will take you to  Maison Bonaparte , where Napoleon was born on 15 August 1769 but only resided in until he was nine years old. The house has undergone multiple changes since then and only became a museum in 1967. Written explanations are only in French – use the audio guide for English descriptions.

9. View the clifftop beauty of Bonifacio from the sea

Bonifacio is not only the oldest town in Corsica (founded in about 830 CE), it's also the most spectacular. Perched atop 100m-high, layered white limestone and sandstone cliffs, it boasts phenomenal views south across to Sardinia (only 13km/8 miles away).

For first-time visitors the element of surprise is huge – when you arrive by road, all you can see of Bonifacio are enormous, imposing ramparts and fortifications on a hill to the west of a 1.5km sea inlet. The only way to view the imposing cliffs, and the town's tall houses tethered at the very edge of the escarpments, is from the sea – boat tours depart regularly from the port at the end of the inlet.

When you return from your maritime expedition, wind your way past the restaurants, cafés and souvenir shops that line the port and go up the Rastello ramp ending at the foot of the citadel . There you'll find the much-photographed, white, roofless Saint Roch chapel with its single bell cut out against the blue of the Mediterranean Sea, with Sardinia glistening on the horizon.

You can then turn into the old town through the labyrinth of tight, paved streets lined with ancient, narrow six- or seven-story buildings nestled against each other. Note the aqueducts above the streets connecting the houses and look out for the stone plaque on n°7 rue des Deux Empereurs detailing that Napoleon Bonaparte (of course, who else?!) lived there from 22 January to 3 March 1793 and that it belonged to his ancestors until May 1721.

If you don’t feel like walking from the port to the old town, you can join the families (it's free for under-fives) on the little tourist train.

Planning tip: In summer, Bonifacio gets extremely crowded – you should plan to get here before 10am or you won’t be able to park. Leave your car in one of the two car parks at the port (about €20/ day) or in one of the two (Monte Leone and Valli) on the outskirts of the town (about €5/day). A free shuttle operates to the port from the Monte Leone car park.

If you have a campervan, you can only park at the Monte Leone or Valli car parks and note that the latter is only open in summer. Don’t be tempted to try your luck with the car parks at the top – in summer the town’s population rises from just over 3000 to 15,000, so walking will be quicker! In any case, the old town is mostly pedestrianized. There is also a little road train that goes from the port to the old town, departing every 30 minutes from 9:30am to 9:45pm July to August, 5:45pm in September. Tickets are €5 return, free for children under five.

​​ 10. Create rock art on the black sand beach of Nonza

About a third of the way up the eastern coast of the Cap Corse lies the village of Nonza, planted on the edge of a sheer cliff on the northern side. There are dramatic views of the 150m (492ft) drop to the black beach below, one of the few in Corsica that is never crowded in the summer – probably because there are more than 500 steps to reach it! A few hardy souls make the descent to create patterns with the light grey pebbles on the black sand, which you can admire from the top.

There’s a delightful little village square where you can sit under the shade of the plane trees and unwind to the tinkling sound of a fountain, a cool drink in hand as you nibble some delicious Corsican charcuterie .

Planning tip: If you visit Nonza in the summer, it'll be almost impossible to park in the village – leave your car on either side of the village and walk.

11. Follow in the footsteps of the customs officers

If you’d like to hike but find the GR20 intimidating, then try the 25km-long (15.5 miles) Sentiers des Douaniers (customs officers’ path) that runs around the very tip of Corsica’s index finger (Cap Corse) from Macinaggio on the east coast to Centuri on the west. During this eight-hour hike (or you can break it up and do it over two days) you’ll go from sandy beaches and dunes on the eastern coast to the wilder, rockier landscapes of the western coast. Along the way, you’ll see marks of human habitation: old limestone ovens, windmills, and the ruins of 16th - century Genoese towers.

The section between Macinaggio and Barcaggio (a three-hour walk) tends to be more crowded than the section between Barcaggio and Centuri (five hours). From Macinaggio you’ll go across Tamarone beach and have a view of the dust-speck islands of Finocchiarola topped by a ruined Genoese tower. A bit further along you’ll see the picturesque ruin of a tower right on the beach, sometimes surrounded by the sea. When you reach Barcaggio, climb up the dunes for a fabulous view. On a clear day, you can see the coastline of Italy from up there! Come back down for a swim off the lovely beach – you may share the sand with some wild cows. The fully automated lighthouse on the island of Giraglia lies just off the coast – it's one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean.

You can either return to Macinaggio by boat or stay overnight in Barcaggio and carry on the next day to Centuri. This next section is wilder and windier as it's along the very northernmost tip of Corsica and some parts of the path are quite steep and rocky. Look out for the wide variety of seabirds and you may very well spot some dolphins swimming nearby. This part of the hike goes through a lot of maquis and can be a bit scratchy on your legs. Best to wear trousers rather than shorts.

The hike from Macinaggio to Barcaggio is shorter and easier, and many casual hikers generally find it more pleasant than the second section to Centuri, which is more suited to serious hikers.

Planning tip: This is not a particularly difficult hike, and it’s mostly clearly signposted, but you do need a decent level of fitness and there isn't much shade. Don’t attempt it in the height of summer or on very windy days, as there's a greater risk of fires. Spring is the optimum time when the maquis is in full flower and its colors and very particular perfume are at their best. Bonaparte used to say that he could recognize Corsica just by the smell of its maquis !

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An insider's guide to the best places in Corsica

By Charlotte Davey

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CORSICA?

‘This is where my roots are. My grandmother was born here and a lot of my family still lives in Venaco , a village in the mountains. My grandmother was one of seven, and one of her siblings had 10 children, so there are many cousins! Each family has their own house, with gardens full of vegetables. You see goats crossing the road. It’s authentic – a very social, simple place, where nothing is artificial and everything is in harmony with nature. Something speaks to me about this way of life. I feel most myself here.’

WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF THE ISLAND?

‘Stepping off the plane – I must have been about three years old. The airport then was just a strip in a field, so we landed straight in the heart of Corsica, right among the trees. What I remember most are the smells: the air was filled with them. It’s very different from the rest of France , there are plants that can only be found here: types of chamomile and orchid; wild eucalyptus, juniper, laurel, rosemary, sage and lavender. It’s such an evocative place for olfactory memory.’

WHERE DO YOU STAY?

‘I usually connect with my family in Venaco – I have my own home here and I can just open the front door and see my cousins – but I like to travel around and visit different spots, too. One of my favourites is L’Ile-Rousse on the north coast, with its pretty white beaches and cobbled streets. Villa Joséphine is a small boutique hotel set in the hills and Hôtel Minera , just outside of town, has stunning views across the sea. Both are quiet and completely immersed in nature, so I can just rest.’

MOST INTERESTING SPOT FOR A CULTURE FIX?

‘The Citadelle in Corte , with its 15th-century castle and barracks – it’s breathtaking because it’s so high up, sitting on a steep rock overlooking the town. It was built under Spanish rule and serves as an interesting reminder of the island’s political history. There’s also a wonderful museum that traces the traditions of Corsica, from arts and crafts to anthropology.’

WHAT WOULD YOUR IDEAL DAY INCLUDE?

‘I’d spend it by a river, going swimming and having a picnic. There are lots of rivers all over Corsica; I often head to the Vecchio with my family and sit by the Pont de Noceta bridge in Venaco. It’s tranquil and beautiful, and you can go for ages without thinking about the time – you just watch the light changing as the sun moves through the sky.’

WHERE ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES TO EAT?

‘I like really fresh, healthy food. Corsican cooking is Mediterranean, with influences from Italy and France, and lots of regional dishes. I love beignets de poireaux , a leek pastry that’s similar to a doughnut. My grandmother used to make them but I can never get the recipe quite right, so I order them at U Campanile , a hotel and restaurant in the Vivario district, a little south of Venaco. It has incredible cannelloni. I prefer restaurants in the mountains to those by the sea – you get the best cheeses, such as brocciu, made with goat’s milk, and aromatic herbs and spices. The Ferme-Auberge de Campo di Monte , an old stone farmhouse in the countryside around Murato, is an exceptional showcase of local food including ham, cheese and savoury pastries with fresh tomato and wild herbs. I remember my aunt picking wild mint and oregano on the hillside – she knew exactly what she was looking for – then cooking them with vegetables and serving them on pastry with olive oil. A very simple dish, but all you need.’

ANY OTHER STOPS FOR A BITE?

‘ Patisserie Casanova , a bakery and pastry shop owned by my good friend Edmond Casanova, is great for snacks. It’s in a historic building on the main street in the town of Corte , in the middle of the island. Edmond makes ice cream from fresh fruit, which is always a hit with my daughters. Another must-try pudding is falculelle – little cakes made with cheese that are simply delicious.’

BEST PLACE FOR A DRINK?

‘It has to be Bar de la Place in Venaco. It’s busy at any time of day and the centre of village life. People come here for a coffee in the morning or have a drink and a pizza in the evening. In Corte, I have a virgin Mojito with fresh mint and lime at bar Le Rex , which is also amazing for tapas.’

By Karthika Gupta

By Becky Lucas

By Mary Lussiana

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THE LOVELIEST STORES YOU HAVE DISCOVERED?

‘I’m very fond of Corsican products – I try to shop locally when I’m here. There’s IMIZA , a fantastic beauty brand with a store in Bastia , the port town on the northern peninsula. The oils are made with immortelle, a flower that soothes the skin and is especially good for after-sun rehydration. I’m also a fan of Casanera , an organic cosmetics company that works with plants found in the maquis, a shrubland of aromatic herbs that’s unique to the Mediterranean. There are many small markets around, with stalls selling various toiletries made from natural ingredients, where I pick up organic soap with patchouli. And I buy Kyrnella face cream, which you can only get in Corsican pharmacies.’

IS THIS WHERE YOU WERE FIRST INSPIRED TO MAKE PERFUME?

‘Corsica is definitely the place that awakened me to fragrance, where I discovered its pleasure. In every one of my scents I have kept that purity found in plants and flowers. Untouched nature – strong, rough, immediate – is something that is always there in my work.’

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17 Top-Rated Attractions & Places to Visit in Corsica

Written by Lisa Alexander Updated May 3, 2023 We may earn a commission from affiliate links ( )

With its stunning seaside scenery, expanses of pristine forests, and soaring snowcapped mountains, Corsica lives up to the label, "Island of Beauty." Along the coast are attractive port towns, and the hillsides are dotted with picturesque villages.

Corsica offers no shortage of things to do. This idyllic island is a paradise for beach lovers , hikers, and outdoor sports enthusiasts. The island boasts some of Europe's most inspiring rugged landscapes and a 1,000-kilometer shoreline with translucent waters, perfect for snorkeling or scuba diving.

Although Corsica has been part of France since 1769, the island has its own culture. Donkeys still roam the countryside; the music is unique; and the cuisine features distinctive specialties, such as strong spicy cheeses, chestnut polenta, and chestnut cookies.

Discover the best places to visit on this enchanting island with our list of the top tourist attractions in Corsica.

2. Bonifacio

5. cap corse, 6. sant'antonino, 8. beaches near porto vecchio, 9. village of piana and calanques de piana, 10. castagniccia region, 11. réserve naturelle des bouches de bonifacio, 12. belgodère, 13. réserve naturelle de scandola, 14. désert des agriates, 15. extreme hiking on the gr20 trail, 16. col de bavella, 17. forêt de valdo niello, map of attractions & places to visit in corsica.

Corsica's most famous native son, Napoléon Bonaparte, was born in this bustling capital city, pleasantly situated on the Gulf of Ajaccio. Sensational views of the sea can be admired from various spots throughout the town.

At the center of Ajaccio is the Place de Gaulle , a grand square with an equestrian statue of Napoléon I (created in 1865 by Viollet le-Duc).

Next, visit the Musée National de la Maison Bonaparte (Rue Saint-Charles) to see the house where Napoléon I was born. The Bonaparte family lived here in the late 17th century and the 18th century. In the 19th century, Napoléon III inherited the house and refurbished the decor. Today, the Maison Bonaparte is classified as a Monument Historique and presents portraits, memorabilia, and family documents.

Continue your discovery of the Napoleonic era at the Palais Fesch (Musée des Beaux-Arts). The Collection Napoléonienne galleries display imperial portraits of Napoléon I and Napoléon III (both were titled "Emperor of the French") as well as medallions and coins that depict Napoléon I and Napoléon III.

The old town of Ajaccio is also worth exploring. Spend some time wandering around to discover the historic charm within its maze of winding, narrow streets.

Not to be missed in the old town is the 16th-century Cathédrale d'Ajaccio (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption), where Napoléon Bonaparte was baptized in 1771. The cathedral's most noteworthy work of art is the La Vierge au Sacré Côur painting by Eugène Delacroix.

Bonifacio is a well-preserved fortified town perched on a steep limestone cliff with stunning sea views. Brimming with old-world ambience, the town is a jumble of medieval lanes and narrow alleyways.

At its heart is the 12th- to 13th-century Eglise Sainte-Marie-Majeure , a Romanesque church with early Gothic elements. Also worth visiting is the 13th-century Eglise Saint-Dominique, which has an austere facade and a simple interior.

Bonifacio is found within Corsica's largest nature reserve, the Réserve Naturelle des Bouches de Bonifacio, which encompasses limestone cliffs, seaside grottos, and the Lavezzi Islands.

Near the town are numerous beautiful beaches. Another destination within easy reach of Bonifacio is the port of Santa Teresa di Gallura in Sardini, just a one-hour ferry ride away.

Read More: Best Beaches in Corsica

This sun-drenched waterfront town has an attractive marina and beautiful beaches along the Bay of Calvi. Soak up the marvelous scenery of the deep blue Mediterranean Sea, with jagged mountains framing the harbor.

Besides sunbathing, swimming, and spending time at outdoor cafés, a top attraction is the Citadel of Calvi . Enter the ancient walled Citadel and you'll find a cluster of medieval cobblestone streets and staircases that lead to discoveries of pleasant squares, historic churches, and fabulous views.

Within the Citadel, the 13th-century Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste exemplifies Corsican Baroque architecture. The interior features noteworthy works of art, including a 15th-century altarpiece depicting the Annunciation and a 16th-century Virgin of the Rosary statue from Spain.

Calvi is also renowned for its summertime jazz festival, which draws top musical talent. The Jazz in Calvi festival takes place annually at the end of June; performances are held at the Citadel and other venues.

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If you want to experience the real Corsica, this lively seaside city is the place to go. Bastia has a picturesque harbor and a quaint Old Town (Terra Vecchia) bursting with narrow lanes and tightly packed houses.

Within the Terra Vecchia are several noteworthy churches: the 17th-century Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste, the largest church in Corsica; the Baroque Chapelle de l'Immaculée Conception; and the Chapelle Saint-Roch, which overlooks the mesmerizing Mediterranean waters.

On a rocky spur to the south of the harbor is the ancient citadel, dating back to 1378.

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At the northernmost tip of Corsica, the Cap Corse peninsula is one of the prettiest areas of the island. The peninsula is covered by a range of foothills and fertile valleys where vines, fruit, and olives grow.

Dotting the landscape are medieval perched villages such as Pino on a wooded hilltop; Nonza clinging to a cliffside; and Rogliano, which is a collection of hamlets and old fishing ports. Rogliano encompasses Erbalunga near Bastia; Macinaggio, with a yacht marina; and Centuri , a tiny fishing village with a working harbor.

If you prefer sunbathing to sightseeing, then head to the Plage de Farinole . This picturesque beach has a fine sand shoreline and crystal-clear turquoise waters. The beach is not great for swimming because of the undercurrent, but the waves are appreciated by surfers. Another highlight of the Plage de Farinole is the restaurant on the beach.

Perched like an eagle's nest on a granite hilltop at almost 500 meters, the ancient walled town of Sant'Antonino offers superb views of the surrounding countryside and the sea.

In the lush Balagne region , Sant'Antonino is one of the oldest villages in Corsica, with a Moorish heritage dating back to the 9th century. Thanks to its old-world charm, Sant'Antonino has earned a place on the list of Plus Beaux Villages de France .

Get ready to do some walking. The village is designed for pedestrians, with its medieval tangle of winding cobblestone streets, alleyways, and covered passageways.

About seven kilometers from Sant'Antonino, the Couvent Saint-Dominique des Frères de Saint-Jean à Corbara perches on a hilltop between snow-peaked mountains and the sea. It's worth the detour to see the splendid 15th-century architecture and admire astounding coastal views.

You may visit the Couvent Saint-Dominique des Frères de Saint-Jean à Corbara by taking a guided tour (in French) or by participating in a spiritual retreat . Guided tours are offered year-round every day (except Mondays) at 3pm.

Sartène prides itself on being the "most Corsican" city. This characteristic medieval hilltop town is listed as a Ville d'Art et d'Histoire because of its exceptional heritage.

Must-see tourist attractions include the Eglise Santa-Maria-Assunta , with a simple facade typical of Corsican churches; the former Palais des Gouverneurs Génois , now the Town Hall; and L'Echauguette (tower), which affords sweeping views of the Vallée de Rizzanese.

