Corsica - tell me about it
Discussion
Fantastic place, I spent 5 years over there and went back recently after being away for about ten years and it still staggers.
For my money the best place to be based is Calvi, beautiful big beach, great food, cosmopolitan crowd, fantastic yachts (Abramivich types and that sort of crowd wind up there in the summer), old citadal, 3,000m mountains just inland, typical French riviera style. It's quite expensive (esp now with the euro) - say on a par with Nice/Cannes etc.
If you want somewhere out of a town there are a few smaller villages just north (Isle de Rousse, Lumio) that are nice and mean you can dip in out of the town as you fancy.
Bastia/Ajaccio are the main 'cities' on the island and although nothing special they are OK to mooch around. Corté is in the hills and is a stunning location. If you're driving around the roads are now much better than before and the driving is a little less crazy (at least on the main roads), but you still get the odd white Renault 5 van doing 90 around blind bends 1" away from a James Bond villain crash down the hill...
For my money the best place to be based is Calvi, beautiful big beach, great food, cosmopolitan crowd, fantastic yachts (Abramivich types and that sort of crowd wind up there in the summer), old citadal, 3,000m mountains just inland, typical French riviera style. It's quite expensive (esp now with the euro) - say on a par with Nice/Cannes etc.
If you want somewhere out of a town there are a few smaller villages just north (Isle de Rousse, Lumio) that are nice and mean you can dip in out of the town as you fancy.
Bastia/Ajaccio are the main 'cities' on the island and although nothing special they are OK to mooch around. Corté is in the hills and is a stunning location. If you're driving around the roads are now much better than before and the driving is a little less crazy (at least on the main roads), but you still get the odd white Renault 5 van doing 90 around blind bends 1" away from a James Bond villain crash down the hill...
http://www.hotel-lavilla.com/ is perhaps the swankiest - a 4+ and they have their own spa, individual villas etc, the only other that sticks in the mind is Hostellerie de l'Abbaye which is like an old country hotel; most of the others are much of a muchness and you'll basically get what you pay for.
If you're there a week then maybe renting a villa or house would be an idea (cheaper than La Villa). There's a good one in the centre of town owned by some brits which is lovely but many others to all prices. http://www.corsica.co.uk/ (or similar) has a good selection and ideas further afield than Calvi.
See where things fit in with the rally, but in October a lot of places will have shut down or gone really quite so availability will be good - things are much cheaper too.
If you're there a week then maybe renting a villa or house would be an idea (cheaper than La Villa). There's a good one in the centre of town owned by some brits which is lovely but many others to all prices. http://www.corsica.co.uk/ (or similar) has a good selection and ideas further afield than Calvi.
See where things fit in with the rally, but in October a lot of places will have shut down or gone really quite so availability will be good - things are much cheaper too.
We went there 2 yrs ago, to Propriano. Absolutley lovely place. In my eyes, the med is all the bleedin' same now. Doesn't matter if you go to Greece, Cyprus, Balaerics.... sky TV, all day english breakfasts - might as well go to Torquay!
Corsica though, is very individual and actually has its own identity! Your french will have to be reasonable as not everyone speaks English. Lots of nice restaurants, beaches, marinas. I love it. We're trying to find a stay in Calvi oop north, but it's all a little pricey for us at present.
Bummer if you have to be there during the WRC!!
Corsica though, is very individual and actually has its own identity! Your french will have to be reasonable as not everyone speaks English. Lots of nice restaurants, beaches, marinas. I love it. We're trying to find a stay in Calvi oop north, but it's all a little pricey for us at present.
Bummer if you have to be there during the WRC!!
Went there September / October 2007, last minute job (week before we went to Travel agent and they suggested it), we knew nothing about it but sounded like an interesting place to go.
Less than a week to go, I do a quick google to find out more;
Me: Babe, what's the Tour De Corse?
MOH: Er in what respect?
Me: Well it says here there's a car rally or something on in Corsica when we're there.
MOH: You're kidding? <promptly falls about laughing> It's the WRC!!!
Me: Ooooh cool - think we'll get a chance to see it?
A week later I nearly drive through the end of a rally stage - it's nuts, they don't really close the roads - in fact the locals are worse for overtaking on blind corners.
The beaches were fantastic, there are some truly random historic sites (try to see the prehistoric site in the centre), the food was great and the locals very friendly.
No language barrier problems at all (they'll speak french but are Corsican).
Less than a week to go, I do a quick google to find out more;
Me: Babe, what's the Tour De Corse?
MOH: Er in what respect?
Me: Well it says here there's a car rally or something on in Corsica when we're there.
MOH: You're kidding? <promptly falls about laughing> It's the WRC!!!
Me: Ooooh cool - think we'll get a chance to see it?
A week later I nearly drive through the end of a rally stage - it's nuts, they don't really close the roads - in fact the locals are worse for overtaking on blind corners.
The beaches were fantastic, there are some truly random historic sites (try to see the prehistoric site in the centre), the food was great and the locals very friendly.
No language barrier problems at all (they'll speak french but are Corsican).
Well, maybe a tad very expensive then!
sleep envy said:
I'm looking forward to getting a twingo on the door handles 
Do it! Roads can be VERY narrow if you get off the beaten track, so you really do want something that goes where you point it...
Not sure if it floats your boat, but Filitosa (megalithic site in the south of the island, kinda Stonehenge thingy) is worth a nose... especially as the roads are stunning. (Hope you don't mind heights and sheer drops).
Don't follow the sat nav - some of the D Roads are tracks you really need a 4x4 to drive down (as I found out, losing two hire car wheel trims in the process. At least they didn't check the underneath of it).
Tire marks from last year's Tour de Corse were still very much in evidence last month.
Tire marks from last year's Tour de Corse were still very much in evidence last month.
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