Corsica's Most Popular Seaside Resort

Experience Calvi – Corsica’s Most Popular Seaside Resort

Calvi is surrounded by the hills of the Balagne region, an area dotted with colorful ancient villages among them, Calenzana, Zilia, San Antonino and Algajola. Calvi is only 180km away from Nice by ferry and Ste Catherine airport is only 7km south of the city.

According to local legend, Calvi is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. (I know this sounds crazy but recall that Calvi was occupied by the Geneose and Columbus was a Genoese navigator. Some indirect pieces of evidence suggest to some that he may have been born in Corsica, like the fact he dedicated the first lands he discovered to Corsican saints). Corsican or not, Columbus true origins remain shrouded in mystery.

In 1794 captain Horatio Nelson bombarded Calvi for two months, forcing the city to surrender to Pascal Paoli’s British allies. Nelson lost sight in one eye during one of the battles.

Highlights, Attractions

Calvi offers a busy nightlife, specially in the summer when many clubs are open. Calvi has a fine beach and several boat excursion companies offer tours to Girolata and the Natural Reserve of Scandola on the West Coast, two main attractions accessible only by boat. (We will explore these in a future post).

Corsica’s north western coastline near Calvi

Calvi is also a popular destination for divers with at least 5 diving centers. (There’s a B-17 American bomber wreck from WWII near the harbour).

A short drive south of Calvi is Notre Dame de la Serra a chapel situated on a rocky hill with a fantastic view of Calvi and its surrounding area. (The panoramic photo of Calvi above was taken from this spot).

Calenzana, the starting point of the famous GR20 hike that takes about 15 days to complete, is only 12km away from Calvi.

Even if you’re not a hiker, Calenzana is a beautiful village for walking, sightseeing and enjoying great mountain food like sanglier (wild boar) with pasta, salad and dessert, at an affordable price (16-20€ pp).

For my style, I much prefer the quiet, tiny village of Algajola as a base to explore the area but most visitors will probably prefer the nightlife scene of Calvi. Restaurant prices in Calvi are not cheap. However, there is a fresh produce market open daily offering many fine delicacies.