The Musée de Préhistoire et d'Archéologie (Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology) brings to life the island's ancient history. Exhibits present statues from prehistoric megaliths; Bronze Age and Iron Age weapons, tools, and ceramics; Ancient Roman archaeological finds; and artworks and everyday objects of the Middle Ages.

Near the Palais des Gouverneurs Génois, you'll find an enchanting pedestrian area. Take a stroll to discover the secret corners: arcades, vaulted passageways, and picturesque staircases. The Place du Maghju is a hub of artisan boutiques.

Every year in the spring, the town celebrates the Carnaval de Sartène . This fun-loving carnival festival features parades, musical entertainment, and masked balls.

Sartène also hosts an annual religious procession on Good Friday called the " Catenacciu ," which reenacts the events of the Passion of Christ. One of the "Penitents" carries a heavy cross and a chain during a somber procession, beginning at the Eglise Sainte-Marie and concluding at the altar of Sainte-Marie church. This event attracts pilgrims from near and far.

About 15 kilometers away from Sartène is the Domaine Rosa de Caldane , a pampering thermal bath facility with a mid-range hotel and a brasserie restaurant that serves seasonal cuisine.

Some of Corsica's dreamiest sandy beaches are around Porto Vecchio, which has become a busy summertime resort. These beaches are prized for their expansive sandy shorelines, gentle waves, and unspoiled scenery.

The most famous beach is the Plage de Palombaggia, renowned for its wide sandy shore and calm turquoise waters. Another excellent sandy beach is the Plage de Santa Giulia . Both of these beaches are in sheltered bays, which provide a protected environment ideal for swimming.

Slightly farther away, the less-crowded Plage de Rondinara is halfway between Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio. This gorgeous sandy beach nestles along Rondinara Bay. The crystal-clear aquamarine waters at Rondinara Beach have an almost tropical quality.

The citadel of Porto Vecchio is also worth visiting. In the 16th century, the Genoese built this impregnable citadel with sturdy fortifications that remain intact. Enclosed within the citadel is a little world of atmospheric narrow alleyways, covered passageways, and quiet squares. Many restaurants and shops are found around the Place de la République.

Piana dazzles you with its old-world character and stunning views of the Golfe de Porto. Thanks to its historic charm and natural beauty, Piana is listed as one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France .

Giving the village its special appearance, red-tile-roofed houses spiral around the slopes of a wooded hillside. An exquisite parish church stands at the heart of Piana. The Italian Baroque-style Eglise Sainte-Marie features lovely frescoes and arcades decorated with sculpted medallions.

A pedestrian jaunt is the way to discover this dreamy perched village. You will delight in strolling the quaint narrow streets, while stumbling upon pleasant tree-shaded squares and terraces with gorgeous sea views.

At the entrance to the village, Les Roches Rouges offers upscale accommodations and gourmet meals. In a magical setting, the hotel's guest rooms and outdoor patio look out onto the mesmerizing azure waters of the Gulf of Porto. The hotel's gastronomic restaurant serves classic French cuisine in an elegant dining room that is protected as a Monument Historique .

More awe-inspiring panoramas are found in the hamlet of Vistale , which has an ancient chapel, the Chapelle Saint-Lucie (open in July and August) adorned with Byzantine-style frescoes created by 20th-century Russian artists.

Between the village of Piana and the seaside resort of Porto is a scenic (and challenging) coastal drive on curvy roads that wind through the UNESCO-listed Calanques de Piana mountains. The Calanques de Piana is an inlet surrounded by rose-colored granite cliffs that plunge into the deep-blue Mediterranean Sea. The area's hiking trails feature amazing vistas.

About a one-hour drive south of Bastia is the hilly region of Castagniccia, which takes its name from the chestnut trees that grow abundantly here. The traditional stone-roofed houses all have chestnut-drying rooms.

This peaceful countryside is dotted with ancient hilltop villages, small hamlets, and magnificent churches. Many of the churches, such as the ornately adorned Baroque Eglise Saints-Pierre-et-Paul in Piedicroce and the 18th-century Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel in Stoppia Nova, are listed as Monuments Historiques .

In a sublime natural setting, the Couvent d'Alesani (another Monument Historique ) in Piazzali has an inspiring spiritual ambience. You may take a guided tour in July and August and on the Journées du Patrimoine in September. During that period, tours are offered on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays between 3:30pm and 7pm. The convent also hosts summertime events.

Adventurous hikers can climb Monte San Petrone (1,767-meter altitude) from the starting point of Piedicroce or from the Col de Prato; either way the six-kilometer ascent takes about five or six hours. The trail traverses rocky mountain ridges, above chestnut-tree forests, valleys, and little hamlets. From the summit, the vistas sweep across the Mediterranean Sea to the coastline of Italy.

The UNESCO-listed Bouches de Bonifacio Nature Reserve is a protected marine environment that includes all of the waters in French territory, from the tip of southern Corsica extending to the French Riviera and Italian coastline.

Covering 80,000 hectares, the reserve also includes marshland, lagoons, and other coastal areas. Many rare, protected species of birds and fish thrive in this ecosystem.

A highlight of the Bouches de Bonifacio is the Lavezzi Islands marine reserve, a top snorkeling and scuba diving destination in Corsica. Beneath the translucent turquoise waters, a magical underwater world awaits deep-sea divers. Sightings include colorful and exotic fish such as the rainbow wrasse and the silver bream.

Many companies organize snorkeling and scuba diving expeditions; advanced booking is recommended. Boat tours and dinner cruises (departing from Bonifacio or Porte Vecchio) are available for those who prefer to simply relax and enjoy the scenery.

This medieval hilltop village will steal your heart with its enchanting ambience and sensational vistas. Exceptional panoramic views of the sea and the Regino Valley are found throughout the village.

If you're here for a beach holiday, you'll find everything you need in Belgodère and nearby. Below the historic part of Belgodère is a modern beach resort with many hotels, vacation rentals, and restaurants.

Be sure to explore the old walled area of Belgodère (the Cabanne and Cima du Fondu quarters). You will enjoy wandering around the winding streets, relaxing at an outdoor café terrace, and discovering historic monuments.

The Baroque Eglise Saint-Thomas displays a noteworthy 16th-century Virgin and Child painting.

A surreal coastal landscape awaits you at the Réserve Naturelle de Scandola. Overlooking the Gulf of Porto, this UNESCO-listed nature reserve is only accessible by boat.

The Scandola Nature Reserve encompasses a remote mountainous peninsula and offshore islands formed from an ancient volcano. Crystal-clear turquoise waters lap against cliffs and hidden coves.

Scuba and snorkeling enthusiasts, rejoice! You will find here some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in Corsica. Marine life includes dolphins, seals, moray eels, swordfish, and coral reefs.

Shuttle boats depart frequently from Calvi and less frequently from Porto and Galéria. Many companies offer organized tours, for an easier way to visit.

The Désert des Agriates is a vast protected wilderness of scrubland, agricultural plains, craggy coastline, and cream-colored sandy shores. If you're planning a summertime visit to the Agriates Desert, you will probably want to sunbathe at pristine sandy beaches.

Two favorite beaches are the Plage de Lotu and the Plage de Saleccia , prized for their soft white sand and transparent waters. Both beaches are ideal for sunbathing and swimming.

The Plage de l'Ostriconi , tucked away behind sand dunes, feels like a secret spot because of its secluded quality.

Besides lounging at the beach, other things to do in the Désert des Agriates include hiking, nature walks, and fishing.

Corsica's GR20 trail traverses the island of Corsica from north to south, covering wild and remote hillsides and deep gorges. Extreme outdoor adventure enthusiasts and advanced hikers hold this trail in high esteem.

The trail is considered to be the most difficult long-distance hike in Europe . Not only is the trail extremely long, the terrain is rugged and dramatic. Those who are sufficiently conditioned to attempt the hike will ultimately be rewarded with jaw-dropping panoramas.

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If you're touring Corsica by car, the scenic drive through the Col de Bavella is highly recommended. The road travels through majestic landscapes and along the path of an ancient Roman road, continuing up to the mountain pass at 1,243 meters. From that point, there are breathtaking views of the forests and plains, the mountains, and the sea.

The Valdo-Niello Forest is an unspoiled environment of shady Corsican pine trees that can reach heights of 50 meters. The specific variety of tree, the Laricio Pine, is emblematic of Corsica. These dense woodlands provide a habitat for bird species such as the Corsican Nuthatch.

Also within the forest is Corsica's highest mountain, Monte Cinto , which soars to 2,706 meters and is snowcapped even in summer.

A variety of walking paths and hiking trails wind through the forest. Taking a hike here is an invigorating experience that allows you to breathe in the fresh air and admire the natural beauty.

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Dreamy Island Destinations in Italy: It's an easy ferry ride from Corsica to two idyllic Italian islands. Just 20 kilometers south of Corsica is the island of Sardinia (considered one of the best places to visit in Italy ). The shortest ferry route from Corsica departs from Bonifacio and takes about one hour to arrive at the port of Santa Teresa in Sardinia.

From Bastia, it's a 4.5-hour ferry ride to the island of Elba in Italy's Tuscany region , where Napoleon was exiled. Today the island is a paradise of secluded beaches, alluring seaports, and luxuriant Mediterranean scenery.

Stylish Towns in the South of France : Several destinations in the south of France could be combined with a visit to Corsica. From Bastia in Corsica, travelers can reach the fashionable city of Nice on the glamorous French Riviera in about five hours by ferry.

From the port of Ajaccio in Corsica, it's a six-hour ferry ride to the atmospheric port town of Toulon , which is near Provence's glitzy beach resort of Saint-Tropez (a one-hour drive from Toulon) and charming Aix-en-Provence (about a one-hour drive from Toulon).

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Plan Your Trip to Corsica: Best of Corsica Tourism

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Nature and wildlife tours.

Ports of Call Tours

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• Hotel L'Alivu
• L'Auberge Sant'Antone
• Camping La Pietra
• Terre de Maquis
• Hotel le Chalet
• Les Hauts De Santa Giulia
• La Table de Mina
• La Caravelle
• Gorges de la Restonica
• Nature Reserve of Scandola
• Plage du Lotu
• Plage De Roccapina
• Visit Scandola, the creeks of Piana by boat
• From Sagone/Cargèse: Scandola Calanques de Piana Girolata stop 2h
• Calanches de Piana and Scandola Reserve cruise with Girolata
• Sea trips Scandola Girolata and Calanches de Piana
• Afternoon in Scandola and creeks of Piana with stop in Girolata

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More than three million people visit Corsica each year, drawn by the mild climate and some of the most diverse landscapes in all Europe. Nowhere in the Mediterranean has beaches finer than the island’s perfect half-moon bays of white sand and transparent water, or seascapes more dramatic than the red porphyry Calanches of the west coast. Even though the annual visitor influx now exceeds the island’s population nearly ten times over, tourism hasn’t spoilt the place: there are a few resorts, but overdevelopment is rare and high-rise blocks are confined to the main towns.

Ajaccio (Aiacciu)

The balagne (a balagna), bonifacio (bonifaziu) and around, things to do in bonifacio, central corsica, corte (corti), corsican food and drink, napoleon and corsica, the nebbio (u nebbiu), porto (portu) and around, porto-vecchio, sartène (sartè) and around, the réserve naturel de scandola.

Bastia , capital of the north, was the principal Genoese stronghold, and its fifteenth-century citadelle has survived almost intact. It’s first and foremost a Corsican city, and commerce rather than tourism is its main concern. Also relatively undisturbed, the northern Cap Corse harbours inviting sandy coves and fishing villages such as Macinaggio and Centuri-Port . Within a short distance of Bastia, the fertile region of the Nebbio contains a scattering of churches built by Pisan stoneworkers, the prime example being the Cathédral de Santa Maria Assunta at the appealingly chic little port of St-Florent .

To the west of here, L’Île-Rousse and Calvi , the latter graced with an impressive citadelle and fabulous sandy beach, are major targets for holiday-makers. The spectacular Scandola nature reserve to the southwest of Calvi is most easily visited by boat from the tiny resort of Porto , from where walkers can also strike out into the wild Gorges de Spelunca . Corte , at the heart of Corsica, is the best base for exploring the mountains and gorges of the interior which form part of the Parc Naturel Régional that runs almost the entire length of the island.

Sandy beaches and rocky headlands punctuate the west coast all the way down to Ajaccio , Napoleon’s birthplace and the island’s capital, where pavement cafés and palm-lined boulevards teem with tourists in summer. Slightly fewer make it to nearby Filitosa , greatest of the many prehistoric sites scattered across the south. Propriano , the area’s principal resort, lies close to stern Sartène , former seat of the wild feudal lords who once ruled this region and still the quintessential Corsican town.

More megalithic sites lie south of Sartène on the way to Bonifacio , a comb of ancient buildings perched atop furrowed white cliffs at the southern tip of the island. Equally popular, Porto-Vecchio provides a springboard for excursions to the amazing beaches of the south. The eastern plain has less to boast of, but the Roman site at Aléria is worth a visit for its excellent museum.

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Brief history

Set on the western Mediterranean trade routes, Corsica has always been of strategic and commercial appeal. Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans came in successive waves, driving native Corsicans into the interior. The Romans were ousted by Vandals, and for the following thirteen centuries the island was attacked, abandoned, settled and sold as a nation state, with generations of islanders fighting against foreign government. In 1768 France bought Corsica from Genoa, but nearly two-and-half centuries of French rule have had a limited effect and the island’s Baroque churches, Genoese fortresses, fervent Catholic rituals and a Tuscan-influenced indigenous language and cuisine show a more profound affinity with Italy.

Corsica’s uneasy relationship with the mainland has worsened in recent decades. Economic neglect and the French government’s reluctance to encourage Corsican language and culture spawned a nationalist movement in the early 1970s, whose clandestine armed wing – the FLNC (Fronte di Liberazione Nazionale di a Corsica) – and its various offshoots were until recently engaged in a bloody conflict with the state.

Relations between the island’s hardline nationalists and Paris may be perennially fraught, but there’s little support among ordinary islanders for total independence. Bankrolled by Paris and Brussels, Corsica is the most heavily subsidized region of France. Moreover, Corsicans are exempt from social security contributions and the island as a whole enjoys preferential tax status, with one-third of the permanent population employed in the public sector.

Opinion, however, remains divided on the best way forward for the island. While centre-right parties push for an all-out promotion of tourism as a socio-economic cure-all, local nationalist groups resist large-scale development, claiming it will irrevocably damage the pristine environment visitors come to enjoy. Meanwhile, bombings of second homes – a feature of island life since the 1980s – has given way to a marked increase in assassinations and counter killings, most of them linked to organized crime and corruption rather than feuds between nationalist factions, as in the past. Corsica now suffers the highest per capita murder rate of any European region – a statistic attributed by locals to the failure of the French government to address ingrained social and economic problems, but which has roots deep in the island’s cultural DNA.

The extent to which violence is nowadays a symptom of mob influence rather than part of the liberation struggle was dramatically underlined in June 2014, when the FLNC announced a definitive end to its armed conflict with the French state. The announcement came in the wake of a particularly bloody period for the island, during which several prominent figures, including politicians, lawyers and civil servants, were gunned down.

Corsica’s troubled underbelly, however, is largely invisible to visitors. Political graffiti and bullet-scarred signposts, which used to be ubiquitous, are fast becoming a thing of the past, while the drive-by shootings and mafia assassinations which dominate the local press tend to occur well away from the resorts.

Edward Lear claimed that on a wet day it would be hard to find so dull a place as Ajaccio , a harsh judgement with an element of justice. The town has none of Bastia’s sense of purpose and can seem to lack a definitive identity of its own, but it is a relaxed and good-looking place, with an exceptionally mild climate, and a wealth of smart cafés, restaurants and shops.

Although it’s an attractive idea that Ajax, hero of the Trojan War, once stopped here, the name of Ajaccio actually derives from the Roman Adjaccium (place of rest), a winter stop-off point for shepherds descending from the mountains to stock up on goods and sell their produce. This first settlement was destroyed by the Saracens in the tenth century, and modern Ajaccio grew up around the citadelle founded in 1492. Napoleon gave the town international fame, but though the self-designated Cité Impériale is littered with statues and street names related to the Bonaparte family, you’ll find that the Napoleonic cult has a less dedicated following here than you might imagine: the emperor is still considered by many Ajacciens as a self-serving Frenchman rather than as a Corsican.

Since the early 1980s, Ajaccio has gained an unwelcome reputation for nationalist violence. The most infamous terrorist atrocity of recent decades was the murder, in February 1998, of the French government’s most senior official on the island, Claude Erignac, who was gunned down as he left the opera. However, separatist violence rarely (if ever) affects tourists here, and for visitors Ajaccio remains memorable for the things that have long made it attractive – its battered old town, relaxing cafés and the encompassing view of its glorious bay.

The core of the old town – a cluster of ancient streets spreading north and south of place Foch , which opens out to the seafront by the port and the marina – holds the most interest. Nearby, to the west, place de Gaulle forms the modern centre and is the source of the main thoroughfare, cours Napoléon , which extends parallel to the sea almost 2km to the northeast. West of place de Gaulle stretches the modern part of town fronted by the beach , overlooked at its eastern end by the citadelle.

