Corsica (2025)

My mother likes to celebrate her birthday in style and this year was no exception; we spent the early May bank holiday weekend in Corsica, where she’d wanted to visit for many years.

Day 1

Our flight from Gatwick was at 1pm so after a morning walk in the park, I packed and then headed to my parents so we could all drive over together. I managed to sleep for most of the flight, and then when we arrived we picked up our rental car and drove to our holiday home. The house was modern and spacious, with an open plan living room, a pool with loungers, and an en suite for each of us. 

After settling in and chilling together, we headed out for dinner at a restaurant name Le Conti, located in the centre of Bastia. We unexpectedly dined al fresco and although I’m not a huge fan of French cuisine, the food was decent. It was a very pleasant evening and a nice start to the trip. The only thing I would say is that the speed people were driving at was much higher than the limit, which was quite the shock on the narrow, windy roads. 

Day 2

I awoke to fresh pastries, which my parents had picked up from a nearby bakery, and we enjoyed them as part of a full breakfast spread My mum then wanted to explore the northern peninsula, Cap Corse, so off we went. The roads were very fun to drive along but the weather was fairly cloudy and the views were fairly barren so we didn’t take many long breaks, although we did stop by a religious shrine, which offered a gorgeous view of the coast. 

We had lunch at La Corniche, which was absolutely delicious and I’d highly recommend. The sun then came out in full force so we headed back to the holiday home and spent the afternoon swimming in the pool and playing cards, which was a lot of fun. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner, and my brother and I wanted to treat my mother to a meal at L’Aghjalle, a stunning Michelin-recommended restaurant, so we drove the two hours to the restaurant, only to be told that it was closed. That said, the owners were absolutely lovely and recommended some nearby restaurants with gorgeous views as an alternative. 

We dined at the nearby L’Auberge Sant’Antoine, an Italian restaurant with a beautiful view and good food. The waiters made me laugh as they were stereotypical Italians, showing relief that we weren't vegetarians and insisting on a rare steak, as opposed to the medium my brother had requested. We ate well, but had a long drive home. On the way back, we saw two cars driving at 70 kmph on a 50 and as they zoomed past a police officer, she simply signalled for them to slow down, suggesting a lax approach to speed limit enforcement.

Day 3

On our last full day in Corsica, my parents once again headed out for a morning coffee and to pick up some pastries, which were much tastier than the previous day’s and then my mum was wanting to visit Saint-Florent. This is a small coastal town and was about an hour or two away from our holiday home. The weather was nice when we set off and the drive to the town offered gorgeous views of the island; it was by far the prettiest drive we’d been on, passing through various mountain towns, woodlands, and coastal routes. We saw a completely different landscape compared to the previous days and if you have limited time in Corsica, I’d definitely recommend this route.  

We then headed home to pick up my brother, as he had chosen to stay in the pool instead of joining us on the road, and shortly after we headed for lunch at Terra di Catoni, where the food was good and the desserts excellent. It was also here that my mum tried a traditional Corsican cheesecake, which was similar to a Basque cheesecake and was delicious. At this point, the clouds had come in and there was torrential rainfall and thunderstorms for an hour or so, before the clouds eventually started to part and subside. 

We headed back to our house and played cards, before spending the rest of the afternoon swimming. After a quick snack, we all got ready for dinner and then made our way to L’Aghjalle once more, in the hopes that there’d be a free table for four. Unfortunately, after a second two-hour drive, we were once again informed that there were no spare tables and we had to find another restaurant for dinner. We struggled for a while as either the restaurant had space but didn’t take card or there was no availability. Eventually, we managed to get a table at l’Escale on Ile Rousse, which was packed despite it being a Monday night, and had a delicious meal to celebrate my mum’s birthday. 

It was a long drive back but eventually we made it and then passed out, ready for our early morning flight the following day. 

Although Corsica wasn’t very high on my travel list, I was pleasantly surprised by the island as it sported gorgeous views and roads that were very fun to drive along. I would be intrigued by the south of the island too, as we only saw the northern part over our short time there.