French Riviera or Corsica: which Mediterranean destination is best?
From Nice's exclusive striped parasols along Promenade des Anglais and the million-dollar yachts bobbing in Cannes harbour to St Tropez's sugar-white sands, everything about the French Riviera* drips with glamour and style. So much so, it's sometimes easy to forget that France doesn't have a whole lot of Mediterranean coast.
There is, however, an entire French island sitting in the heart of the Med surrounded by glittering shores. Entwined in a sea-sprayed dance with Sardinia* to the south, Corsica* is quieter than the Riviera, but it offers shimmering bays, quaint mountain villages, craggy ridges and tumbling forests.
So, where's best for you? Let's compare two of France's most tempting corners of the Mediterranean to help you find your next French escape.
Where to stay: find great value self-catering apartments and holiday parks with Pierre & Vacances, which specialises in breaks to France*, including the French Riviera* and Corsica*.
Battle of the beaches
The famous beaches of the Côte d'Azur need little introduction, though newcomers should know that the stretch running roughly from Menton down to Antibes is pebbled.
From then on, it's all golden sands, with the most well-known perhaps at St Tropez. But don't dismiss those pebble beaches so quickly, with their large stones often being easier to walk on, less chance of getting sand everywhere and the opportunity to build one of those quirky pebble towers (kids might even prefer that to sand).
Down in Corsica, the choice of beach ranges from wild and quiet to busier, more traditional basking spaces. Haute-Corse generally features serene and more starkly beautiful beaches like Ostriconi and Barcacaggio (watch for the cows; yes, really!).
Further south in Corse-du-Sud, visitors will find more facilities at the turquoise half-moon shores of Rondinara and beneath the umbrella pines of Palombaggia.
City life
If we set aside Marseille (very much its own beast), then Nice is easily the largest city on the Riviera with plenty to do.
Whether it's soaking in views from the lofty Colline du Château, browsing colourful works by Henri Matisse at Musée Matisse in Cimiez or sipping cocktails at the Negresco Hotel, France's fifth-largest city is a sun-soaked playground with great transport links down the coast and through the air.
With a population of just 73,000, Ajaccio isn't nearly as big as Nice, though it's fairly significant since it's also Napoleon's hometown. In fact, it's almost impossible to escape Le Petit Caporal with all the buildings and streets named after him, so check out his ancestral home, the Maison Bonaparte.
Other activities around the Corsican capital include gliding along the rocky coast by boat, eating fresh seafood at Ajaccio harbour and meandering the narrow streets of the Medieval Old Town.
Resorts
With over a century's worth of prestigious celebrity visitors, it's little surprise that the Riviera is home to many of Europe's most luxurious resorts. While some spots like the clifftop perch of >strong>Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat will be out of most people's price range, there's better value to be found in and around Nice, especially for families (which is handy for access to the airport too).
Corsica is no stranger to glitz itself, with the Domaine de Murtoli's forested seclusion attracting some serious glitterati. But Corsica's rugged landscape makes for some very seductive resort locations, and the largely unspoiled north is your best bet.
High in the hills above Calvi, La Villa Hotel is particularly alluring, gazing out towards a splendid stone citadel framed from behind by a dreamy harbour and serrated mountain silhouettes.
History & culture
Attracted by its mild climate and year-round sun, the English aristocracy started holidaying on the Riviera in the late 19th century, and this is perhaps where the region's international intrigue began, hence the name of Nice's Promenade des Anglais.
And with its crystalline shores and ragged mountain backdrop, it's no wonder that this charming coast became immortalised in art by everyone from Claude Monet to Pablo Picasso.
But the artists who lived and visited over the years weren't just painters. Writers like F Scott Fitzgerald and Graham Greene both lived and wrote here, while the Rolling Stones laid down much of their classic 1972 album Exile on Main Street inside a luxurious villa at Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Corsica doesn't quite have the same artistic pedigree as the Côte d'Azur, though there's still some cultural notoriety here, what with Napoleon's constant presence. But this island has only been part of France since 1769, after centuries under Genoan rule, and the local language, Corsican, can still be heard, along with the widely spoken Italian.
Look out for regular arts and crafts festivals in the island's mountain villages and try to catch a performance of Corsica's haunting polyphonic singing, where choral songs are often sung a cappella by groups of three or four.
Food & drink
Mediterraneans love their food, but, contrary to cliché, not everything eaten here involves seafood or salad. Having said all that, the egg and tuna-based salade niçoise is possibly the first dish you'll think of visiting the Riviera, and it's found in bistros and restaurants almost everywhere.
There's the vegetable-heavy ratatouille too, though look out for a beef stew called daube, which pairs perfectly with a Provence rosé. And if you venture close enough to Marseille, then don't miss their classic fisherman's seafood stew, bouillabaisse (order a pastis too, though its pungent aniseed aroma is an acquired taste).
Thanks to Corsica's rural, mountainous characteristics, the local cuisine is more meat-heavy than one would expect for a Mediterranean island. The rich and hearty Civet de sanglier, or wild boar casserole, is arguably the island's signature dish and is sublime alongside a local red wine (Napoleon was born into a Corsican winemaking family).
Other memorable classics include the unusual but delicious combination of veal and olives, as well as lamb stew.
Compare weather
Use the graphs below to compare the weather in both destinations. Find out more about the climate in Nice and the climate in Ajaccio as well as conditions across the region in our complete guide to the climate in France.
Nice vs Ajaccio
- Maximum daytime temperature
- Hours of sunshine
- Days with some rainfall
- Monthly rainfall
- Sea temperature
Maximum daytime temperature (°C)
Hours of sunshine per day
Days with some rainfall
Monthly rainfall (mm)
Sea temperature (°C)
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