Trip Reports Home | My Trip Reports | Create Trip Report | Recent Reports | Search Trip Reports

Report 1673: La Corse - L'Ile de Beauté

By Kevin Widrow from France, Winter 2009

Trip Description: Two weeks on the west coast of Corsica - February 2009

Destinations: Countries - France; Regions/Cities - Corsica

Categories: Vacation Rentals; Beach; Shopping; Sightseeing; Walking/Hiking; Independent Travel; Adults and Teens

Corsican coastline between Tiuccia and Ajaccio.

We'd been to Corsica five years ago for a wedding and then a few extra days and saw enough to know it was a place to which we would surely return. And when the opportunity arose to spend a few weeks in February at my cousin-in-law's newly finished villa (one week with them and one week on our own) we jumped at the chance.

While most French would think you mad to vacation in Corsica during mid-winter, we were more than happy to experience the island off-off season. The French (and Italians) invade Corsica en masse in July and August mostly to take advantage of some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe. It's less crowded, but still busy, during the shoulder months. Then during the winter, Corsica reverts to its slumbering, quiet, peaceful origins. With a permanent resident population of only 250,000, you feel like you have large stretches of the island to yourself - and often, you do.

So with that in mind, and the luxury of spending a week with a native (Elisabeth's cousin's wife was born and raised in Ajaccio) as our guide, we set off on our Corsican adventure with high expectations.

We were not disappointed!