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St Florent

28 May 2015 / 16 Comments

St Florent in Corsica - a Corsican St Tropez

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Now we have arrived in the small town of St Florent in Corsica. "Oh, I want to live here!", I exclaimed when we arrived. Of course I don't, but the spontaneous feeling still gives it a good rating. The guidebook says that St Florent is "almost like a Corsican St Tropez". This is true to an extent - it feels affluent, the outdoor cafes are close to the harbour and there are a lot of luxury yachts. Still, I like this place much more than St Tropez!

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The road to St Florent

Today we drove from the east coast of Corsica to its north coast. Our first destination was the slightly larger harbour town of Bastia. The plan was to stop for a while and look around ... but that was not the case. In Bastia there was no a single place to park a campervan - just a bunch of signs telling you where to not had to stand. When we drove through the city, we also had to continue 3-4 kilometres before it was possible to turn around... Fortunately, the city did not seem very exciting.

Today we drove from the east coast to the north coast.
Difficult to park a motorhome in Bastia...

Hairpin bends and views

Our next destination was St Florent, on the other side of Cap Corse (the protruding 'finger' to the north). We couldn't find the town on the GPS (maybe because we typed in the French name instead of the Corsican one?) and at first had trouble finding the back roads that would take us there. Once we did, it was a fascinating journey!

The road went high, high up, winding through hairpin bends with magnificent views. Now we have reached St Florent, which is wonderfully charming and cosy.

The roads are high and winding all the time
Peter Korsika

St Florent

The high mountains provide a dizzying backdrop and the scenery here is far more dramatic, far more wild. Saint Florent lies at the foot of the Cap Corse, the large peninsula in northern Corsica, in a sheltered bay. This is how the great Mediterranean cities should be, with busy harbours, alleys, small squares and the clear blue water all around. Happy friendly people that I really appreciate in France against all the rumours. This is really good!

St Florent på Korsika, sett från vår camping
St Florent in Corsica, seen from our campsite
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The marina not only hosts luxury yachts but also fishing boats.

The citadel and old town of Saint Florent

The town itself is charming with narrow alleys and a 15th century citadel. The citadel is just 5 minutes from the old town, and when you're tired of the cosy alleys, this is the place to go for a perfect view of the Gulf of Florent and the town of Start Florent. Also in the town is the Nebbio Cathedral which was built in the 13th century and where the old Roman city once stood.

Citadellet i St Florent
Citadel of St Florent

Beaches

Plage de la Roya is the beach in St Florent and offers windsurfing, sailing schools, swimming and many other water activities. To get to two of Corsica's most beautiful beaches, you'll need a boat or quad bike.

The Désert des Agrigates is a protected area to the west and to the north is the Cap Course peninsula. The beaches of Plage de Saleccia and Plage du Loto are not accessible by car. There is a tourist boat from the harbour in St Florent, which is a 45-minute walk. You can also pay more to access the beaches directly by rib boat, or hire a quad bike to explore further.

St Florent
Saleccia beach with its white sand

Restaurants at the harbour

We arrived just in time for lunch, and could not resist the temptation to enjoy a meal at one of the many restaurants at the harbour (Place des Portes). We have read that charcuterie is more popular than fish on this Mediterranean island, but here in the harbour there was still plenty of fish on the menus.

We chose (as usual, I know) moules frites, but were surprised that there were five different flavours to choose from. We ordered "provencale", but you could also try mussels flavoured with curry or Roquefort, for example. Other items on the menu included 'catch of the day' or pasta with scampi, mussels and courgettes. If you're travelling to Corsica, be sure to visit St Florent!

Korsika
At an outdoor restaurant on the quayside
Moules frites provencale, med helt rätt utsikt!
Moules frites provencale, with just the right view!

Wineries

The village of Patrimonio is 30 minutes from St Florent, an idyllic little village with a beautiful church on top of the hill. Along the road is also the Route des Vins with all its vineyards. Many of Corsica's best wines are produced here.

Camping in St Florent

We went camping U Pezzo, which is nicely located on the water and within walking distance to the city. Quite ok camping where we stood excellent! The price in low season was 15 euros without electricity or 18 euros with electricity.

Facts about St Florent

  • Country: France
  • Region: Corsica
  • Department: Haute-Corse
  • Rounding off: Bastia
  • Population: 1600 (2011)

Travelling to St Florent

  • Getting here: you can book trips with most travel companies today such as Apollo, Ving and Langley. Just search for flights online.

Accommodation and restaurants

  • Hotel: Hotel la Roya which is a beach hotel with a Michelin star, or if you want to rent a house for 8 people, there is La Citat. If you want to stay a little smaller, rent a small apartment in the middle of St Florent like Apartment ChaCha.
  • Camping: Camping U Pezzo is located near the water and within walking distance of the town centre.
  • Restaurants: Restaurants line the harbour like a string of pearls. Sit in the sun and enjoy life at the De l'Europe or Le Grill restaurants.

