Calvi epitomises the reason why the expensive people of France like to escape to Corse for a short break away from the stressful life of long weekends and days spent with a lover in one hand and vanilla-scented cigarette in the other. That being said, I personally vouch for this little port town as the perfect getaway for anyone. And I’m not French. See, never have I had my breath taken away in such a manner as when I was standing on the top of the town’s citadel, looking down onto the sweeping beaches and the crashing waves with the rushing wind from the rugged mountains above billowing around me. Ignoring the poetic waxing of the lyrical: it was just damn spectacular.

On heading down from the heavens, you will find yourself in a quaint little port town – French style. Cobblestone streets guide you through a jumble of family run cafes, stinky boulangeries (the French believe that the stinkier the cheese, the better — the Corsicans take it to another level) and a lovely marina full of expensive yachts. And this tour can almost be guaranteed to eventuate in the arrival of you at Christopher Columbus’ alleged place of birth. You can’t avoid it. If you are a foreigner, the locals will not let you leave without paying your respects to their great explorer. But then again, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me — paradise or Columbus? The choice is yours. [photo via Lonely Planet Hometown Flickr]

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