Built on the estuary at the mouth of the River Tavignano on the island’s east coast, 40km southeast of Corte along the N200, Aléria was first settled in 564 BC by a colony of Greek Phocaeans as a trading port for copper and lead, as well as wheat, olives and grapes. After an interlude of Carthaginian rule, the Romans arrived in 259 BC, built a naval base and re-established its importance in the Mediterranean. Aléria remained the east coast’s principal port right up until the eighteenth century. Little is left of the historic town except Roman ruins and a thirteenth-century Genoese fortress, which stands high against a background of chequered fields and green vineyards. To the south, a strip of modern buildings straddling the main road makes up the modern town, known as Cateraggio , but it’s the village set on the hilltop just west of here that’s the principal focus for visitors.

The Balagne , the region stretching west from the Ostriconi valley as far as the red-cliffed wilderness of Scandola, has been renowned since Roman times as “Le Pays de l’Huile et Froment” (Land of Oil and Wheat). Backed by a wall of imposing, pale grey mountains, the characteristic outcrops of orange granite punctuating its spectacular coastline shelter a string of idyllic beaches, many of them sporting ritzy marinas and holiday complexes. These, along with the region’s two honeypot towns, L’Île Rousse and Calvi , get swamped in summer, but the scenery more than compensates. In any case, Calvi, with its cream-coloured citadelle, breathtaking white-sand bay and mountainous backdrop, should not be missed.

Seen from the water, Calvi is a beautiful spectacle, with its three immense bastions topped by a crest of ochre buildings, sharply defined against a hazy backdrop of mountains. Located twenty kilometres west along the coast from L’Île Rousse, the town began as a fishing port on the site of the present-day ville basse below the citadelle, and remained just a cluster of houses and fishing shacks until the Pisans conquered the island in the tenth century. Not until the arrival of the Genoese, however, did the town become a stronghold when, in 1268, Giovaninello de Loreto, a Corsican nobleman, built a huge citadelle on the windswept rock overlooking the port and named it Calvi. A fleet commanded by Nelson launched a brutal two-month attack on the town in 1794; he left saying he hoped never to see the place again, and very nearly didn’t see anywhere else again, having sustained the wound that cost him his sight in one eye.

The French concentrated on developing Ajaccio and Bastia during the nineteenth century, and Calvi became primarily a military base. A hangout for European glitterati in the 1950s, the town these days has the ambience of a slightly kitsch Côte d’Azur resort, whose glamorous marina, souvenir shops and fussy boutiques jar with the down-to-earth villages of its rural hinterland. It’s also an important base for the French Foreign Legion’s parachute regiment, the 2e REP, and immaculately uniformed legionnaires are a common sight around the bars lining avenue de la République.

Social life in Calvi focuses on the restaurants and cafés of the quai Landry , a spacious seafront walkway linking the marina and the port. This is the best place to get the feel of the town, but the majority of Calvi’s sights are found within the walls of the citadelle.

Calvi beach

Calvi’s beach sweeps round the bay from the end of quai Landry, but most of the first kilometre or so is owned by bars which rent out sunloungers for a hefty price. To avoid these, follow the track behind the sand, which will bring you to the start of a more secluded stretch. The sea might not be as sparklingly clear as at many other Corsican beaches, but it’s warm, shallow and free of rocks.

The citadelle

“Civitas Calvis Semper Fidelis” – always faithful – reads the inscription of the town’s motto, carved over the ancient gateway into the fortress. The best way of seeing the citadelle is to follow the ramparts connecting the three immense bastions, the views from which extend out to sea and inland to Monte Cinto. Within the walls the houses are tightly packed along tortuous stairways and narrow passages that converge on the place d’Armes. Dominating the square is the Cathédrale St-Jean-Baptiste , set at the highest point of the promontory. This chunky ochre edifice was founded in the thirteenth century, but was partly destroyed during the Turkish siege of 1553 and then suffered extensive damage twelve years later, when the powder magazine in the governor’s palace exploded. It was rebuilt in the form of a Greek cross. The church’s great treasure is the Christ des Miracles , which is housed in the chapel on the right of the choir; this crucifix was brandished at marauding Turks during the 1553 siege, an act which reputedly saved the day.

L’Île Rousse

Developed by Pascal Paoli in the 1760s as a “gallows to hang Calvi”, the port of L’Île Rousse (Isula Rossa) simply doesn’t convince as a Corsican town, its palm trees, smart shops, neat flower gardens and colossal pink seafront hotel creating an atmosphere that has more in common with the French Riviera. Pascal Paoli had great plans for his new town on the Haute-Balagne coast, which was laid out from scratch in 1758 as a port to export the olive oil produced in the region. A large part of it was built on a grid system, quite at odds with the higgledy-piggledy nature of most Corsican villages and towns. Thanks to the busy trading of wine and oil, it soon began to prosper and, two and a half centuries later, still thrives as a successful port. These days, however, the main traffic consists of holiday-makers, lured here by brochure shots of the nearby beaches. This is officially the hottest corner of the island, and the town is deluged by sun-worshippers in July and August. Given the proximity of Calvi, and so much unspoilt countryside, it’s hard to see why you should want to stop here for longer than it takes to have lunch or a coffee on the square.

The dominant tone of Corsica’s most successful commercial town, Bastia , is one of charismatic dereliction, as the city’s industrial zone is spread onto the lowlands to the south, leaving the centre of town with plenty of aged charm. The old quarter, known as the Terra Vecchia, comprises a tightly packed network of haphazard streets, flamboyant Baroque churches and lofty tenements, their crumbling golden-grey walls set against a backdrop of maquis-covered hills.

The city dates from Roman times, when a base was set up at Biguglia to the south, beside a freshwater lagoon. Little remains of the former colony, but the site merits a day-trip for the well-preserved pair of Pisan churches at Mariana, rising from the southern fringes of Poretta airport. Bastia began to thrive under the Genoese, when wine was exported to the Italian mainland from Porto Cardo, forerunner of Bastia’s Vieux Port, or Terra Vecchia. Despite the fact that in 1811 Napoleon appointed Ajaccio capital of the island, initiating a rivalry between the two towns which exists to this day, Bastia soon established a stronger trading position with mainland France. The Nouveau Port, created in 1862 to cope with the increasing traffic with France and Italy, became the mainstay of the local economy, exporting chiefly agricultural products from Cap Corse, Balagne and the eastern plain.

The centre of Bastia is not especially large, and all its sights can easily be seen in a day without the use of a car. The spacious place St-Nicolas is the obvious place to get your bearings: open to the sea and lined with shady trees and cafés, it’s the main focus of town life. Running parallel to it on the landward side are boulevard Paoli and rue César-Campinchi, the two main shopping streets, but all Bastia’s historic sights lie within Terra Vecchia , the old quarter immediately south of place St-Nicolas, and Terra Nova , the area surrounding the citadelle. Tucked away below the imposing, honey-coloured bastion is the much-photographed Vieux Port , with its boat-choked marina encircled by crumbling eighteenth-century tenement buildings.

Bonifacio enjoys a superbly isolated location at Corsica’s southernmost point, a narrow peninsula of dazzling white limestone creating a townsite unlike any other. The much-photographed haute ville , a maze of narrow streets flanked by tall Genoese tenements, rises seamlessly out of sheer cliffs that have been hollowed and striated by the wind and waves, while on the landward side the deep cleft between the peninsula and the mainland forms a perfect natural harbour.

A haven for boats for centuries, this inlet is nowadays a chic marina that attracts yachts from around the Med. Its geography has long enabled Bonifacio to maintain a certain temperamental detachment from the rest of Corsica, and the town today remains distinctly more Italian than French in the atmosphere. It retains Renaissance features found only here, and its inhabitants have their own dialect based on Ligurian, a legacy of the days when this was practically an independent Genoese colony.

Bonifacio port and old town © Pawel Kazmierczak / Shutterstock

Bonifacio's charming marina and beautiful waters make it no surprise that the best things to do in the area involve boats and beaches. However, the old town forms one of the most arresting spectacles in the Mediterranean, and warrants at least a day-trip. If you plan to come in peak season, try to get here early in the day before the bus parties arrive at around 10 am.

Although Bonifacio has its inevitable drawbacks; exorbitant prices, overwhelming crowds in July and August and a commercial cynicism that’s atypical of Corsica as a whole, it has an unexpected charm that is well worth exploring.

There are impressive views of the citadel from the cliffs at the head of the Montée Rastello (reached via the pathway running left from the top of the steps), but they’re not a patch on the spectacular panorama from the sea. Throughout the day, a flotilla of excursion boats ferries visitors out to the best vantage points, taking in a string of caves and other landmarks only accessible by water en route, including the Îles Lavezzi , the scattering of small islets where the troopship Sémillante was shipwrecked in 1855, now designated as a nature reserve.

The whole experience of bobbing around to an amplified running commentary is about as touristy as Bonifacio gets, but it’s well worth enduring just to round the mouth of the harbour and see the vieille ville , perched atop the famous chalk cliffs. The Lavezzi islets themselves are surrounded by wonderfully clear sea water, offering Corsica’s best snorkelling. On your way back, you skirt the famous Île Cavallo , or “millionaire’s island”, where the likes of Princess Caroline of Monaco and other French and Italian glitterati have luxury hideaways.

The beaches within walking distance of Bonifacio are generally smaller and less appealing than most in southern Corsica. For a dazzling splash of turquoise, you’ll have to follow the narrow, twisting lane east of town in the direction of Pertusatu lighthouse, turning left when you see signs for Piantarella , Corsica’s kitesurfing hotspot. A twenty-minute walk south around the shore from there takes you past the remains of a superbly situated Roman villa to a pair of divine little coves, Grand Sperone and Petit Sperone – both shallow and perfect for kids.

Another superb beach in the area is Rondinara , a perfect shell-shaped cove of turquoise water enclosed by dunes and a pair of twin headlands. Located 10km north (east of N198), it’s sufficiently off the beaten track to remain relatively peaceful (outside school holidays). Facilities are minimal, limited to a smart wooden beach restaurant, paying car park and campsite. Shade is at a premium, so come armed with a parasol.

Aerial of Bonifacio © LuckyViks / iStock

Top Image: Bonifacio (Bonifaziu) © Andrea Sirri / Shutterstock

Boat trips from Bonifacio

From the moment you arrive in Bonifacio, you’ll be pestered by touts from the many boat companies running excursions out of the harbour. There are more than a dozen of these, but they all offer more or less the same routes, at the same prices.

Lasting between thirty and forty-five minutes, the shorter trips take you out along the cliffs to the grottes marines (sea caves) and calanches (inlets) below the old town.

Longer excursions head out to the Îles Lavezzi , part of the archipelago to the east of the straits of Bonifacio. Most companies offer a shuttle ( navette ) service, allowing you to spend as much time as you like on the islands before returning. Boats go out past the Grain de Sable and Phare du Pertusato and then moor at the main island of Lavezzi , beside the cimetière Achiarino . Buried in two walled cemeteries are the victims of the Sémillante shipwreck of 1855, in which 773 crew members and soldiers bound for the Crimean War were drowned after their vessel was blown onto the rocks.

Classified as a nature reserve since 1982, the islets are home to several rare species of wild flower , and offer fabulous snorkelling and some exquisite shell-sand beaches . A network of footpaths runs between them, well waymarked, as you’re not permitted to wander off into the fragile vegetation.

Until Napoléon III had a coach road built around Cap Corse in the nineteenth century, the promontory was effectively cut off from the rest of the island, and relied on Italian maritime traffic for its income – hence its distinctive Tuscan dialect. Many Capicursini later left to seek their fortunes in the colonies of the Caribbean, which explains the distinctly ostentatious mansions, or palazzi , built by the successful émigrés (nicknamed “les Américains”) on their return. For all the changes brought by the modern world, Cap Corse still feels like a separate country, with wild flowers in profusion, vineyards and quiet, traditional fishing villages.

Forty kilometres long and only fifteen across, the peninsula is divided by a spine of mountains called the Serra, which peaks at Cima di e Folicce , 1324m above sea level. The coast on the east side of this divide is characterized by tiny ports, or marines , tucked into gently sloping river-mouths, alongside coves which become sandier as you go further north. The villages of the western coast are sited on rugged cliffs, high above the rough sea and tiny rocky inlets that can be glimpsed from the corniche road.

Centuri-Port

When Dr Johnson’s biographer, James Boswell, arrived here from England in 1765, the former Roman settlement of Centuri-Port was a tiny fishing village, recommended to him for its peaceful detachment from the dangerous turmoil of the rest of Corsica. Not much has changed since Boswell’s time: Centuri-Port exudes tranquillity despite a serious influx of summer residents, many of them artists who come to paint the fishing boats in the slightly prettified harbour, where the grey-stone wall is highlighted by the green serpentine roofs of the encircling cottages, restaurants and bars. The only drawback is the beach, which is disappointingly muddy and not ideal for sunbathing.

A port since Roman times, well-sheltered Macinaggio , 20km north of Erbalunga, was developed by the Genoese in 1620 for the export of olive oil and wine to the Italian peninsula. The Corsican independence leader, Pascal Paoli, landed here in 1790 after his exile in England, whereupon he kissed the ground and uttered the words “ O ma patrie, je t’ai quitté esclave, je te retrouve libre ” (“Oh my country, I left you as a slave, I rediscover you a free man”). There’s not much of a historic patina to the place nowadays, but with its packed marina and line of colourful seafront awnings, Macinaggio has a certain appeal, made all the stronger by its proximity to some of the wildest landscape on the Corsican coast.

Another reason to linger is to sample the superb Clos Nicrosi wines, grown in the terraces above the village, which you can taste at the domaine’s little shop on the north side of the Rogliano road, opposite the U Ricordu hotel.

North of the town lie some beautiful stretches of sand and clear sea – an area demarcated as the Site Naturel de la Capandula . A marked footpath, known as Le Sentier des Douaniers because it used to be patrolled by customs officials, threads its way across the hills and coves of the reserve, giving access to an area that cannot by reached by road.

Central Corsica is a nonstop parade of stupendous scenery, and the best way to immerse yourself in it is to get onto the region’s ever-expanding network of trails and forest tracks. The ridge of granite mountains forming the spine of the island is closely followed by the epic GR20 footpath, which can be picked up from various villages and is scattered with refuge huts, most of them offering no facilities except shelter. For the less active there are also plenty of roads penetrating deep into the forests of Vizzavona, La Restonica and Rospa Sorba, crossing lofty passes that provide exceptional views across the island. The most popular attractions in the centre, though, are the magnificent gorges of La Restonica and Tavignano , both within easy reach of Corte.

Stacked up the side of a wedge-shaped crag against a spectacular backdrop of granite mountains, Corte epitomizes l’âme corse , or “Corsican soul” – a small town marooned amid a grandiose landscape, where a spirit of dogged patriotism is never far from the surface. Corte has been the home of Corsican nationalism since the first National Constitution was drawn up here in 1731, and was also where Pascal Paoli , “U Babbu di u Patria” (“Father of the Nation”), formed the island’s first democratic government later in the eighteenth century. Self-consciously insular and grimly proud, it can seem an inhospitable place at times, although the presence of the island’s only university lightens the atmosphere noticeably during termtime, when the bars and cafés lining its long main street fill with students. For the outsider, Corte’s charm is concentrated in the tranquil haute ville , where the forbidding citadelle – site of a modern museum – presides over a warren of narrow, cobbled streets.

It’s the herbs – thyme, marjoram, basil, fennel and rosemary – of the maquis (the dense, scented scrub covering lowland Corsica) that lend the island’s cuisine its distinctive aromas.

You’ll find the best charcuterie in the hills of the interior, where pork is smoked and cured in the cold cellars of village houses – it’s particularly delicious in Castagniccia, where wild pigs feed on the chestnuts which were once the staple diet of the locals. Here you can also taste chestnut fritters ( fritelli a gaju frescu ) and chestnut porridge ( pulenta ) sprinkled with sugar or eau de vie. Brocciu , a soft mozzarella-like cheese made with ewe’s milk, is found everywhere on the island, forming the basis for many dishes, including omelettes and cannelloni. Fromage corse is also very good – a hard cheese made in the sheep- and goat-rearing central regions, where cabrettu à l’istrettu (kid stew) is a speciality.

Game – mainly stews of hare and wild boar but also roast woodcock, partridge and wood pigeon – features throughout the island’s mountain and forested regions. Here blackbirds ( merles ) are made into a fragrant pâté, and eel and trout are fished from the unpolluted rivers. Sea fish like red mullet ( rouget ), bream ( loup de mer ) and a great variety of shellfish is eaten along the coast – the best crayfish ( langouste ) comes from around the Golfe de St-Florent, whereas oysters ( huîtres ) and mussels ( moules ) are a speciality of the eastern plain.

Corsica produces some excellent, and still little-known, wines , mostly from indigenous vine stocks that yield distinctive, herb-tinged aromas. Names to look out for include: Domaine Torraccia (Porto-Vecchio); Domaine Fiumicicoli (Sartène); Domaine Saparale (Sartène); Domaine Gentille (Patrimonio); Domaine Leccia (Patrimomio); and Venturi-Pieretti (Cap Corse). In addition to the usual whites, reds and rosés, the last of these makes the sweet muscat for which Cap Corse was renowned in previous centuries. Another popular aperitif is the drink known as Cap Corse, a fortified wine flavoured with quinine and herbs. Note that tap water is particularly good quality in Corsica, coming from the fresh mountain streams.

