We started our vacation in Corsica from its capital, the city of Ajaccio, and continued with the study of the tourist-picture Bonifacio. And finally, we moved on to the last (but not least) part of our trip – to relaxing on the beach and swimming. The ideal location for this is the region of Porto Vecchio, adjacent to Bonifacio.
The city of Porto Vecchio is built on the ruins of the ancient civilization of Torre, which gave the name to the whole culture – Torréen Culture, dating back approximately to the Bronze Age (3300 – 1200 BC). The city itself has undergone many changes during its existence from various cultures, related to the civilizations that controlled these places in the past. The most famous of them can be called Ancient Rome and Genoa, however, France still had a significant influence during the ages.
The main difficulty in the development of this region was the marshland around, and, as a result, the spread of malaria. Now, in the age of medical technology, this reason may not seem so formidable, but in the Middle Ages this was an insurmountable problem. The contradictions of this situation were added by the fact that Porto Vecchio has an ideal strategic location for the organization of the port, and almost all the countries, that controlled this region in different eras, tried to adapt these places. But it turned out to really settle in only in the second half of the 20th century, when the swamps were successfully drained. And now these places can be called resorts in full measure.
The city of Porto Vecchio itself is quite small, and has the same Mediterranean charm as its neighbors. It is in excellent condition for an open-air cultural monument – time seems to have stopped on the streets of its old city, and the traveler’s imagination vividly draws pictures from the life of past eras that have left their mark on the appearance of the city. Beautiful and atmospheric.
Since the main purpose of our stay in this part of the island was a beach holiday, we settled not in the city itself, but in a villa not far from the main Santa Giulia beach. This beach deserves a separate description. It is located in a bay near Porto Vecchio and has a significant stretch of beachfront. The sand on it is white and soft to the touch, and the water is azure and seems to glow from within. Entry into the water is very convenient – shallow water extends for 200 meters from the shore, gradually adding depth. Due to this, the water warms up quickly and it is surprisingly comfortable to swim there.
In addition to natural advantages, this beach has a developed tourist infrastructure. It has several beach clubs where you can rent sunbeds and umbrellas, order cocktails or a full meal, and rent equipment for water sports. My husband used to windsurf every day, rented from a wonderful rental shop, where the friendly dogs of the owners were helping tourists with the choice of equipment 😊
In general, we fully appreciated the beach holiday in Corsica on Santa Giulia beach. The most comfortable thing you could find, and the most beautiful – it’s all there. We spent most of the rest of the time on the island on this beach. If it were not for the dog left in the villa (it would be too hot for our dog on the beach), we would not leave the beach from late morning until early evening 😊
The villa we stayed this time also deserves a special mention. Residence Marina de Santa Giulia is a gated community within an “urbanization” of similar villa complexes within walking distance of Santa Giulia beach. There are really many houses around, and you can get lost in them. We saved a point on Google Maps so that every evening we can safely return to our villa without getting confused in the same type of buildings. We read in the reviews that there were cases of thefts in these villas in the absence of the owners, so we tried not to leave it open in our absence. No incidents happened to us, but a little caution never hurts.
Porto Vecchio itself is full of restaurants and cafes for every taste. And we found one that perfectly matched our expectations – Les Jardins d’Eden. This restaurant, according to our impressions, is really located in the Garden of Eden – some of its tables are located on the stairs, entangled with wild grapes, leading to a terrace overlooking the old port. The menu is varied, the food is delicious, the service is excellent. We highly recommend!
Well, at the end of our trip to Corsica, we decided to spend the day in glamorous conditions. Since we departed home from the same city that we arrived (Ajaccio), on the eve of departure, we checked into the local Sofitel hotel, located next to Ajaccio. A huge territory, restaurants, bars, a chic pool and its own beach put a luxurious end to our holiday in Corsica.
And this breakfast on a cliff overlooking the bay is simply unforgettable! Just will leave a few images here:
In general, it can be useful for fans of traveling to coastal countries to know local life hacks. For example, when visiting Turkey, having an Istanbul pass will allow you to visit the most interesting places on favorable terms. And such life hacks happen in almost all countries, the main thing is to know where to look 🙂
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