Backed by mountains that dominate the coastline, the silver sand beaches are also a favourite with holidaymakers and you will bathe in the perfumes, colours and contrasting landscapes that have earned la Balagne a prestigious following. Basking between the fiery orange bastions of its medieval citadel and a glittering moon-shaped bay that’s lined by a magnificent beach, Calvi has a long and venerable history. Locals insist that Christopher Columbus was born here, in the one Genoese city on Corsica that the French could never capture, while Admiral Nelson lost his right eye besieging the citadel on behalf of Pascal Paoli.