Winding some 170km from Calenzana (12km from Calvi) to Conca (22km from Porto-Vecchio), the GR20 is Corsica’s most demanding long-distance footpath. Only one-third of the 18,000 to 20,000 hikers who start it each season complete all sixteen stages, which can be covered in ten to twelve days if you’re in good physical shape – if you’re not, don’t even think about attempting this route. Marked with red-and-white splashes of paint, it comprises a series of harsh ascents and descents, sections of which exceed 2000m and become more of a scramble than a walk, with stanchions, cables and ladders driven into the rock as essential aids. The going is made tougher by the necessity of carrying a sleeping bag, all-weather kit and two or three days’ food with you. That said, the rewards more than compensate. The GR20 takes in the most spectacular mountain terrain in Corsica and along the way you can spot the elusive mouflon (mountain sheep), glimpse lammergeier (a rare vulture) wheeling around the crags, and swim in ice-cold torrents and waterfalls.

The first thing you need to do before setting off is get hold of the Parc Régional’s indispensable Topo-guide , published by the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre, which gives a detailed description of the route, along with relevant sections of IGN contour maps, lists of refuges and other essential information. Most good bookshops in Corsica stock them, or call at the park office in Ajaccio.

The route can be undertaken in either direction , but most hikers start in the north at Calenzana, tackling the most demanding étapes early on. The hardship is alleviated by extraordinary mountainscapes as you round the Cinto massif, skirt the Asco, Niolo, Tavignano and Restonica valleys, and scale the sides of Monte d’Oro and Rotondo. At Vizzavona on the main Bastia–Corte–Ajaccio road, roughly the halfway mark, you can call it a day and catch a bus or train back to the coast, or press on south across two more ranges to the needle peaks of Bavella.

Accommodation along the route is provided by refuges , where, for around €13–17, you can take a hot shower, use an equipped kitchen and bunk down on mattresses. Usually converted bergeries , these places are staffed by wardens during the peak period (June–Sept). Advance reservations can be made online via the national park (PNRC) website, parc-corse.org, for an advance payment of €5 per bed; any un-booked places are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, so be prepared to bivouac if you arrive late. Another reason to be on the trail soon after dawn is that it allows you to break the back of the étape before 2pm, when clouds tend to bubble over the mountains and obscure the views.

The weather in the high mountains is notoriously fickle. A sunny morning doesn’t necessarily mean a sunny day, and during July and August violent storms can envelop the route without warning. It’s therefore essential to take good wet-weather gear with you, as well as a hat, sunblock and shades. In addition, make sure you set off on each stage with adequate food and water . At the height of the season, most refuges sell basic supplies ( alimentation or ravitaillement ), but you shouldn’t rely on this service; ask hikers coming from the opposite direction where their last supply stop was and plan accordingly (basic provisions are always available at the main passes of Col de Vergio, Col de Vizzavona, Col de Bavella and Col de Verde). The refuge wardens ( gardiens ) will be able to advise you on how much water to carry at each stage.

Finally, a word of warning : each year, injured hikers have to be air-lifted to safety off remote sections of the GR20, normally because they strayed from the marked route and got lost. Occasionally, fatal accidents also occur for the same reason, so always keep the paint splashes in sight, especially if the weather closes in – don’t rely purely on the many cairns that punctuate the route, as these sometimes mark more hazardous paths to high peaks.

In June 2015, a landslide caused by a violent storm in the notorious Cirque de la Solitude, between Asco Stagnu and the Tighjettu refuge, killed five trekkers and forced the closure of this part of the route. At the time of writing, minibuses were being used to shuttle walkers between the valleys instead, while the PNRC were equipping an alternative high-level “variant” route to bypass the cirque, which is expected to remain closed for the foreseeable future. Full details on the new variant are posted on the PNRC website.

Le Golfe de Valinco

From Ajaccio, the vista of whitewashed villas and sandy beaches lining the opposite side of the gulf may tempt you out of town when you first arrive. On closer inspection, however, Porticcio turns out to be a faceless string of leisure settlements for Ajaccio’s smart set, complete with tennis courts, malls and flotillas of jet-skis. Better to skip this stretch and press on south along the route nationale (RN194) which, after scaling the Col de Celaccia , winds down to the stunning Golfe de Valinco . A vast blue inlet bounded by rolling, scrub-covered hills, the gulf presents the first dramatic scenery along the coastal highway. It also marks the start of militant and Mafia-ridden south Corsica, more closely associated with vendetta, banditry and separatism than any other part of the island. Many of the mountain villages glimpsed from the roads hereabouts are riven with age-old divisions, exacerbated in recent years by the spread of organized crime and nationalist violence. But the island’s seamier side is rarely discernible to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who pass through each summer, most of whom stay around the small port of Propriano , at the eastern end of the gulf. In addition to offering most of the area’s tourist amenities, this busy resort town lies within easy reach of the menhirs at Filitosa , one of the western Mediterranean’s most important prehistoric sites.

Set deep in the countryside of the fertile Vallée du Taravo, the extraordinary Station Préhistorique de Filitosa , 17km north of Propriano, comprises a wonderful array of statue-menhirs and prehistoric structures encapsulating some eight thousand years of history. There’s no public transport to the site; vehicles should be parked in the small car park five-minutes’ walk from the entrance in the village.

Filitosa was settled by Neolithic farming people who lived here in rock shelters until the arrival of navigators from the east in about 3500 BC. These invaders were the creators of the menhirs, the earliest of which were possibly phallic symbols worshipped by an ancient fertility cult. When the seafaring people known as the Torréens (after the towers they built on Corsica) conquered Filitosa around 1300 BC, they destroyed most of the menhirs, incorporating the broken stones into the area of dry-stone walling surrounding the site’s two torri , or towers, examples of which can be found all over the south of Corsica. The site remained undiscovered until a farmer stumbled across the ruins on his land in the late 1940s.

Propriano (Pruprià)

Tucked into the narrowest part of the Golfe de Valinco, the small port of Propriano , 57km southeast of Ajaccio, centres on a fine natural harbour that was exploited by the ancient Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans, but became a prime target for Saracen pirate raids in the sixteenth century, when it was largely destroyed. Redeveloped in the 1900s, it now boasts a thriving marina, and handles ferries to Toulon, Marseille and Sardinia.

During the summer, tourists come here in droves for the area’s beaches . The nearest of these, plage de Lido , lies 1km west, just beyond the Port de Commerce, but it’s nowhere near as pretty as the coves strung along the northern shore of the gulf around Olmeto plage . You can reach Olmeto on the three daily buses from Propriano to Porto.

Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio in 1769, a year after the French took over the island from the Genoese. They made a thorough job of it, crushing the Corsican leader Paoli’s troops at Ponte Nuovo and driving him into exile. Napoleon’s father Carlo, a close associate of Paoli, fled the scene of the battle with his pregnant wife in order to escape the victorious French army. But Carlo’s subsequent behaviour was quite different from that of his former leader – he came to terms with the French, becoming a representative of the newly styled Corsican nobility in the National Assembly, and using his contacts with the French governor to get a free education for his children.

At the age of 9, Napoleon was awarded a scholarship to the Brienne military academy , an institution specially founded to teach the sons of the French nobility the responsibilities of their status, and the young son of a Corsican Italian-speaking household used his time well, leaving Brienne to enter the exclusive École Militaire in Paris. At the age of 16 he was commissioned into the artillery. When he was 20 the Revolution broke out in Paris and the scene was set for a remarkable career.

Always an ambitious opportunist, Napolean obtained leave from his regiment, returned to Ajaccio, joined the local Jacobin club and – with his eye on a colonelship in the Corsican militia – promoted enthusiastically the interests of the Revolution. However, things did not quite work out as he had planned, for Pascal Paoli had also returned to Corsica.

Carlo Bonaparte had died some years before, and Napoleon was head of a family that had formerly given Paoli strong support. Having spent the last twenty years in London, Paoli was pro-English and had developed a profound distaste for revolutionary excesses. Napoleon’s French allegiance and his Jacobin views antagonized the older man, and his military conduct didn’t enhance his standing at all. Elected second-in-command of the volunteer militia, Napoleon was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to wrest control of the citadelle from royalist sympathizers. He thus took much of the blame when, in reprisal for the killing of one of the militiamen, several people were gunned down in Ajaccio, an incident which engendered eight days of civil war. In June 1793, Napoleon and his family were chased back to the mainland by the Paolists.

Napoleon promptly renounced any special allegiance he had ever felt for Corsica. He Gallicized the spelling of his name, preferring Napoléon to his baptismal Napoleone. And, although he was later to speak with nostalgia about the scents of the Corsican countryside, he put the city of his birth fourth on the list of places he would like to be buried.

Taking its name from the thick mists that sweep over the region in winter, the Nebbio has for centuries been one of the most fertile parts of the island, producing honey, chestnuts and some of the island’s finest wine. An amphitheatre of rippled chalk hills, vineyards and cultivated valleys surrounds the area’s main town, St-Florent , half an hour’s drive west over the mountain from Bastia at the base of Cap Corse. Aside from EU subsidies, the major money earner here is viticulture: the village of Patrimonio is the wine-growing hub, with caves offering dégustations lined up along its main street.

St-Florent is the obvious base for day-trips to the beautifully preserved Pisan church of Santa Maria Assunta, just outside the town, and the Désert des Agriates , a wilderness of parched maquis-covered hills across the bay whose rugged coastline harbours one of Corsica’s least accessible, but most picturesque, beaches.

Patrimonio (Patrimoniu)

Some 6km from St-Florent lies PATRIMONIO , centre of the first Corsican wine region to gain appellation contrôlée status. Apart from the renowned local muscat, which can be sampled in the village or at one of the caves along the route from St-Florent, Patrimonio’s chief asset is the sixteenth-century church of St-Martin , occupying its own little hillock and visible for kilometres around. The colour of burnt sienna, it stands out vividly against the rich green vineyards and chalk hills. In a garden 200m south of the church stands a limestone statue-menhir known as U Nativu, a late megalithic piece dating from 900–800 BC. A carved T-shape on its front represents a breastbone, and two eyebrows and a chin can also be made out.

The U Nativu menhir takes pride of place next to the stage at Patrimonio’s annual open-air guitar festival , held in the last week of July next to the church, when performers and music aficionados from all over Europe converge on the village.

Viewed from across the bay, St-Florent (San Fiurenzu) appears as a bright line against the black tidal wave of the Tenda hills, the pale stone houses seeming to rise straight out of the sea, overlooked by a squat circular citadelle. It’s a relaxing town, with a decent beach and a good number of restaurants, but the key to its success is the marina , which is jammed with expensive boats throughout the summer. Neither the tourists, however, nor indeed St-Florent’s proximity to Bastia, entirely eclipse the air of isolation conferred on the town by its brooding backdrop of mountains and scrubby desert.

In Roman times, a settlement called Cersunam – referred to as Nebbium by chroniclers from the ninth century onwards – existed a kilometre east of the present village. The ancient port was eclipsed by the harbour that developed around the new Genoese citadelle in the fifteenth century, which prospered as one of Genoa’s strongholds, and it was from here that Paoli set off for London in 1796, never to return.

The Désert des Agriates

Extending westwards from the Golfe de St-Florent to the mouth of the Ostriconi River, the Désert des Agriates is a vast area of uninhabited land, dotted with clumps of cacti and scrub-covered hills. It may appear inhospitable now, but during the time of the Genoese this rocky moonscape was, as its name implies, a veritable breadbasket ( agriates means “cultivated fields”). In fact, so much wheat was grown here that the Italian overlords levied a special tax on grain to prevent any build-up of funds that might have financed an insurrection. Fires and soil erosion eventually took their toll, however, and by the 1970s the area had become a total wilderness.

Numerous crackpot schemes to redevelop the Désert have been mooted over the years – from atomic weapon test zones to concrete Club-Med-style resorts – but during the past few decades the government has gradually bought up the land from its various owners (among them the Rothschild family) and designated it as a protected nature reserve.

A couple of rough pistes wind into the desert, but without some kind of 4WD vehicle the only feasible way to explore the area and its rugged coastline, which includes two of the island’s most beautiful beaches , is on foot. From St-Florent, a pathway winds northwest to plage de Perajola , just off the main Calvi highway (N1197), in three easy stages. The first takes around 5hr 30min, and leads past the famous Martello tower and much-photographed plage de Loto to plage de Saleccia , a huge sweep of soft white sand and turquoise sea that was used as a location for the invasion sequences in the film The Longest Day .

The overwhelming proximity of the mountains, combined with the pervasive eucalyptus and spicy scent of the maquis, give Porto , 30km south of Calvi, a uniquely intense atmosphere that makes it one of the most interesting places to stay on the west coast. Except for a watchtower erected here by the Genoese in the second half of the sixteenth century, the site was only built upon with the onset of tourism since the 1950s; today the village is still so small that it can become claustrophobic in July and August, when overcrowding is no joke. Off season, the place becomes eerily deserted, so you’d do well to choose your times carefully; the best months are May, June and September.

The crowds and traffic jams tend to be most oppressive passing the famous Calanches , a huge mass of weirdly eroded pink rock just southwest of Porto, but you can easily sidestep the tourist deluge in picturesque Piana , which overlooks the gulf from its southern shore, or by heading inland from Porto through the Gorges de Spelunca . Forming a ravine running from the sea to the watershed of the island, this spectacular gorge gives access to the equally grandiose Forêt d’Aïtone , site of Corsica’s most ancient Laricio pine trees and a deservedly popular hiking area. Throughout the forest, the river and its tributaries are punctuated by strings of piscines naturelles (natural swimming pools) – a refreshing alternative to the beaches hereabouts. If you’re travelling between Porto and Ajaccio, a worthwhile place to break the journey is the clifftop village of Cargèse where the two main attractions are the Greek church and spectacular beach.

Competition between hotels is more cut-throat in Porto than in any other resort on the island. During slack periods towards the beginning and end of the season, most places engage in a full-on price war, pasting up cheaper tariffs than their neighbours – all of which is great for punters. In late July and August, however, the normal high rates prevail.

The Calanches

The UNESCO-protected site of the Calanches , 5km southwest of Porto, takes its name from calanca , the Corsican word for creek or inlet, but the outstanding characteristics here are the vivid orange and pink rock masses and pinnacles which crumble into the dark blue sea. Liable to unusual patterns of erosion, these tormented rock formations and porphyry needles, some of which soar 300m above the waves, have long been associated with different animals and figures, of which the most famous is the Tête de Chien (Dog’s Head) at the north end of the stretch of cliffs. Other figures and creatures conjured up include a Moor’s head, a monocled bishop, a bear and a tortoise.

One way to see the fantastic cliffs of the Calanches is by boat from Porto. Alternatively, you could drive along the corniche road that weaves through the granite archways on its way to Piana. Eight kilometres along the road from Porto, the Roches Bleues café is a convenient landmark for walkers .

Picturesque Piana occupies a prime location overlooking the Calanches, but for some reason does not suffer the deluge of tourists that Porto endures. Retaining a sleepy feel, the village comprises a cluster of pink houses ranged around an eighteenth-century church and square, from the edge of which the panoramic views over the Golfe de Porto are sublime.

Calanches walks

The rock formations visible from the road are not a patch on what you can see from the waymarked trails winding through the Calanches, which vary from easy ambles to strenuous stepped ascents. An excellent leaflet highlighting the pick of the routes is available free from tourist offices. Whichever one you choose, leave early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the heat in summer, and take plenty of water.

Walk one: The most popular walk is to the Château Fort (1hr), which begins at a sharp hairpin in the D81, 700m north of the Café Roches Rouges (look for the car park and signboard at the roadside). Passing the famous Tête de Chien, it snakes along a ridge lined by dramatic porphyry forms to a huge square chunk of granite resembling a ruined castle. Just before reaching it there’s an open platform from where the views of the gulf and Paglia Orba, Corsica’s third-highest mountain, are superb – one of the best sunset spots on the island – but bring a torch to help find the path back.

Walk two: For a more challenging extension to Walk one, begin instead at the Roches Rouges Café . On the opposite side of the road, two paths strike up the hill: follow the one on your left (nearest the stream, as you face away from the café), which zigzags steeply up the rocks, over a pass and down the other side to rejoin the D81 in around 1hr 15min. About 150m west of the spot where you meet the road is the trailhead for the Château Fort walk, with more superb views.

Walk three: A small oratory niche in the cliff by the roadside, 500m south of Café Roches Rouges , contains a Madonna statue, Santa Maria, from where the wonderful sentier muletier (1hr) climbs into the rocks above. Before the road was blasted through the Calanches in 1850, this old paved path, an extraordinary feat of workmanship supported in places by dry-stone banks and walls, formed the main artery between the villages of Piana and Ota. After a very steep start, the route contours through the rocks and pine woods above the restored mill at Pont de Gavallaghiu, emerging after one hour back on the D81, roughly 1.5km south of the starting point. Return by the same path.

