Corsica

First Corsican adventure, based in the magnificent Balagne region — the "Tuscany of Corsica" — in the north-west of the island. Ten days of crystal-clear sea, hilltop villages, fragrant maquis scrubland and beaches accessible only by boat.

The Balagne is a region you don't expect: gentle hills covered with olive groves and vineyards sloping down to a postcard-perfect sea, with medieval stone villages clinging to the heights like eagle nests. Île-Rousse (Isula Rossa in Corsican) is the perfect base — a small town founded by Pasquale Paoli in 1758 with its Place Paoli, white sand beaches right in the centre and the picturesque covered market where you find Corsican cheeses, charcuterie and maquis honey.

Algajola is a seaside gem set between two granite headlands, with a long golden beach swept by wind and a small Genoese citadel reflected in the sea. The kind of place where time slows down and you measure the day by the colour of the water — turquoise in the morning, emerald in the early afternoon, golden at sunset.

Calvi, the "capital" of the Balagne, with its imposing Genoese citadel dominating the gulf from above. The bastioned walls, the cobbled streets of the upper town and the sweeping view from the bay to the snow-capped peaks of Monte Cinto. Calvi claims to be the birthplace of Christopher Columbus — a legend as fascinating as it is controversial. The beach at the foot of the citadel stretches six kilometres, with water gently shelving toward the open sea.

The Balagne hinterland hides villages that seem frozen in time. San Antonino, one of the "plus beaux villages de France", is a labyrinth of narrow alleys and stone staircases clinging to a hilltop at 500 metres, with a 360-degree panorama spanning from the sea to the mountains. Pigna, the village of craftspeople and musicians, where every summer concerts and workshops in ceramics, lute-making and weaving are held in its shaded lanes.

The most adventurous excursion: the wild Fangu gorge and the beaches of Ghignu and Saleccia, reachable only by sea or via rough dirt tracks. Saleccia is considered by many to be Corsica's most beautiful beach — one kilometre of white sand bordered by pines and transparent water, with no facilities of any kind. Ghignu, even more isolated, is for those seeking the absolute solitude of the Mediterranean.

Corte, in the geographic heart of the island, is the historic capital of Pasquale Paoli's independent Corsica. The citadel clings to a rocky spur above the gorges of the Restonica and Tavignano — an eagle's nest from which the inland routes were once controlled. A place dense with history and Corsican pride.

An authentic Corsica, still relatively untouched by mass tourism, where the sea is the protagonist but the mountains are never far away.