The great Corsican loop

Nice, capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera, sits on the pebbly shores of the Baie des Anges. Founded by the Greeks and later a retreat for 19th-century European elite, the city has also long attracted artists. Former resident Henri Matisse is honored with a career-spanning collection of paintings at Musée Matisse. Musée Marc Chagall features some of its namesake’s major religious works.

Saint-Florent is a commune in Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. Originally a fishing port located in the gulf of the same name, nowadays pleasure boats have largely taken the place of fishing vessels.

Nestled on a rocky spur in the north-west of Corsica, the port of Calvi offers its whiteness between two sapphire-coloured bays. Capital of the Balagne region, the Genoese city benefits from an exceptional natural setting between the abrupt relief of the central chain, fertile hills and long sandy beaches. From the promontory of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Serra chapel, built in the 19th century on the ruins of a 15th century sanctuary, you will not miss the sublime panorama of the seaside, the mountains and the Calvi citadel. A little further west, you will have the opportunity to discover with the peninsula of Revelatta, a wilder and more preserved part of Corsica.

Ajaccio is the capital of Corsica, a French island in the Mediterranean Sea. A port city on the rugged isle’s western coast, it was the birthplace of French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte in 1769. His ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte, is now a museum displaying family heirlooms.

The island of Elba is at the heart of the Tuscan Archipelago and presents a finely chiselled profile sheltering many pristine coves. Roman churches, Medicean fortresses and memories of Napoleon blend into the picture postcard that is Portoferraio (Italy). The town is one of the oldest on the island, the Ligurians, Etruscans and Greeks having shaped its history before it became a Roman colony. Here you can follow in the footsteps of Napoleon as you wind your way through the pastel-coloured houses protected by their two Medicean forts.

A rugged rocky promontory, the Portofino Peninsula is the loveliest spot on the Ligurian Riviera. At its feet lies the pretty port of Portofino (Italy), which has become a seaside destination for the Italian jet-set. A rugged stairway leads to a path into the heart of the luxuriant vegetation above.

Nice, capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera, sits on the pebbly shores of the Baie des Anges. Founded by the Greeks and later a retreat for 19th-century European elite, the city has also long attracted artists. Former resident Henri Matisse is honored with a career-spanning collection of paintings at Musée Matisse. Musée Marc Chagall features some of its namesake’s major religious works.