Cargèse (Carghjese)

Sitting high above a deep blue bay on a cliff scattered with olive trees, Cargèse , 20km southwest of Porto, exudes a lazy charm that attracts hundreds of well-heeled summer residents to its pretty white houses and hotels. The full-time locals, half of whom are descendants of Greek refugees who fled the Turkish occupation of the Peloponnese in the seventeenth century, seem to accept with nonchalance this inundation – and the proximity of a large Club Med complex – but the best times to visit are May and late September, when Cargèse is all but empty.

Eating and drinking

A fair number of restaurants are scattered about the village, as well as the standard crop of basic pizzerias, but the most tempting places to eat are down in the harbour.

The overall standard of restaurants in Porto is poor, with overpriced food and indifferent service the norm, particularly during high season. There are, however, three noteworthy exceptions:

The Gorges de Spelunca

Spanning the 2km between the villages of Ota and Évisa , a few kilometres inland from Porto, the Gorges de Spelunca are a formidable sight, with bare orange granite walls, 1km deep in places, plunging into the foaming green torrent created by the confluence of the rivers Porto, Tavulella, Onca, Campi and Aïtone. The sunlight, ricocheting across the rock walls, creates a sinister effect that’s heightened by the dark jagged needles of the encircling peaks. The most dramatic part of the gorge can be seen from the road, which hugs the edge for much of its length.

Set on a hillock overlooking a beautiful deep blue bay, Porto-Vecchio , 25km north of Bonifacio, was rated by James Boswell as one of “the most distinguished harbours in Europe”. It was founded in 1539 as a second Genoese stronghold on the east coast, Bastia being well established in the north. The site was perfect: close to the unexploited and fertile plain, it benefited from secure high land and a sheltered harbour, although the mosquito population spread malaria and wiped out the first Ligurian settlers within months. Things began to take off mainly thanks to the cork industry, which still thrived well into the twentieth century. Today most revenue comes from tourists, the vast majority of them well-heeled Italians who flock here for the fine outlying beaches . To the northwest, the little town of Zonza makes a good base for exploring the dramatic forest that surrounds one of Corsica’s most awesome road trips, the route de Bavella .

Around the centre of town there’s not much to see, apart from the well-preserved fortress and the small grid of ancient streets backing onto the main place de la République. East of the square you can’t miss the Porte Génoise , which frames a delightful expanse of sea and saltpans and through which you’ll find the quickest route down to the modern marina, which is lined with cafés and restaurants.

Prosper Mérimée famously dubbed Sartène “la plus corse des villes corses” (“the most Corsican of Corsican towns”), but the nineteenth-century German chronicler Gregorovius put a less complimentary spin on it when he described it as a “town peopled by demons”. Sartène hasn’t shaken off its hostile image, despite being a smart, better-groomed place than many small Corsican towns. The main square, place Porta, doesn’t offer many diversions once you’ve explored the enclosed vielle ville , and the only time of year Sartène teems with tourists is at Easter for U Catenacciu , a Good Friday procession that packs the main square with onlookers.

Close to Sartène are some of the island’s best-known prehistoric sites , most notably Filitosa , the megaliths of Cauria and the Alignement de Palaggiu – Corsica’s largest array of prehistoric standing stones – monuments from which are displayed in the town’s excellent museum.

The megalithic sites

Sparsely populated today, the rolling hills of the southwestern corner of Corsica are rich in prehistoric sites. The megaliths of Cauria , standing in ghostly isolation 10km southwest from Sartène, comprise the Dolmen de Fontanaccia, the best-preserved monument of its kind on Corsica, while the nearby alignments of Stantari and Renaggiu have an impressive congregation of statue-menhirs.

More than 250 menhirs can be seen northwest of Cauria at Palaggiu , another rewardingly remote site. Equally wild is the coast hereabouts, with deep clefts and coves providing some excellent spots for diving and secluded swimming.

As you snake your way through the maquis, the Dolmen de Fontanaccia eventually comes into view on the horizon, crowning the crest of a low hill amid a sea of vegetation. A blue sign at the parking space indicates the track to the dolmen, a fifteen-minute walk away. Known to the locals as the Stazzona del Diavolu (Devil’s Forge), a name that does justice to its enigmatic power, the Dolmen de Fontanaccia is in fact a burial chamber from around 2000 BC. This period was marked by a change in burial customs – whereas bodies had previously been buried in stone coffins in the ground, they were now placed above, in a mound of earth enclosed in a stone chamber. What you see today is a great stone table, comprising six huge granite blocks nearly 2m high, topped by a stone slab that remained after the earth eroded away.

The twenty “standing men” of the Alignement de Stantari , 200m to the east of the dolmen, date from the same period. All are featureless, except two which have roughly sculpted eyes and noses, with diagonal swords on their fronts and sockets in their heads where horns would probably have been attached.

Across a couple of fields to the south is the Alignement de Renaggiu , a gathering of forty menhirs standing in rows amid a small shadowy copse, set against the enormous granite outcrop of Punta di Cauria. Some of the menhirs have fallen, but all face north to south, a fact that seems to rule out any connection with a sun-related cult.

The extraordinary Réserve Naturel de Scandola takes up the promontory dividing the Balagne from the Golfe de Porto. Composed of striking red porphyry granite, its sheer cliffs and gnarled claw-like outcrops were formed by Monte Cinto’s volcanic eruptions 250 million years ago, and subsequent erosion has fashioned shadowy caves, grottoes and gashes in the rock. Scandola’s colours are as remarkable as the shapes, the hues varying from the charcoal grey of granite to incandescent rusty purple.

The headland and its surrounding water were declared a nature reserve in 1975 and now support significant colonies of seabirds, dolphins and seals, as well as 450 types of seaweed and some remarkable fish such as the grouper, a species more commonly found in the Caribbean. In addition, nests belonging to the rare Audouin’s gull are visible on the cliffs, and you might see the odd fish eagle ( Balbuzard pêcheur ) – there used to be only a handful of nesting pairs at one time, but careful conservation has increased their numbers considerably over the past two decades.

Connected by a mere mule track to the rest of the island (1hr 30min on foot from the nearest road), the tiny fishing haven of Girolata , immediately east of Scandola, has a dreamlike quality that’s highlighted by the vivid red of the surrounding rocks. A short stretch of stony beach and a few houses are dominated by a stately watchtower, built by the Genoese in the seventeenth century in the form of a small castle on a bluff overlooking the cove. For most of the year, this is one of the most idyllic spots on the island, with only the odd yacht and party of hikers to threaten the settlement’s tranquillity. From June to September, though, daily boat trips from Porto and Calvi ensure the village is swamped during the middle of the day, so if you want to make the most of the scenery and peace and quiet, walk here and stay a night in one of the gîtes .

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Corsica Lovers

To awaken your senses in Corsica - Claire et Manu’s Blog

Visiting Corsica: our 35 travel tips

by Claire ROBINSON , Region Lovers | 9 July 2023 | no intrusive ads, no sponsored content, just some affiliate links - if you use them, we get a small commission (read more)

Visiting Corsica: paradisiacal beaches , surprising citadels , majestic mountains … the beauty of the landscapes of the island of Corsica offers you unforgettable holidays! But to make sure your trip to Corsica is a success , it’s best to have some information in mind and be well prepared. On this page, we have gathered all our travel tips to help you make the right choices and to find the trip that suits you: when, how, where…

Visiting Corsica: top 10 travel tips

Don’t want to read the whole article, want to get to the point? Here are our top 10 tips for a successful trip to Corsica:

• Book your flights, ferries, cars and hotels well in advance, especially if you are going in summer. Many French people come to the island for the school vacations, the places fill up quickly and the prices go up.
• Consider the ferry if you want to bring your car and there are more than 2 of you traveling – see ferry availability
• Consider flying if you live far from the Mediterranean (to reduce travel time) – compare flight prices
• If you rent a car , choose a car that is not too big and avoid low power cars because the roads are mountainous – see car offers
• Make sure you have a valid ID, even for the ferry.

• Don’ t over-plan each day. At each location you will want to explore and enjoy.
• Don’t limit yourself to the seaside, explore the magnificent Corsican mountains.
• Put on your hiking boots, it’s the best way to appreciate these wonderful landscapes.
• Take the time to listen to a concert of Corsican polyphonies . It’s a really powerful experience.
• Respect the locals, their culture and nature!

Clarification before continuing

Corsica is an absolutely beautiful destination, from the sharp peaks to the turquoise waters and white sand. But make no mistake, it is not for everyone. It is for nature lovers, who accept the winding roads due to the mountains (and the crowds if you go in summer). Its charm is undeniable but very different from other French regions. If you are looking for museums, castles and cities full of architectural wonders, choose another destination (the Loire , for example).

Tips 1 to 4 – How to travel to Corsica

1. where is corsica in which country how to get there.

Corsica is a French island in the Mediterranean Sea, nestled between France and Italy. The island is located in the north of Sardinia and is geographically closer to Italy than to France. Here is a map of Europe to help you visualize its position. You can get there either by plane or by ferry. There is no bridge or tunnel to reach the island.

2. How to get to Corsica by plane? What flights?

The island has 4 international airports: Bastia, Ajaccio, Figari and Calvi. Bastia and Calvi serve the north of Corsica, Figari and Ajaccio rather the south. The most important airport is Ajaccio, followed by Bastia.

The local company is called Air Corsica, but the island is also served by Air France, Transavia, Easyjets and other companies. There are flights from many major European cities. But if you start your trip outside of Europe, you will necessarily have a stopover.

The duration of the flights are:

• from Paris = less than 2 hours
• from London = 2h30 (if direct)
• from Rome = 1h

Discover flight options on Skyscanner

And learn more in our article on how to get to Corsica .

3. Which ferry to Corsica

If you really want to come with your car, you can take a ferry from Italy or France (Nice or Marseille or Toulon).

• You can arrive in Ajaccio, Bastia, Propriano, Porto-Vecchio or Ile-Rousse
• Departures are from several ports in France and Italy
• The 3 departure ports in France are Nice (5 to 10 hours), Marseille (11 to 12 hours) or Toulon (5 to 10 hours)
• Le plus court trajet depuis la France est entre Nice et l’Ile Rousse (5h45)
• The shortest distance from Italy is between Piombino and Bastia (2h45)
• None of the 4 companies stood out as the “Best”. But the one with the most options is Corsica Ferries.

If you go during the high season, it is advisable to book your ferry ticket well in advance, to have availability and the best prices.

See ferry schedules and availability

And find out more in our article about the ferry crossing to Corsica .

4. Visa and identity papers for Corsica

Corsica is part of France, and is therefore in the Schengen area. If you are one of them, you don’t need a visa. Otherwise, you need a Schengen Visa.

For all of them, you must have a valid identity document to circulate on the territory, and also to take the plane or the ferry.

Note for the French: the validity of the identity card has been extended from 10 to 15 years. Therefore, cards that have been expired for less than 5 years are admissible.

OUR TIPS FOR RENTING A CAR IN Corsica

• Compare prices on our preferred platform: DiscoverCars – one of the best rated sites.
• Choose a car that is powerful enough (the roads are steep) but compact (some passages are narrow).
• Think of the complete insurance (some roads are tortuous and narrow).
• There is a lot of demand, book it early .

6. What is the size of Corsica?

Corsica is much larger than many people imagine. Maximum: 183km from North to South and 83km wide. It is the 4th most important island in the Mediterranean Sea.

But most importantly, it has high mountains. Its geography makes it much longer to get around the island. It takes 4 hours to drive from north to south on the main road (but much longer on the beautiful west coast) It takes at least 2 hours to cross from east to west.

Here is a map to help you visualize these movements:

7. How long to stay in Corsica

Of course, you can focus on one area and visit it in depth. Each region can deserve 3 weeks of vacation… But, if you want to see a bit of each region, here are our estimates for a road trip on the whole island. Please note that these times do not include full days spent on the beach:

• Bastia and the Cap Corse – 2 to 4 days
• Calvi and Balagne – 2 to 5 days
• Piana and the central west – 2 to 5 days
• Corte and Upper Corsica – 2 to 5 days
• Bonifacio and South Corsica – 3 to 5 days
• Ajaccio and the South-West – 3 to 5 days

8. How long to go around Corsica

Don’t try to do the whole tour of Corsica in a road trip if you have less than 2 weeks. Even with two weeks, diligence would be required to focus on only certain locations in each region to make it work. 3 weeks is much more comfortable.

9. Always allow more time than the GPS suggests

Your travel time will be extended for 2 main reasons:

With the mountains, the roads are limited (and not highways). Therefore, as soon as there are a few people, the traffic slows down. If you plan in February but leave in August, the travel times can be very different.

Then, the landscapes are magnificent, we want to stop everywhere, to make detours to see beaches, to walk a little further to see the view on the other side…

Don’t plan too much each day!

10. Dates to choose or to avoid

Depending on what you are looking for, there are some competitions and festivals to consider that may derail your plans. Either you want to include them in your trip or you want to avoid them so you don’t get stuck in the middle of your plans. For example:

• February: Italian film festival in Bastia
• Easter processions all over the island
• march/april: Ajaccio marathon
• June: Corsica-Raid in June – infos
• June: Jazz Festival in Ajaccio
• July: sometimes the Tour de France passes through Corsica! And it cuts the roads a lot!
• July: Calvi on the Rocks in July
• July 14 is the French national holiday
• August 15, public holiday in France and big party in Ajaccio for Napoleon Bonaparte’s birthday
• September: Polyphonic Song Meetings in the citadel of Calvi
• october: Tour de Corse historique, classic car rally – infos
• October: Porto-Vecchio marathon
• and also many days dedicated to Corsican specialties in different towns and villages

11. If you are going in the summer, adapt to the crowds

If you don’t have a choice of dates and you go in summer, understand that it is very crowded in Corsica at that time. The most famous beaches are taken by storm, the parking lots are full and the roads are clogged. You can still enjoy it but you have to know it and adapt your program: find less known places, get up earlier to enjoy the beaches before the crowds (and before the storms), schedule less places to see in your day.

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Tips 12 to 14 – Holiday budget in Corsica – how to reduce prices

12. price and budget.

Corsica has a certain cost.

• Many products are more expensive on the island than in mainland France
• As demand is higher in summer, prices for car rentals, flights and hotels are higher.

Your budget will vary greatly depending on how you want to travel: sleeping in a campsite, sleeping in a rental or doing a road trip by changing hotels regularly… eating in a restaurant or making your own food… It is therefore very difficult to give an average budget…

Here are a few numbers to consider:

• In August: 2500 euros for 2 people, for a week with a flight from Paris and accommodation in a 2/3 star hotel
• In low season: 1700 to 2000 euros for 2 people, for a week with a flight from Paris and accommodation in a 2/3 star hotel

13. Reduce the biggest expenses: compare and book in advance

The largest items in the budget are:

• Transportation to Corsica
• Travel once in Corsica (if you don’t have your own car)

In any case, the best ways to reduce costs are to compare prices on comparison sites and to book well in advance (6 to 9 months). Our favorite comparators are:

• Car rental: compare prices on Discovercars (they often have great deals!)
• Plane: compare prices on Skyscanner
• Compare Directferries prices
• Hotels: compare accommodations on Booking

14. Choose free activities

The advantage of Corsica is that you can get busy for free in :

• Choosing beaches (where parking is not charged)
• Visiting villages

The landscapes are so beautiful that there is no need to plan more if you don’t have the budget. If you have some, we suggest you choose from the following activities:

• Boat trip around Bonifacio
• Boat to the Lavezzi Islands
• Boat to the calanques of Piana and the Scandola reserve – see
• Boat to the Bloody Islands – see
• Desert of Agriates in 4×4 – see

Tips 15 to 17 – How to travel around Corsica

15. how to get around the island.

Corsica by car It remains the most practical option for exploring Corsica. If you want to discover small corners of paradise, you will need a vehicle, because public transport goes mostly in the cities and villages. You can come with your own car by ferry or rent one on the spot (see next tip).

Corsica by motorcycle Corsica is a paradise for bikers with roads that make them dream, winding and with great landscapes.

Corsica by motorhome The motorhome is not the most recommended option for Corsica, unless you arrive by ferry directly to your destination and land your vehicle. Many roads are winding and narrow. Some places are feasible but you need to know your vehicle well and do a lot of research before the trip.

Corsica by train and bus Some cities are connected by trains and buses. If you have time to adapt to their schedules, the network allows you to discover several cities of the island: Ajaccio, Corte, Bastia, Calvi, Ile-Rousse…

Excursions from a main city Another option is to land in one of the big cities and take organized tours to explore the area. Ajaccio is the city with the most options See the tours

16. How to rent a car in Corsica

You will find all international brands at the major airports and ferry terminals. Our main tips are:

• Choose a car that is not too big so that you are more comfortable in the narrower sections of the roads
• Choose a car with a good engine to drive more comfortably in the mountains
• Book early if you want an automatic car (there are few in France)
• You don’t really need a 4×4, especially since most companies won’t allow you to drive off-road even with a 4×4 for insurance reasons
• Compare prices on Discovercars.com – our preferred platform. It is one of the best rated sites by its customers!
• Book early to have a choice of your vehicle!

