Travel Eye on Calvi (Corsica, France)

Write a review or view peoples experiences in Calvi.	Hotels in Calvi	Flights	Car Hire/Rental

Overview

Calvi is a prosperous town and home to an expert regiment of the French foreign legion.  In fact, Calvi boasts quite a colourful military history, being attacked by Pasquale Paoli's nationalist troops along with the British in 1794.  The story goes that during the course of this battle a certain captain Horatio Nelson was wounded by flying shards and lost the use of his right eye.

Today Calvi is a popular beachside resort with the sparkling, turquoise waters of the Golfe de Calvi backed by the soaring, snowcapped Monte Cinto just 20km inland.  If you arrive towards the end of June you'll be rewarded by a jazz festival with stalls that sell traditional Corsican fare. 

Centred on a peninsula dominated by the dramatic walls of an elevated 13th-century citadel, Calvi today, though still a garrison town lives almost entirely from tourism. Measuring ¾ ml NE to SW and ½ ml NW to SE, it is a fairly compact, colourful resort with a carefree atmosphere helped along by its typically relaxed Mediterranean cafes and restaurants. It includes a modest commercial port and animated yacht marina.

Behind the port, which lies at the foot of the citadel, narrow streets lead to a church square and the main commercial streets with their profusion of boutiques, souvenir and gift shops, banks, bars, restaurants and cafes. A sandy beach, backed by pine woods, extends in a graceful curve for more than 3 mls and boasts numerous inviting cafes and restaurant terraces. Most of the hotels and apartment blocks, along with a couple of medium-sized supermarkets, are on the outskirts. Summer heat waves are rare in Calvi, with temperatures moderated by a gentle, prevailing SW breeze.

Locality

Calvi is on the north west coast of Corsica, (it is 60 mls W of Bastia and 50 mls W of its airport; 4 mls N of Calvi airport). It is a coastal town on the Gulf of Calvi, ringed by a range of tall, jagged mountains which rise to 9,000 ft and display patches of snow until late July.

Entertainment/Activities/Things To Do:

The main beach is sandy and gently shelving, so suitable for small children; sun umbrellas, mattresses and deck chairs are for hire. On the other side of town the magnificent rock bathing is for swimmers only and is also top-quality snorkelling territory.

There are numerous small souvenir shops, boutiques and outlets selling local produce. There are a couple of larger supermarkets on the edge of town, there is also a simple morning fruit and vegetable market. The local specialities are pottery, wood and leatherwork.

During the daytime time can be spent exploring the town taking in the citadel, the 13th-century Salt Tower, the various churches and other buildings of interest (guided tours available). There is also water sports including diving, snorkelling, sailing, jet-skiing, water-skiing, windsurfing and catamarans; tennis; horse riding; minigolf; go-karting; or simply strolling past the luxurious yachts moored in the marina.

The nightlife here is mainly spent watching the world go by in the cafes around the port, there are also a couple of superior discos.

There is a surprising number of small restaurants with reasonable prices as well as several expensive ones. Langouste, bouillabaisse and fresh local fish can be found in the latter. Choice of ice-cream parlours.