Itinerary Highlights

  • Make an excursion around the Cap Corse
  • Go horseback riding or hiking in Cagnano
  • Drive the zigzagging T20 from Calvi to Ajaccio
  • Visit the citadel in Corte, which houses the Musée de la Corse
  • Stop at the Maison Bonaparte, where Napoleon was born
  • Tour Musée Fesch, containing a fine collection of Italian old masters
  • Explore Ajaccio, the capital
  • Take a day trip from Ajaccio to learn about Corsican wine
  • Experience the spectacular Mediterranean setting of Domaine de Murtoli
  • Enjoy the charming town of Bonifacio

Follow in our Footsteps

Editor’s Itinerary

France
Duration: 11 Days

Fifty minutes by air from Nice or Marseille, Corsica is one of the most scenic islands in the Mediterranean and a logical complement to a vacation in Provence or the Côte d’Azur.

The island, 114 miles long and 52 miles wide, has an astonishing variety of landscapes and ecosystems. The thick pine forests in parts of the interior are almost alpine, while much of the coastline is subtropical. The island’s food and wines are superb, and each of the towns has an intriguingly different personality.

Ajaccio, its capital — and the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte — is a delightful small city; Bonifacio, on the southern coast, boasts a spectacular clifftop setting and a dramatic citadel; and Calvi, in the northwest, has the charming atmosphere of the 1960s Riviera, with seafood restaurants overlooking an attractive marina.

This itinerary incorporates new discoveries I made on my road trip there earlier this year, as well as some old favorites. Certainly, completing the whole of the itinerary would make for a sensational vacation, but even doing just one section as part of a longer European trip would also be most enjoyable.