Learn more in our article with all our tips for renting a car in Corsica .

17. Don’t be afraid to drive

Many people are afraid to drive in Corsica, so let’s be clear:

Yes, the roads are winding and they are sometimes narrow. This is not the easiest region to drive in, when the mountains plunge into the sea! But Only people who have had problems write on the Internet. The millions of people who have not had any problems, do not take the time to go on the forums and say that everything went well in terms of driving… Most of the roads are not really difficult. There are just a few places where they are narrow. In this case, slow down well and take your time.

Learn more in our article with all our tips for driving in Corsica . And here is our video:

Tips 18 to 22 – Where to go in Corsica, best things to do

18. choose one of the best destinations.

All the corners of Corsica are beautiful. You can’t go wrong. Your trip to Corsica will be successful. But, if you want to know everything, our 3 favorite destinations are:

• Bonifacio for the citadel, the impressive cliffs and the beaches around
• Calvi, Ile-Rousse and Balagne for the charm of the towns and villages, as well as the beaches and rock formations
• Saint-Florent for the variety of landscapes between semi-desert, mountains, white sand beaches…

Learn more in our article with our 9 favorite destinations in Corsica .

19. Or plan a road trip

But if that’s your style, Corsica is an ideal destination for a road trip. You can go around to discover the most beautiful corners of the island. If you choose this option we think the must stops are

• The beaches of the South
• The calanques de Piana
• Calvi and the Balagne
• L’Île-Rousse
• The Agriates desert

USE OUR GUIDE TO PLAN A DREAM TRIP TO Corsica

All the information you need for your trip:

• 7 maps that make planning easier
• 130+ pre-selected locations
• Practical advice
• + 220 photos to help you choose

20. Explore the towns and villages

Looking for the most beautiful cities and villages? It is not the richest region of France in terms of architecture but with the surrounding landscapes, some villages and towns have a lot of charm. In cities, we particularly like:

• Bonifacio and its citadel at the edge of the cliffs
• City of Calvi and its citadel on a peninsula
• L’Île-Rousse for its relaxed atmosphere and its colored islands
• Saint-Florent surrounded by desert and mountains
• Sartene and its historical atmosphere

For the villages, our favorites are:

• Pigna with its charming alleys, in Balagne
• Speloncato , to have the impression to travel in time in Balagne
• Evisa, as if suspended among the pink peaks
• Nonza overlooking its black beach

Learn more in our articles with the most beautiful villages of Corsica and the most beautiful cities of Corsica .

21. Discover the most beautiful beaches of Corsica

And if you wish to discover the most beautiful beaches of Corsica, there is plenty to do. The most famous are in South Corsica between Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio but there are some very beautiful ones all around Corsica. Our favorites include:

• the Beach of Ostriconi (North)
• the beach of Tamaricciu (South)
• the beach of Palombaggia (South)
• the beach of San Giovanni (South)
• the beach of Saleccia (North)
• Punta di Spanu , a cove rather than a beach (North)

Learn more in our article with the most beautiful beaches of Corsica .

22. Enjoy the most beautiful hikes

Corsica is a paradise for hiking. Whether you’re in the mountains or on the water, you have a wide range of choices for walks of varying difficulty. We particularly like it:

• Capo Rosso, above the calanques of Piana
• the famous GR20 which crosses Corsica
• the customs path at the level of the Cap Corse
• the Restonica valley surrounded by mountainous peaks, towards the Lake of Melo and the Lake of Capitello
• the walk in the forest towards the Cascade des Anglais
• the customs path in the Agriates desert

23. Don’t over-plan each day

Corsica is a beautiful island. It is famous for its beaches, its mountains, its villages… it has a lot to offer and a great variety of points of interest. You may want to stop at viewpoints, take back roads to explore hidden areas, or simply stay longer in a village or on a beach because it is spectacular. So be sure to be reasonable in your planning!

See our itinerary suggestions:

• 3 days in Corsica
• 4 or 5 days in Corsica
• coming soon: 1 week, 10 days and 15 days

24 to 28 – Where to stay in Corsica

24. one or more units.

Unlike other Mediterranean islands such as Mallorca, it is not possible to explore the entire island based on a single location.

Either you choose a single accommodation and explore a single region. Each region has a lot to offer. Either you go on a road trip. Or you can do a mix of both.

For example with 2 weeks you could:

• you 5 days in South Corsica
• go up the west coast with 2 nights in Ajaccio and 2 nights in Piana
• then 5 days in the North, in Saint-Florent for example

It all depends on what you are looking for during your vacation.

25. Is it necessary to stay in Ajaccio?

Ajaccio is the main city of Corsica. It has many assets:

• choice of restaurants
• access to islands
• beautiful beaches less than 30 minutes away
• waterfalls and mountains less than 1 hour away
• plenty of organized tours

But it’s not really a must-see city. The city does not have an architectural marvel that is a must-see. And not all of the most famous places in Corsica can be visited on an excursion from this city. If you prefer nature to cities, we advise you not to stay in Ajaccio.

But if you want to discover more about Napoleon, Corsican art or Corsican gastronomy, plan at least one stop in Ajaccio.

26. Where to stay in Corsica?

Our favorite places to stay were:

• The citadel of Bonifacio: the place is exceptional and the cliffs change color with the setting sun! – see the options
• L’Île-Rousse: the rocks of the islands turn red-orange at sunset – see options
• Saint-Florent (or Patrimonio, next door, in the heart of the vineyards): easy access to various landscapes and attractions – see options

In terms of hotels, see our dedicated articles with our reviews of many hotels:

• The most beautiful hotels in Corsica (charming)
• Luxury hotels in Corsica
• Where to sleep in Porto-Vecchio
• Where to sleep Bonifacio
• Where to sleep in Propriano / Sartène
• Where to stay in Ajaccio
• Where to sleep in Piana
• Where to stay in Calvi
• Where to stay in L’Île-Rousse
• Where to stay in Saint-Florent
• Where to sleep in Bastia

More tips in our article: where to stay in Corsica / South Corsica .

27. Choosing your home wisely: what to look out for

The accommodation offer on the island of Corsica is really impressive. You can find every type of accommodation imaginable. When making your choice, don’t forget to check the following aspects:

• Book early, especially for a trip to Corsica in summer. Do your research
• Parking – if you are staying in a city, the parking lots may be paid for. This should be taken into consideration in your budget or you should choose an accommodation with parking
• In France, air conditioning is not systematic, far from it. But it can be very hot in Corsica. If it is essential for you, check the conditions before booking
• Accommodations near the beach are rarely on the beach. There are only a few and they are not the best. The best accommodations are often within 5 minutes walk of the beach.
• The pools are not always heated, depending on the hotel.

28. Use a VPN

Do not make the same mistake we made.

On one of our last trips to Europe, a hacker stole our credit card details while we were using a hotel WiFi. So our trip began with a “card blocked” call … Not funny at all! Learn from our mistake, make a small VPN investment to surf without worry .

Tips 29 to 32 – What to bring: packing for Corsica

29. what to wear in corsica.

Classic clothes. There is nothing special to think about. It also depends on your activities And don’t forget:

• Clothing for rain and for colder nights in the evening and in the mountains
• Hiking shoes

30. Protect yourself from the sun

Beware, the sun can be brutal. Don’t take any chances, protect yourself with sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses.

31. Carrying cash

Most places accept credit cards on the island. However, there are a few instances where you will need cash:

• Some places to visit (both on and off the beaten track)
• To pay for certain parking areas

32. Power strip and adapter

We travel with more and more electronic devices. Being able to recharge them is essential. In France, and therefore in Corsica, the plugs are 2 round holes (Type E which also work with a type C). If it doesn’t match yours, consider bringing a plug adapter. And we advise you to travel with a power strip because there is not always enough for the whole family, or the plugs are not well placed.

Tips 33 to 37 – Corsica travel tips: good to know for an unforgettable experience

33. be respectful of people and the environment.

The Corsicans have a strong character. And we love them for it. Remember that you are guests on this island. Be respectful towards Corsicans and their culture. Take the time to talk. The Corsicans are very welcoming. Also be sure to preserve the beautiful nature of this island. “Take only memories, Leave only footprints” – Chief Seattle.

34. Learn some words in the Corsican language

Knowing a few words in the local language is always appreciated. The official language is French but Corsicans are very proud of their local language and many people still speak it.

French – Corsica :

• Hello = Salute
• Goodbye = Avvedeci
• Please = Per piace
• Thanks to you = To ringraziavvi
• Excuse me = Scusatemi

35. Food – what to eat in Corsica

Visiting Corsica also means tasting its culinary specialties. Here are some products and recipes of Corsica not to be missed:

• the delicatessen: salty and tasty, it is strong in taste and will not leave you indifferent. Coppa, lonzu, figatellu, prisuttu, wild boar sausage… the choice is endless!
• cheese: they also have a lot of taste. The local cheeses are mainly made from goat or sheep milk. Bruccio is one of the most famous.
• mussels and oysters from the Diana pond
• the wines of Corsica with a particular soil made of sun and mountains
• canistrellis, dry cookies for those who are looking for something sweet
• the Corsican chestnut, used in many recipes including the Pietra, a beer flavored with chestnut.

36. Listen to Corsican singers

Polyphonies: an experience not to be missed in Corsica. These are singing experiences where only the voices come together to produce music. In Corsica, the typical groups are only male voices. They sing in perfect harmony, mainly in Corsican language. They are very powerful and carry deep emotions. Even when you don’t understand the words, you feel the song. There are regular performances almost everywhere, often in churches. Just look for small signs attached along the roads. For example, we had the chance to listen to I Campagnoli in a small church in Bonifacio!

37. What are the best activities to do in Corsica

In addition to beaches and hiking, Corsica is a beautiful destination for:

• canyoning with more than 100 sites, but about ten are the most famous – see options
• the GR20, more than just hiking
• scuba diving – see options
• via ferrata – see options
• climbing and bouldering
• ATV – see options
• kayaking – see options
• coastering also arrives in Corsica

38. What to do in an emergency

The emergency number is 112 (and also the classic numbers for the French).

Travelling to Corsica: FAQs

Is the tap water drinkable in corsica.

Thanks to its beautiful mountains, Corsica’s water is good and even excellent in some places. Tap water is safe to drink unless otherwise indicated.

Is it necessary to give a tip in Corsica?

As everywhere in France, the service is always included in the restaurant. The bill is given to you at the end of the meal. Tipping is not mandatory. If you are very satisfied with the service, you can leave a tip of a few euros (but not 20% like our American friends).

Is Corsica safe?

On the whole, Corsica is quite safe. No particular scam to mention. Pay attention to :

• The heat, especially if you hike on paths without shade
• Pickpockets in the cities (as in all tourist cities…)
• Summer forest fires – follow the rules
• Do not swim alone – many beaches are not supervised
• Jellyfish that can sometimes get close to certain beaches
• Don’t leave valuable personal belongings in plain sight in the car (like everywhere)

Why travel to Corsica:

Corsica is a unique and colorful place. There are many reasons to visit Corsica:

• its mountains of more than 2500m high which plunge into the sea
• its beaches with white sand and turquoise waters
• rock formations of all colors
• its citadels and its eventful history
• its gastronomy with Mediterranean influences
• its cultural heritage so specific with its language and songs full of emotions

Why is Corsica known?

Corsica is a little less known than other islands of the Mediterranean, but, apart from its extraordinary nature, its most famous elements are:

• Ajaccio is the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte
• The GR20 hike crosses the island and is one of the most beautiful in the world.
• Its geography with the second highest peak in the Mediterranean (Mount Cinto)
• The Gulf of Porto with the calanques of Piana, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Is Corsica a volcanic island?

Yes, Corsica is an island of volcanic origin. We see it particularly with the volcanic rocks of the reserve of Scandola. But they date back 150 million years, the volcanoes are no longer active.

Which is the most beautiful corner: the north or the south of Corsica?

The 2 regions are beautiful. The north has beautiful beaches, but in terms of number of heavenly beaches, the south wins. On the other hand, the northern towns and villages have more charm, in our opinion. It’s really hard to choose. See a more detailed comparison in this article (coming soon).

Are there mosquitoes in Corsica.

There are no more mosquitoes in Corsica than in the south of France or the other Mediterranean islands. As everywhere, bring a repellent for the evening, especially if you stay near a lake.

Are there snakes in Corsica

There are no animals considered dangerous in Corsica. There are very few snakes and they are not poisonous.

Is Corsica better than Sardinia?

Neither more nor less beautiful. Just different. Corsica is 3 times smaller than Sardinia and much more mountainous.

What is the time zone of Corsica

Corsica is at the same time as Paris i.e. GMT+1.

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• Tell you what we do, and do what we tell you!

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Corsica Travel Guide (France)

Corsica, France is one of the most beautiful islands in Europe with breathtaking scenery from Mountain to Sea. Below is my Corsica Travel guide to help you plan your ideal itinerary including the best places in Corsica (especially beaches), a road trip guide and plenty of photos and video to make you dream of your next trip!

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME IN CORSICA!

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Corsica Travel Guide written by Claire , the ultimate Travel Planning Geek

"With the Zigzag Travel Guides, Planning is half the fun of Traveling"

All the articles are now redirecting to my regional website dedicated to my home region: Normandie. You will find even more content to help you plan your amazing trip!

CorsicaLovers.fr

Best things to do in Corsica

Discover general articles about the best destinations and best things to do in Corsica. Get inspired to visit this magnificent French island with many landscapes from mountains to sea displaying unbelievable colors!  The whole island is magnificent with breathtaking scenery everywhere you look. You won't get bored! Here are the best places in Corsica:

Best Places to visit in Corsica - Tourism

Best beaches in Corsica

35 pictures of Corsica - Landscapes and Culture

16 best villages and towns in Corsica

Ajaccio or Bastia?

eBooks Travel Guides

Plan your dream road trip around Corsica!

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• Planning tips
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• GPS coordinates direct to carparks

• 5 easy-to-plan maps
• 85+ pre-selected locations
• Planning tips 
• 150+ large photos 

Corsica Travel Guide - How to Plan your Trip

Below are my articles to help you define your ideal itinerary, get ready to drive in Corsica, plan your accommodations, pack and have a fantastic trip!

Here is a map to help you understand where Corsica island is located in the Mediterranean Sea, South West of France. You can also get a better understand of where the main towns and roads are (Detailed maps designed to help planning are available in the  eBooks .)

How to plan your Corsica Road Trip

How to rent a car in Corsica

Driving in Corsica

Where to stay in Corsica

Need to rent a car in Corsica? My tips:

• Compare prices on my favorite platform: Discovercars.com - one of the best rated comparison sites!
• Choose the car and company you prefer (not too big but with enough power for mountain roads)
• Consider their full coverage option - I always take it for peace of mind! 
• Book early to have a large choice of vehicles!

See my 36 tips about renting a car in Corsica

Best places in North Corsica

Below is your North Corsica Travel guide with some of the best places to see in the region - stunning wild beaches, a desert, a Citadel, the villages of La Balagne... and the Unesco Reserve around the red calanques of Piana and the Scandola peninsula. Unmissable when visiting Corsica!

Things to do in the Gulf of Porto Corsica

How to visit the Calanques de PIana Corsica

Scandola Nature Reserve Corsica

Things to do in Calvi Corsica & La Balagne region

Things to do in Ile Rousse Corsica

Saleccia Beach + Agriates Desert Corsica

Things to do in Saint-Florent Corsica

Magnificent Cap Corse Tour

At the North end of Corsica is the magnificent Cap Corse. It is a unique destination with charming villages, beaches with gold or black sand and mountains plunging into the sea. It offers some of the most breathtaking views on the island.

Drive around Cap Corse Corsica

Village of Erbalunga Corsica

Village of Nonza Corsica

Best places in South Corsica

And now we head to South Corsica famous for its paradise-like beaches such as Rondinara or Palombaggia. But you can also discover great mountain roads, gorges and villages for a more varied holiday in Corsica. Don't miss the famous town of Bonifacio built at the edge of white cliffs. Quite impressing!

Palombaggia Beach Corsica

Things to do in Bonifacio Corsica

Things to do in Porto-Vecchio & South Corsica

Lavezzi Islands Corsica

Bay of Rondinara Beach Corsica

Tamaricciu Beach Corsica

Aleria Corsica (Roman Ruins)

Corsican Mountains

The center of Corsica is mountainous all the way to 2,706 m (8,878 ft). It is a world of magnificent gorges and a hiker paradise. Its main town Corte has a long history and and one of the most breathtaking view in Corsica.

Restonica Valley Corsica

Corsica Mountains + best drives in Corsica

And keep track of your own trip!

GENERAL TRAVEL TIPS

And below are some of my tips to help you have a wonderful trip!

