Corsica

Corsica rises out of the Mediterranean between the French and Italian coasts as, in effect, a mountain range in the sea. Though it is a French island, it has a strong identity and history of its own, and its landscape is far more dramatic than the word island usually suggests: a spine of granite peaks runs the length of it, topped by Monte Cinto at over 2,700 metres and holding snow well into summer, while the scent of the maquis, the dense scrub of myrtle, rosemary and cistus, carries out over the water.

The coastline changes character as you round it. In the northwest, the red porphyry cliffs of the Calanques de Piana drop into the sea near the Gulf of Porto in a landscape recognised by UNESCO. In the far south, the town of Bonifacio clings to white limestone cliffs above the straits, and the coves and long pale beaches around Porto-Vecchio, among them Palombaggia and Santa Giulia, backed by umbrella pines, hold some of the clearest water in the Mediterranean. Ajaccio, the island’s largest town and the birthplace of Napoleon, anchors the west coast, while the wild Cap Corse peninsula points north towards the mainland.

Summer, from June to September, is the high season, with July and August the warmest and busiest and the sea at its most inviting; late spring and early autumn are quieter and ideal for walking, when the interior is green and the coastal paths are comfortable underfoot. The island is as much for the active as for the beach-bound, threaded by the celebrated GR20 traverse, one of the toughest and most rewarding long-distance treks in Europe, along with gentler coastal trails, sea kayaking, diving and boat trips out to the offshore reserves and coves that the roads never reach.

Corsica rewards those who base themselves in one bay and explore outward by car and boat. For families and groups who want that kind of stay, with space and a pool of their own, luxury villa rentals in Corsica gather above the southern beaches and along the western gulfs, within reach of both the mountains and the sea.