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28 May 2015 20:54
France
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16 Comments

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  1. Henny says:

    It looks absolutely marvellous, not least the food. Corsica seems to be an exciting place to go. But what about the mafia - you will lock the door properly tonight 😀.

    28 May 2015 - 21:22

    Reply

  2. Ditte says:

    I have passed through here by car and remember it being beautiful and good food...
    Beautiful pictures! I'm glad you feel good. In Corsica I was never worried about being a victim of crime...Should I have been? Read Hennys comment...Joke maybe?

    28 May 2015 - 22:08

    Reply

  3. Rantamor on the retina says:

    Absolutely beautiful, I could probably live there too,
    or no, I would miss what's up here in Västerbotten,
    and then I would miss the mountains.
    But I was able to steal the heat from there.
    Have a wonderful continued journey.
    I am pimping and cleaning in the Kottebobil, soon we are leaving!

    Tjingelingen from Rantamor.

    28 May 2015 - 22:17

    Reply

  4. BP says:

    WOW - now we are talking! What a place you have found - and that's lucky;-)
    I could eat moules frites (and squid) to death. And I would also take procencale. I don't like those "artificial" varieties with "weird" ingredients either.

    PS. The owner of the local Täby pub must have been in Corsica since last summer - they serve pommese in the same funny way - in a deep-fried basket:-) DS.

    28 May 2015 - 22:58

    Reply

  5. Mr Steve says:

    The first reaction when visiting a new place is usually the right one.
    Your pictures make me understand your reaction very well.
    When we were viewing what is now our Getingstorp, I said to D "Oh, I can imagine living here!". This is despite the fact that we were crowded with another 85 families eager to buy and that I then did not even manage to walk around and crowd with other speculators and even less get upstairs. That it still turned out well, both I and you know today so that first impression reaction is really something to take note of. Love at first sight is not called that for nothing.
    I must ask myself once again: Why did I never travel to Corsica?
    Keep enjoying your stay in Corsica! I will.

    29 May 2015 - 4:14

    Reply

  6. Comment by post author

    admin says:

    Henny, I thought the mafia was in Sicily? 😉 It feels very safe, although I have heard that young people have thrown stones at motorhomes. But we are mostly on campsites so then it is definitely calm.

    Ditte, no, I think it's quiet here. The only thing I've heard is that young people have thrown stones at motorhomes (but I'm guessing it's about people free camping where the locals don't like free camping).

    Rantamor, the heat is nice here now! Maybe around 25 degrees and a nice breeze from the sea. Lovely to pimp the car. Wish good luck! 🙂

    BP, well now we have found a place we really like! Mussels are just soooo good! A real favourite, and often quite affordable. (Here it cost 14 euro/person, which was cheaper than most of the other things on the menu...)

    Steve, it's great that you felt that way the first time at Getingstorp. But then you know that you have found the right one. Often you should trust the feeling, I think!

    29 May 2015 - 6:52

    Reply

  7. Anders and Birgitta says:

    Looks great. What a fun way to serve fries. Mussels and chips are a favourite with us too.

    29 May 2015 - 8:28

    Reply

  8. Comment by post author

    admin says:

    Anders and Birgitta, the fries were also really good! (Which I do not usually think so often ;))

    29 May 2015 - 8:40

    Reply

  9. Anja says:

    Ooh! What great pictures! How are the tourists this time of year? (But on the other hand, it's June soon, even if it's hard to believe this cold Swedish spring...)
    More moules for the people!!!

    29 May 2015 - 9:19

    Reply

  10. Ama de casa says:

    Oh! Mussels flavoured with Roquefort are just soooo good! Have never tried to make it myself, but have eaten out. Yummy!

    I don't envy you the trip with the campervan in the hairpin bends... Otherwise, I would love to be in Corsica again 🙂.

    29 May 2015 - 10:57

    Reply

  11. Ama de casa says:

    en: I found your missing comment in the spam... For some strange reason "real" comments sometimes end up there. Now it is restored 🙂

    29 May 2015 - 11:16

    Reply

  12. Marina says:

    Oh, how nice - and how delicious! Fresh "sea food" is one of the best things you can eat! The powers of the weather seem to be with you right now too, wonderful!

    29 May 2015 - 11:46

    Reply

  13. Comment by post author

    admin says:

    Anja, of course there are tourists, but it's still some kind of low season. There are many free tables in the restaurants, you don't have to crowd the beaches and there are still low season prices everywhere.

    Ama de casa, oh then maybe we should try mussels with Roquefort next time?

    Marina, yes now we have real summer with sun and heat!!!

    29 May 2015 - 16:17

    Reply

  14. steel city anna says:

    Looks wonderful!

    29 May 2015 - 16:22

    Reply

  15. Nilla says:

    You never get tired of Moule?
    And in that setting, lovely!!!
    Have a good time?

    29 May 2015 - 19:02

    Reply

  16. Katarina Wohlfart says:

    So, soon Europe, here we come!

    30 May 2015 - 10:02

    Reply

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