Travel Checklists and Must have travel items

Travel Safety Tips

Best Travel Binoculars

Practical websites to Book your trip

BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION

• I personally use Booking.com for their large choice of both hotels and apartments, their real reviews and reductions for repeat customers - Book your accommodations via Booking.com
• I know that some of my Readers from the US and Canada favor Hotels.com for their repeat customer deals - Book with Hotels.com
• And for those you like to compare prices, you can have a look and book through Hotelscombined.com

PLAN YOUR ACTIVITIES

• DAY TRIPS - The other travel option I like to just seat and relax while admiring the scenery it to Book day trips and organized tours. I also like to have my tickets beforehand to save time. I personally use GetYourGuide.com and Viator.com  

GET EQUIPMENT YOU NEED

• CLOTHES, SAFETY ITEMS, PACKING PRACTICAL ITEMS, LUGGAGE, ELECTRONICS... Get it on Amazon (US, UK and Canada only)

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• I wish you a very smooth trip, but my policy is: better be prepared. I personally use World Nomads.  Get a quote online here .

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Towns and resorts

Discover some of the most popular resorts and towns in Corsica

Explore Corsica by following its beautiful coast road

Hotels in Corsica

Booking.com: best prices

Desert des Agriates

The only desert in Europe, Agriates has some lovely beaches and a popular coastal footpath

Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon, also benefits from attractive beaches, Ajaccio cathedral and a citadel

Evisa is a village near Porto in western Corsica, well placed for hiking the Gorges de Spelunca and Aitone Forest

Visit Corsica

The island of Corsica is almost the perfect holiday destination, basking in the Mediterranean sunshine off the south of France and to the west of Italy. Hundreds of perfect beaches , magnificent scenery (both on the coast and inland in the mountains), attractive harbour towns resorts and numerous small villages hidden in the surrounding landscape, and of course the perfect Mediterranean climate, all come together to create an ideal travel destination.

It is certainly the resorts, beaches and 1,000 kilometres of coastline that are the main attraction for the majority if holidays on Corsica, with swimming, snorkelling, wind-surfing, scuba diving, sightseeing and sunbathing being the most popular activities...... but try to spend some time exploring the other highlights, there is a great deal to discover and enjoy throughout the island!

Corsica: an introduction

Corsica enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate, with summers being hot and dry, and remaining mild even in winter, at least at coastal level. The mountains are of course a little cooler all year round. See weather and climate for details of the best time to visit.

The Natural Regional Park of Corse has been set-up to protect part of the rare and unusual habitats found on the island. The park includes some of the highest mountain peaks on the island, and a great deal of natural beauty. The Scandola Nature Reserve (the western part of the Natural park) is also stunning, accessible by boat trip from towns on the west coast.

The towns in Corsica are very attractive, as are hiking and other outdoor activities based both in the mountains and along the coast. Walks are available for all levels of ability, from a pleasant stroll to some of the most difficult mountain walks in Europe.

Two of the less common ways to visit Corsica are

(1) if you have several weeks to explore at your leisure by car you could follow the Corsica Coast road that circumnavigates the island, and

(2) see our guide to hiking in Corsica if you prefer to explore the hard way - on foot - by following one of the long distance paths across the mountains

With this guide we introduce many of the highlights of this beautiful island, and hope to help make your visit as varied and enjoyable as possible. We have also gathered together a few of our favourite photographs: see photos of Corsica .

Visit the regions of Corsica

Corsica is too large to do justice to in just one trip to the island. The roads are not always fast, and you will be tempted to stay longer than expected in each place you visit.

To help you decide which part of the island to visit see regions of Corsica or to discover the main highlights of each of these regions, with guides to many of the most interesting places to visit and natural sights see:

• Northern Corsica - the west and north-west regions of Corsica
• Bastia and Cap Corse - the northern peninsula
• Bonifacio - southern Corsica
• Corte - the mountainous centre of Corsica
• Eastern Corsica - the eastern coast and villages

The most visited regions and towns are to the west of the island including the Balagne region (with Calvi, L'Ile-Rousse, and a great deal of beautiful coastal scenery) and to the south around Bonifacio. Our favourite areas were the north-west around the Calanques and the beaches around Porto-Vecchio in southern Corsica.

Visit the towns of Corsica

The most popular towns and resorts on the island are...

• Ajaccio - western Corsica
• Aleria - eastern coast
• Bastia - north-east Corsica (and access to Cap Corse )
• Calvi - Balagne region
• Cargese - Balagne region
• Corte - central Corsica
• L'Ile-Rousse - Balagne region
• Porto - western coast
• Porto-Vecchio - southern Corsica
• Propriano - southern Corsica
• Saint-Florent - north-east Corsica
• Sartene - southern Corsica

You can see lots more of the smaller towns and villages at Corsican villages .

See the French version of the Corsica Travel Guide .

Latest Articles

Centuri, Corse: a pretty port and village in the Cap Corse

Northern Cap Corse, Corsica: a charming mix of beaches, scenery and quiet villages

Montemaggiore, Corsica: a pretty village in the Balagne region

Calenzana, Corsica; a small town rich in history

Corbara, Pigna and Aregno, three pretty villages in the Balagne region of northern Corsica

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Corsica Itinerary: 6, 7 or 8 days (+ My Best Tips)

7 days in corsica: the best itinerary.

You’re traveling to Corsica and you’re looking for the best 7 days Itinerary?

You’re at the right place!

In order to help you plan your stay , I have prepared this detailed 6, 7 or 8 days itinerary in Corsica . During your trip, you will discover Northern Corisca best places to visit!

Quick note: If you prefer to visit Southern Corsica ( Bonifacio , Porto-Vecchio , Ajaccio ) during your trip, you should rather read my other itinerary: How to visit Southern Corsica in 1 week.

And if you prefer to spend 1 week in Corsica staying in just 1 place , you can click there .

In this travel guide, in addition to the best things to do and must-see attractions , you will find my list of the best accommodations depending on your budget . And as always, I will also give you all my best tips to make the most of your stay!

So, what are the best things to do in 7 days in Corsica?

Where to stay in Bastia

Where to stay in cap corse / macinaggio, where to stay in saint-florent, where to stay in calvi, where to stay in porto, corsica, where to stay in corte, 6) back to bastia (1 day), 6, 7 or 8 days in corsica staying in the same city, corsica tours: 7 days, flights and ferries prices to corsica, renting a boat in corsica, you’re traveling to corsica these articles will help you , 0) arrival in bastia.

If you’re planning to do a 7-days itinerary in Northern Corsica, the best is to arrive in Bastia .

Bastia is the largest city in the North of Corsica, and you can easily get there by plane or by ferry boat.

Boats and planes arrive in Bastia all-day long, even late in the evening (I arrived at 11p.m during my trip to Corsica!).

This means that you may have to spend a night in Bastia before starting your 7-day itinerary in Corsica. I’ll give you a list of the best hotels in Bastia a bit below.

If you don’t plan to come to Corsica with your own vehicle, you will also need to rent a car to visit Corsica, as many places are inaccessible otherwise!

To book your car, you should use Booking.com Cars website.

It allows you to compare prices between all the car rental companies at the airport or near the port of Bastia. It’s then easy to choose the cheapest company, or the one with the best customers reviews!

And if you don’t have an insurance with your credit card, you can also opt for the “Full Protection Insurance” to be fully refunded in case of accident or theft. (They have already refunded me more than 1300 euros to date! 😁)

You already know your travel dates to Corsica? Then you should book your car in advance to get the best price.

If you arrive early enough in Bastia, you should directly drive to Cap Corse , and spend your 1st night in Macinaggio, an hour-drive from Bastia. It’ll be more convenient for the next day!

• Best Western Bastia Centre: Located 1 km away from the Old Port and the city centre. This hotel offers spacious and very clean double rooms starting from 75€ per night, with an extra 11.50€. Strong points: the comfortable rooms, the private parking, the kind staff. A great choice in Bastia for its exceptional value for money!
• Hotel Port Toga:   This hotel is located in the heart of Bastia, facing the ferry terminal. You will love the modern double rooms with comfortable beds. The prices starts at 85€ per night. What I loved: the beautiful roof terrace, the sea view, the copious breakfast. If you have to take the ferry, it’s clearly a great choice for your stay in Bastia!
• Hotel Restaurant & Spa L’Ostella: Located 4 km away from the centre and 500 meters from the beach. There, you can enjoy comfortable double rooms, some with a balcony and a sea view, starting from 90€ per night, with an extra 12.50€ for breakfast. Strong points: the caring staff, the excellent restaurant, the wellness centre with an indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi.
• Alivi: Located 350 meters from the beach and 2 km from Bastia’s city centre. The double rooms with a terrace overlooking the sea are starting from 135€, and the breakfast costs an extra 16€. Strong points: the swimming pool, the location, the view, the restaurant. It’s my  recommendation for a high-end stay in Bastia!
• Hotel Des Gouverneurs: located in the citadel, only a 2-minute walk from the Old Port. There, you will enjoy elegant and cosy double rooms starting from 180€. Breakfast will cost you 19€. What I loved: the beautiful view of Bastia and the sea, the exceptional location, the warm welcoming staff and the indoor swimming pool. It’s my recommendation for a luxury stay in Bastia!

1) Cap Corse (1 day)

Let’s start your 7 or 8 days trip to Corsica with a beautiful hike in Cap Corse .

You’ll hike the renowned customs officers’ path, starting from Macinaggio , located a 1-hour drive from Bastia. You can get there the day before or in the morning, depending on your time of arrival in Bastia.

This 19-km long trail connects the villages of Macinaggio and Centuri, but we’ll focus on its more interesting part, from Macinaggio to Barcaggio .

This sublime coastal path offers preserved landscapes and breathtaking views. You’ll also discover many beaches and coves if you want to take a dip during your stroll!

From Macinaggio beach , you’ll walk for about 3h30 to reach Barcaggio. Plan a bit more time, as you’ll certainly stop to take beautiful pictures or enjoy a picnic!

You’ll have 2 options to get back to Macinaggio:

• On foot: walk back to the Santa Maria Chapel. Once there, you can take the path through the island’s interior, as it’s about 1 hour shorter than the coastal path!
• By boat: you can opt for the shuttle boat connecting Macinaggio and Barcaggio. It’s a great way to discover Cap Corse from the sea, and enjoy a relaxing boat trip after your exhausting walk. You’ll find more information on this website.

Spend the night in Macinaggio.

If you don’t feel like walking that much, you can opt for a commented cruise from Macinaggio to visit Cap Corse.

During this boat trip, you’ll discover Cap Corse and its Genoese towers, as well as the Finocchiarola and Barcaggio archipelagos. You’ll even enjoy a short swimming break in beautiful turquoise waters.

You’ll find more information about this boat trip to Cap Corse on this website.

You can also get a map of Cap Corse at Macinaggio’s tourist office, located on the port.

• Marina D’oro: Located on the port of Macinaggio, 100 meters from the beach. This hotel offers classic doubles room starting from 70€, with breakfast available at an extra 7.50€. Strong points: the terrace with a jacuzzi, the location close to restaurants and shops. It’s one of the cheapest hotels in Macinnagio, an excellent choice for a budget stay!
• Adonis Macinaggio: Located in front of the port. The studios or apartments with a small kitchen and a balcony overlooking the garden or the sea are starting from 75€ per night. Strong points: the recently renovated flats, the cleanliness, the free private parking.
• Stella Marina: Located 100 meters from the port. You’ll love the recently renovated modern and bright double rooms with a large terrace. The prices starts at 78€ per night, and the breakfast costs 9.50€. What I loved: the swimming pool, the quietness, the private parking, the warm welcoming staff. A great choice in Macinaggio for its exceptional value for money!
• Hotel U Ricordu: Located 150 meters away from the port. The comfortable and modern double rooms are starting from 80€, breakfast available for 14€. What I loved: the 2 heated outdoor swimming pools, the jacuzzi, the comfortable beds, the quietness.
• The Tomino: This 4 stars hotel is located on Macinaggio’s heights. You will love its very comfortable and spacious suites with a private terrace and a sea view starting from 345€, breakfast at 19€. What I loved: the infinity pool, the exceptional view of the bay, the restaurant, the quiet and relaxing environment. It’s my recommendation for a luxury stay in Cap Corse!

2) Cap Corse / Saint-Florent (1 day)

For the second day of your 7-8 days itinerary in Corsica, you’ll drive down the West Coast of Cap Corse to reach the city of Saint-Florent .

On the road, you’ll discover the beautiful typical villages of Cap Corse and admire breathtaking views of the sea.

Here is the  best itinerary to make the most of your road trip to Cap Corse:

• From Macinaggio , drive for 20 minutes on the D80 road to reach the Mattei Mill viewpoint. There, you’ll discover a beautiful panoramic view of Centuri, the Capense islet and even the Agriates Desert .
• Go down to the pretty port of Centuri.
• Discover the village of Morsiglia.
• Reach the small town of Pino to discover the Saint-Francis convent and the Marine di Scalo , renowned for its pretty stone houses by the sea!
• Get back to your car to discover the small hamlet of Minerviu. There, you can admire a mausoleum looking a bit like a miniature version of the Pantheon of Rome .
• Go to Canari to admire the view from the belvedere.
• Visit the village of Nonza, famous for its black pebble beach.
• Enjoy a refreshing swimming break at Farinole Beach. You’ll love this pretty sandy beach with shallow waters!
• Continue your route to finally reach Patrimonio, mostly renowned for its PDO Patrimonio wines. There are several vineyards along the Wine Route.

If you want more information about Cap Corse, you should read my look at my article: The definitive guide to visit Cap Corse.

It’s now time to head to Saint-Florent, the last stop of your day!

In the village, take a stroll along the port and through the narrow streets, then walk up to the citadel. It offers a beautiful view over Saint-Florent Gulf!

You can opt for a afternoon at Roya beach, located right next to the port.

In Saint-Florent, you can also enjoy various activities , such as Jet Ski , Parasailing , Stand Up Paddle or Flyboard .

Spend the night in Saint-Florent.

You can find more details about Saint-Florent’s must-see attractions in my article: The 12 best things to do in Saint-Florent.

As Saint-Florent is a rather small town, you can easily visit it on foot.

There is a paid parking lot (during summer) at the port, and free parking spaces at the citadel and the stadium. You can also park along the D81 road, south of the Port.

• Adonis Saint-Florent:  Located 600 meters from the center of Saint Florent. The air-conditioned studios and apartments with a small kitchen and a balcony are starting from 70€, breakfast available for 9.50€. Strong points: the swimming pool, the cleanliness, the great value for money.  It’s my recommandation for a budget stay in Saint Florent !
• Hotel Tettola:  Located 1.5 km from the port of Saint-Florent. This hotel offers double rooms starting from 90€ per night. Strong points: the swimming pool, the perfect location in front of the sea and close to the beach, the warm welcoming staff.
• U Palazzu Serenu:  This very nice and charming hotel is located in Oletta, only a 10-minute drive from Saint-Florent. This hotel is located inside a palace of the 17th century, overlooking the gulf and the Agriates desert. It offers splendid and spacious rooms, decorated with original works of art. As the hotel has only 6 rooms and 2 suites, it’s the guarantee to enjoy an intimate and quiet stay. You should book your rooms as soon as possible, to make sure it isn’t fully booked! The prices starts at 180€ per night in winter and 340€ in summer, breakfast included. What I loved: the large outdoor swimming pool, the magnificent view (even more at sunset), the warm welcoming staff, the quietness.  It’s my recommendation for a luxury stay in Saint Florent!

3) The Agriates Desert / Calvi (2 days)

For the 3rd day of your 7-days road trip in Northern Corsica, you’ll discover one of the island’s must-see attractions: the Agriates Desert.

From the port of Saint-Florent, take the shuttle boat to reach the Agriates Desert and its 2 splendid beaches in less than 30 minutes. You can choose between:

• Saleccia beach

You’ll for sure fall in love with these 2 magnificent beaches featuring fine sand and turquoise waters. Don’t forget your swimsuit and sunscreen to enjoy a great day swimming and sunbathing on 2 of Corsica’s most beautiful beaches!

The boat will drop you either at Saleccia or Lotu. If you want to visit the 2 beaches on the same day, you’ll have 2 options to walk from one beach to the other:

• A 45-minute walk on the trail through the maquis
• A small coastal path, nicer but longer (1h20)

And of course, if you don’t feel like walking, you can spend the whole day on the same beach!

And if you want to enjoy a great day on a boat in the Agriates desert, you should opt for this luxury cruise on a sailboat.

The captain will take you for a swim in the most beautiful places of the Agriates and you will enjoy a typical Corsican lunch made of fresh local products.

As this sailboat cruise is extremely popular, you need to book it as soon as you know your travel dates!

To book your sailboat cruise to the Agriates Desert , you just need to click on the green button below:

If you’re looking for more information about the Agriates Desert, you should read my detailed article: How to visit the Agriates Desert?

In order to spend a perfect day in the Agriates Desert, you should opt for a VIP full day private boat trip.

In my opinion, this is the best way to make the most of your day!

You will rent a boat with an experienced skipper that will take care of showing you the most beautiful places around Saint-Florent, including the Agriates desert of course.

Motorboat, sailboat, catamaran or even yacht: choose the boat you want to spend a dream day!

As you can imagine, this type of VIP day at sea is extremely popular, so you should rent your boat with skipper as soon as possible. It would be a shame to miss this day because all boats are already rented!

You can find all boats with skipper in Saint Florent by clicking on the button below:

After enjoying this heavenly setting, take the boat back to Saint-Florent and drive for 1h30 to reach the city of Calvi . You’ll spend the next 2 nights there.

