I'd like to spend a week in Corsica with my wife next spring or fall. Rather than drive around from town to town, I'd like to rent a place for a week and make day trips with our car rental. What city/town should we consider as a home base? Marty
Bethesda, MD
Posted by
Ottawa
1446 posts
That is a difficult question. The small towns that I enjoyed the most would not make good bases for the entire week, as they are clustered at either end. Staying near Ajaccio may work for that purpose, but I didn't like this area as much and the driving can be very slow (twisty-turny roads). Maybe you can consider splitting your week between two poles: north and south?? These towns were my favorite: North - Saint-Florent (handy to the Cap Corse, Bastia) and Ile-Rousse (handy to Calvi and La Balagnes's hilltop villages: Corbara, Pigna, Sant'Antoninu). South - Bonifacio These small towns offered beautiful scenery close by, a pleasant ambiance and a nice cluster of small places to eat and spend the evening. Personally, I found the north much more interesting than the south, although Bonifacio cannot be missed for an overnight and a boat trip! If you arrive in Bastia or Calvi, you could spend 5 nights based in the north. Then you can head down to the south and maybe leave from Ajaccio. Or the reverse.
The Calanques drive could be done on the way between north and south.
Posted by
OP
Bethesda
31 posts
Diane, Great stuff - thanks so much! Marty
Posted by
Ottawa
1446 posts
I wanted to add that I think that September would be an ideal month to go. Starting in October, when I was there, many places (restaurants, etc.) are shutting down for the season. The Sea also retains the heat it has gathered during the summer and is gorgeous to swim well into late September. If I were to go again, I'd personally aim for a mid-to-late September trip. Time permitting, I'd combine Corsica with a few days stop-over in the connection point, like Paris (flight) or Marseille/Nice (ferry). Have fun planning your trip - I enjoyed Corsica very much!