Corsica - The Mediterranean Isle of Beauty

The mountainous island of Corsica is in the Mediterranean, and belongs to France, and is situated south of the French mainland and west of Italy, the languages spoken are French, Italian and Corsican, the largest city is called Bastia, and the capital is Ajaccio and travellers from India to Corsica can get in with a 3 month Schengen visa, which allows for border free crossings in the countries that make up the Schengen Area. Holidaymakers can fly into Corsica into one of the four airports that are served by airports on the French mainland or get a ferry from Nice or Marseille and Toulon. Corsica has ties with Italy as well as France and has its own distinct Corsican identity, language and customs as well as food including wild boar casserole, drunk with local red wine, Corsican slow roasted lamb, oysters, and trout. As two-thirds of the island is mountainous, there are a lot of dairy products including ewes milk cheese and Brousse, which is cheese made from the milk of a cow.

Even though Napoleon was born in the capital city, Ajaccio Corsica, the island has a distinctly different culture than France and at times has been ruled by Genoa, the UK and now France, and uses the euro as currency. Napoleon’s house is now a museum called appropriately Maison Bonaparte. The weather in Corsica is generally mild all year round and hot during the summer, but due to the surrounding sea, it is windy which makes the heat more bearable. Indian tourists to Corsica are guaranteed to fall in love with this enigmatic island.