There are a few nice places to discover on the road between the 2 cities, if you have some time left.

Halfway between Saint-Florent and Calvi, you can go to Ostriconi beach.

This very pretty sandy beach is located at the mouth of a river and is bordered by maquis. If you don’t want to walk to the beach, you can just stop on the road to admire the panorama.

You can also take a short stroll in the 2 seaside resorts of Ile Rousse and Algajola.

And right before arriving in Calvi, you’ll drive through the pretty perched village of Lumio, offering a beautiful view over Calvi’s bay!

Spend the night in Calvi.

Let’s continue this 7-day itinerary in Corsica with a visit of Calvi and its surroundings.

In the morning, walk up to the Citadel of Calvi. There, you’ll admire beautiful views of the city and the sea.

During your stroll in the upper town, you’ll discover:

• Saint-John the Baptist Cathedral: this church, listed as a historical monument,  hosts 2 statues venerated by the locals: the Christ of Miracles and Our Lady of the Rosary.
• The former Genoese governor’s palace dating from the 15th century.
• Saint-Antoine oratory
• The ruins of Christopher Columbus’s birth house (according to a local legend, as he was officially born 10 years later in Genoa).

Once you’ve seen the Citadel, walk down to Calvi’s lower town, very lively with its many souvenir and local crafts shops.

In the old town, you can visit the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore , or have a taste of Corsica’s best specialties at the covered market located next to the church.

End your walk on the Port. With its many restaurants and cafés, it’s the perfect place for a meal on a terrace at lunch time!

In the afternoon, you’ll have several options depending on what you like most:

1) A relaxing stay at Calvi Beach.

Located right next to the port and bordered by a pine forest, this 4-km long fine sand beach is the perfect place for an afternoon swimming and sunbathing.

You can also enjoy a wide range of nautical activities, such as stand up paddle, kayaking, windsurfing, towed buoys and many more!

2) A hike in the forest of Bonifatu , a 30-minute drive from Calvi.

There, you can choose between several marked trails of varied difficulty.

After your hike, go to the river and take a dip in its beautiful natural swimming pools. It’s the perfect place for a family outing during your 7-day trip to Corsica!

3) Another nice walk to discover the Revellata Peninsula , 10 km North-West of Calvi.

From Calvi, take the customs officers’ path to reach the Revellata Peninsula and its lighthouse. During your walk, you’ll admire beautiful views of Calvi and the coast.

And if you want to take a refreshing swim, you can choose between the wild Alga beach or one of the many beautiful coves all around the peninsula.

After your stroll, don’t miss the chapel of Our Lady of the Serra (Notre-Dame de la Serra), overlooking the city. There, you’ll discover one of the most beautiful panoramic view of Calvi and its bay!

And if you don’t feel like walking, I recommend you to take this quad ride with a 2 hours guided tour. You can book it by clicking directly on the link here!

4) A boat trip to the Revellata Peninsula, from the port of Calvi.

This cruise includes a swimming stop at Alga beach. You’ll also enjoy a typical aperitif while admiring the sunset over the bay!

Click the button below to book this boat trip to the Revellata Peninsula at sunset:

Spend a second night in Calvi.

To learn more about Calvi’s best points of interest, you should read my detailed article: The 15 best things to do in Calvi.

• The Holy Erasmus: Located 850 meters from the port, on the seaside. This hotel offers well-equipped double rooms with comfortable bedding. The prices starts at 70€ per night, with an extra 10€ for breakfast. Strong points: the swimming pool, the free private parking, the kind staff.
• Camping La Pinède: Located only 200 metres away from Calvi beach. The air-conditioned and fully-equipped chalets and bungalows with a private terrace are starting from 70€ per night. What I loved: the swimming pool, the tennis courts, the playground for children, the free parking. It’s my recommendation for a family holiday in Calvi!
• Hotel Revellata: Located 450 meters from the port. The design and comfortable double rooms are starting from 85€ per night. The breakfast will cost you 12€ per person. Strong points: the outdoor and indoor swimming pools, the Spa, the gym, the magnificent view, the excellent breakfast. A great choice in Calvi for its exceptional value for money!
• Hotel Casa Bianca: Located 250 meters from the beach. You will love the spacious and modern double rooms starting from 100€,with an extra 12€ for breakfast. Strong points: the great location, the welcoming staff, the comfortable rooms.
• La Signoria: This 5* hotel is located 3 km away from the beach of Calvi. It offers beautiful and spacious suites with a dressing room, a marble bathroom and a terrace. The prices starts at 320€ per night including breakfast. What I loved: the gastronomic restaurant, the Spa, the swimming pool, the quietness, the exceptional breakfast.   It’s my recommendation for a luxury stay in Calvi!

4) Porto / Scandola / Calanques de Piana (1 day)

For the 5th day of your 7-8 days trip to Corsica, let’s move South to the village of Porto, located a 2-hour drive from Calvi.

Porto is the starting point for the boat tours to discover 2 magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• Scandola Nature Reserve , hosting an amazing marine and terrestrial wildlife. It has a strictly regulated access and you can only get there by boat!
• The Calanques de Piana and its beautiful red porphyry rocks shaped by erosion.

During this 4-hour cruise, you’ll also stop in the ancient fishing village of Girolata, only accessible by boat or on foot. It’s clearly the best boat trip I’ve done during my 7-days itinerary in Northern Corsica!

These boat tours are Porto’s must-see attraction and must be booked as soon as possible.

You’ll have the choice between 2 types of boats:

• An hybrid boat with an electric propulsion, to limit the impact on the environment.

Click the button below to book your hybrid boat trip:

• A semi-rigid boat , for up to 12 people only.

You can book your cruise on a semi-rigid boat right here:

Spend the night in Porto.

If you want more information about Scandola Nature Reserve, have a look at my detailed article: How to visit Scandola Nature Reserve?

These 4-hour cruises to Scandola, the Calanques de Piana and Girolata are departing from Porto around 9am or 2pm.

You should thus leave Calvi before 10am to be sure you won’t miss the afternoon cruise. You’ll have enough time to have lunch in Porto and then board the boat.

• Hotel and Residence Cala di sole: Located 1.2 km away from the port of Porto. The double rooms with balcony are starting from 80€ per night. What I loved: the swimming pool, the beautiful view of the sea and mountains, the warm welcoming staff.   It’s one of the cheapest places in Porto, and it offers a great value for money!
• Hotel Le Romantique: Located only 100 metres away from the beach of Porto. This hotel offers spacious double rooms with a small balcony and a view over the port. The prices start at 90€, breakfast available for an extra 9.50€. Strong points: the kind staff, the perfect location close to the port and the beach, the generous breakfast.
• Logis Hotel Le Lonca: Located 2 km from the port and 1 km from the beach. You’ll love the clean and spacious double rooms starting from 100€ per night. Breakfast for 11€. Strong points: the swimming pool, the private parking, the breakfast on the terrace, the helpful staff.
• Les Flots Bleus: Located on the seafront. This hotel offers recently renovated double rooms with a balcony overlooking the sea, starting from 105€ per night, breakfast available for an extra 10€. What I loved: the magnificent view, the exceptional location, the warm welcoming staff. A great choice in Porto for its exceptional value for money!
• Residence Hotel Capu Seninu: Located on the riverside, right next to the port. These modern and well-equipped studios and apartments with a dishwasher, a washing machine and a balcony are starting from 160€ per night. Strong Points: the spacious and well decorated accommodation, the private parking. It’s my recommendation for a family holiday in Porto, as you can rent an apartment for up to 6 people!

5) Corte (1 day)

Let’s continue your 7-day road trip in Corsica and head to the island’s beautiful mountains and Corte . 

From Porto, it takes 2 hours to go to Corte by car, but there are many great places to visit during your journey! That’s why you should spend a whole morning or even more on the road.

The best things to do between Porto and Corte are:

• A hike in the forest of Aïtone , renowned for its 100-years old pine trees. There, you can also take a refreshing dip in the river! This forest is located a 40-minute drive from Porto.
• Another hike to discover Nino lake : Corsica’s second largest lake is surrounded by the typical pozzines. The round-trip from the Popaghja forest house takes about 5 hours.
• A swim at the Radule waterfalls, accessible in 1 hour on foot.
• Another refreshing swim in the Golo river , near the Albertacce stone bridge.
• A short stop at Calacuccia Lake , in Niolo region.

After Calacuccia Lake, you’ll drive through the Scala di Santa Regina parade.

This narrow gorge with huge rocks was shaped by the Golo river. It offers an impressive and wild scenery, and is clearly among Corsica’s most beautiful landscapes!

Once you arrive in Corte , park your car and visit the city on foot .

Walk to the citadel and visit the Musée de la Corse, also called the Regional Museum of Anthropology . This interesting museum is also the only access to the Eagle’s nest viewpoint.

After visiting the museum, go to the Belvedere, to admire a beautiful view of Corte’s citadel and its surroundings.

Then, walk down the narrow pedestrian alleys. You will pas by Ghionga grocery store, one of Europe’s oldest grocery stores! You’ll arrive in Gaffory Square to see the Church of the Annunciation.

Continue your stroll to reach the Chapelle Sainte-Croix, listed as a historical monument, and end your visit of Corte in the Cours Paoli. There, you’ll discover many restaurants and shops.

Spend the night in Corte.

You can find more information about Corte in my detailed article: The 20 best things to do in Corte.

You should definitely try the restaurant “La rivière des Vins” for dinner. It is located at 5 Rampe Sainte-Croix.

This restaurant serves meats cooked in a wood fire oven, accompanied by homemade french fries . All the dishes are delicious and hearty, and the burger is just amazing!

The homemade desserts are also very good and copious. Don’t miss their incredible tiramisu!

• San Giovanni House: Located 3 km from the centre of Corte. The nice and clean double rooms are starting from 60€ per night, breakfast included. Strong points: the great staff, the good breakfast made with fresh products, the quietness. A great choice in Corte for its exceptional value for money!
• U Passa Tempu: Located in the centre of Corte, right next to the Chapelle Sainte-Croix. The well-equipped studios and apartments with a small kitchen are starting from 90€ per night. What I loved: the central location, the quietness, the private parking, the warm welcome.
• Hotel Si Mea: Located a 15 minutes walk from the centre. This hotel offers spacious and cosy double rooms starting from 120€ per night. Strong points: the swimming pool, the generous breakfast made with local products, the beautiful location.
• Casa di a Restonica: Located 1 km from the centre. The comfortable and modern double rooms  are starting from 140€, breakfast available for an extra 14€. Strong points: the swimming pool, the comfortable room, the quietness.
• Hotel Dominique Colonna: This 4* hotel is located 1 km from Corte, on the river’s edge. You’ll love their beautiful double rooms starting from 400€, breakfast included. What I loved: the beautiful swimming pool, the terrace by the water, the idyllic setting, the kind staff.   It’s my recommendation for a luxury stay in Corte!

Your 7-days road trip to Corsica is already over! From Corte, drive for about 1h15 to reach Bastia.

Depending on your departure time, you can directly go to the airport or the port, or opt for a short stroll in Bastia.

In the city, you can discover: 

• St. Nicholas Square
• Napoleon Street
• The Old Port
• The Citadel

You want more details about Bastia’s points of interest? Have a look at my article: The definitive guide to visit Bastia.

If you’re doing a 6-days itinerary in Northern Corsica, you can skip the 1st stage of this guide, the hike in Cap Corse. From Bastia, drive directly to Saint-Florent and visit its surroundings.

To visit the North of Corsica in 8 days, you should spend one more day in Calvi or in Corte to hike in the Restonica Gorge. You’ll find more information in this article.

You prefer to stay in the same city during your 7-day itinerary in Corsica?

Don’t worry, you’ll find everything you need to plan your trip to Corsica in my detailed articles about each city:

• Ajaccio: The 20 Best things to do
• Bastia: Top 17 places to visit
• Bonifacio: Top 20 things to do and see
• Calvi: The 15 things you must do!
• Cap Corse: The 15 must-see attractions
• Corte: 20 things to do and see
• Porto: Top 12 things to discover
• Porto-Vecchio: Top 17 things to do and must-see attractions
• Saint-Florent: The 12 best things to do

If you need help to plan your 6, 7 or 8 days itinerary in Corsica, don’t hesitate to ask me your questions in the comments section below.

On Voyagetips.com , I give you all my best tips and itineraries to plan your trip to Corsica by yourself. (Click here to read all my articles about Corsica)

However, if you prefer to book a tour to Corsica with a travel agency , I recommend you to check the 10 best Corsica tours by clicking the button below:

The plane is the fastest option to go to Bastia.

The airport is located 20 km from the city centre.

The flight prices to Bastia can vary a lot throughout the year! That’s why you should book your plane tickets as early as possible. You can use our flight comparator,  in partnership with Skyscanner, to check the rates and schedules. It’s a great way to get the best flight prices!

You can also get there by ferry boat from Nice, Marseille , Toulon and Italy .

If you want to rent a boat for a nice day at sea during your itinerary in Corsica, you should book it with Samboat.

Motorboats, sailboats, yachts, small boats without a license, with or without a skipper: they simply have the most complete offer for boat rental!

So, what are you waiting for to book your boat trip in Corsica? 😊

Discover all my articles about Corsica : All my articles to help you plan your trip to Corsica are listed there.

• The 35 Best Things to do in Corsica – The Ultimate Bucket list!
• Itinerary: 2, 3, 4 or 5 days in Corsica – The perfect itinerary for a short stay in Corsica
• Itinerary: 1 week in Corsica – The best Itinerary to visit Southern Corsica
• Itinerary: 10 days in Corsica – The best 10 days itinerary in Corsica
• Itinerary: 2 weeks in Corsica – How to visit Corsica in 14, 15 or 16 days.
• Road trip in Corsica – The best itineraries for 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, and 15 days
• Agriates Desert – The definitive guide
• Calanques de Piana – How to visit the Calanques de Piana by boat, by car and on foot
• Lavezzi Islands – Oganize your trip to the Lavezzi island easily!
• Scandola Nature Reserve – All my best tips to visit Scandola
• The 23 Best Beaches in Corsica : The definitive guide to the most beautiful beaches!

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Creator of the Voyage Tips blog, travel and photography lover. I give you all my best tips to plan your next trip.

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Discussion 7 comments.

Hi! Thanks for sharing all these great tips! I’m travelling to Corsica (landing in Figari) in August for 10 days with my husband and our 2 & half year old son. What itinerary would you recommend, considering we are travelling with an infant? (I would say no hiking involved…)

Many thanks, Rita

Thank you Rita!

Figari is in the South of Corsica (towards Bonifacio) so you won’t have time to visit Bastia, Cap Corse, Calvi which are too far away and located in the North of the island.

For 10 days, you should rather you look at my other itinerary. Here is the link: 10 days trip in Corsica . This itinerary starts from Ajaccio but you can start it from Bonifacio as Figari airport is right next door. You can easily skip the hikes by just driving by or taking very short walks.

If you prefer to change hotel less often, you can do a similar itinerary with 2 hotels: 1 in Bonifacio or Porto-Vecchio and another one in Ajaccio.

Don’t hesitate to read my other articles about Corsica, you can find them here: Destination Corsica .

Enjoy your trip to Corsica with your family!

I am so glad I found your Blog it is so well written and easy to navigate. You have inspired my trip…I am planning to visit Corsica for a week this July and really want to stay in Cap Corse. We will fly into Bastia. I was wondering if you think it would be possible to split the trip between Cap Corse and Porto Vecchio. Would the drive be manageable? We do not want to take a typical road trip and stop off much along the way, but drive from Cap to PV direct. Your advice would be much appreciated.

Hello Phoebe,

Thank you! I’m glad my blog is helping you plan your 7-day itinerary in Corsica.

To go from Cap Corse to Porto Vecchio, it’s about 190 km but it takes around 3h30 hours by car.

Enjoy your trip to Corsica!

I am so happy that I found this page! I am traveling with a group of people to France for a cooking class in September 2024. We will be staying near Vaison la Romaine. Either before or after our trip with this group, my husband and I were thinking of staying longer and Corsica sounded intriguing. My husband is an artist and loves to paint when we travel. We are interested in staying in on place as a home base or splitting our time between two places. We have stayed in Airbnb many times and love that we have a place to stretch out and eat some meals from home. Can you recommend one or two possible towns for home bases for us? We plan to stay on Corsica for at least a week. We love art, history and beautiful views. Any recommendation on the best mode of transportation from where we will be staying prior to Corsica would be helpful. Not sure if we should fly from Marseille or take the Ferry.

For a week in Corsica, I’d recommend staying either in Calvi (to the north-west) or Bonifacio/Porto-Vecchio (to the south). You can find all my articles about the island here, so you can see what would suit you best: Destination Corsica .

In either case, and wherever you decide to stay in Corsica, you’ll need to hire a car to get around. There are only a few buses in Corsica, and this is not convenient if you want to visit the small villages and wilder beaches.

It’s still too early to know how to get to Corsica, as the flight schedule from Marseille is not available for September 2024, and the same goes for the ferry. You’ll be able to look at Air Corsica and Corsica Ferries schedules early next year.

Have a great day!

Thank you Vincent!

I am a planner and I will read through your articles. Extremely helpful!

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