🙂 Most memorable entrance into any City via the port of Bonifacio through the tall cliffs!
🙁 Expensive! Mafia!
September 2021 – Sardinia / Corsica Sailing Trip
Sailing into Bonifacio, Corsica is one heck of a spectacular experience. You enter through a narrow passage with cliffs on either side. Bonifacio is a town on the southern tip of the French island of Corsica. It’s known for its lively marina and medieval clifftop citadel. The 13th-century Bastion de l’Etendard houses a small museum with exhibits on the town’s history. L’Escalier du Roi d’Aragon is 187 ancient steps carved into the cliff face. To the southeast, the uninhabited Lavezzi Islands, a nature reserve, have granite boulders and sandy beaches. Bonifacio is a lovely medieval town and the oldest town in Corsica, having been founded around 830. It is situated on the cliffs of a limestone peninsula above a natural harbour on the site of a 9th century citadel and the combination of resort, medieval town, scenery and nearby beaches make it one of the unmissable highlights of your trip to Corsica. We parked our yacht in the main harbour – this was a little bumpy as Captain Marcelo crashed into another yacht which was a little embarrassing!
A visit to Bonifacio falls in two distinct parts – taking a promenade around the the harbour and sea front area to sample the fine seafood…
There are many harbour side restaurants to choose from all offering fresh seafood. We enjoyed a lovely lunch.
and exploring the historic old town with the citadel…
You will also want to follow the footpath along the cliffs to the east for great views across Bonifacio and the coast, and to descend King Aragon’s staircase.
It is a great place to spend some time meandering around and taking it all in. We boarded the yacht and headed to a cove for some time in the sea.
A brief but enjoyable excursion to Corsica! It is interesting as we were not able to stop and moor up on a number of islands as they are run by the Mafia – The Unione Corse is a Corsican mafia criminal organisation operating primarily out of Corsica and Marseille, France. Members of this organisation, along with various other crime families, maintained the French Connection – a heroin trade monopoly between France and the United States from 1930 to 1970. To this day they are closely tied to and participating heavily in both the French underworld and Italian Mafia. The Corsican mafia is an influential organised crime structure also operating in France, Russia, and many African and Latin American countries. Scary stuff.
Go to: Sardinia
Go Back to: France
