Corsica's glamorous south — granite coves, Genoese citadel, and maquis-scented hillsides
Porto-Vecchio is the upscale anchor of southern Corsica — a Genoese citadel above a deep natural harbour, with some of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean within 20 minutes' drive: Palombaggia, Santa Giulia, and Cala Rossa, where pink granite boulders frame shallow turquoise water. The old town, enclosed by Genoese walls, holds a warren of restaurants and boutiques serving the sailing crowd that fills the harbour in summer.
Porto-Vecchio was founded by the Genoese Republic in 1539 as a fortified trading port — its citadel walls and towers survive largely intact. The malaria that plagued the low-lying coast kept the interior population thin for centuries; Corsica's historic settlements were all elevated for this reason. The island was under Genoese rule from 1284 to 1768, when it was sold to France — just in time for Napoleon to be born French rather than Genoese. Porto-Vecchio's current character as a luxury summer destination dates only from the 1960s, when the beaches of the south coast became accessible by ro…