Dinner at Le Casadelmar
Mediterranean cooking from Italy to Corsica by Fabio Bragagnolo, with a two-MICHELIN-star rating.
Corsica, South to North
From the southern beaches into the mountains, then by helicopter north to Calvi.
- Seven nights
- Three stays
- France
- Summer, beach, boating, mountains
Seven nights from the white beaches of the south to the citadel of Calvi in the north. A boat to Bonifacio and dinner at a two-MICHELIN-star table on the gulf, a mountain estate below the Bavella needles with hot springs known since antiquity, then a helicopter over the island to the Balagne, organic wines poured by a sommelier in the cellar, and Scandola from the sea.
- Length
- Seven nights
- Pace
- Three stays
- Style
- Summer, beach, boating, mountains
- Route
- Porto-Vecchio to The Alta Rocca to Calvi
- Porto-VecchioTwo nights
- The Alta RoccaThree nights
- CalviTwo nights
01
Days 1 to 3 · two nights
Porto-Vecchio
Met at Figari and driven to Porto-Vecchio. A private boat to Bonifacio for the citadel and marina, then the beaches of Palombaggia and Rondinara Bay, snorkelling and time in the spa. One evening at Le Casadelmar, where Fabio Bragagnolo cooks the Mediterranean from Italy to Corsica, with a two-MICHELIN-star rating.
Where you stay
Casadelmar
At the water's edge on the Gulf of Porto-Vecchio, Casadelmar has 34 rooms and suites that open fully to the sea onto wide terraces. There is a heated 25-metre pool, a platform for swimming straight into the sea, and a spa with hammam and sauna looking over the gulf.
02
Days 3 to 6 · three nights
The Alta Rocca
Up into the mountains, with artisans' workshops in Levie and a walk to the ruins of Cucuruzzu. A morning on horseback, the trails below the Aiguilles de Bavella, a soak in the sulphur waters of the Caldane hot spring, and a day back down on the southern beaches. In summer, the races at Viseo, Europe's highest racecourse.
Where you stay
Domaine Le Mouflon d'Or
Le Mouflon d'Or stands near the mountain village of Zonza, in the Corsican regional natural park at the foot of the Aiguilles de Bavella. Its 25 rooms and suites and two caseddu share a heated outdoor pool, a 1,200 square metre spa with an indoor pool, and Restaurant A Nepita.
03
Days 6 to 8 · two nights
Calvi
A private helicopter across the island to Calvi. The hill villages of the Balagne, a private boat to the Scandola reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and along the Agriates coast, and an afternoon with François-Marie Buteri, the hotel's sommelier, tasting six organic wines with Corsican charcuterie and cheese in the cellar at Clos Culombu in Lumio or Clos Landry in Calvi. Then the flight home.
Where you stay
Hotel La Villa Calvi
La Villa sits on the hill of Notre Dame de la Serra above Calvi, with views over the bay and a choice of rooms, suites, apartments and villas. There are swimming pools and a pool bar, La Table by La Villa for dinner, and a spa with an indoor pool and steam rooms.
Arranged on request
In the cellar with the sommelier
About two and a half hours with François-Marie Buteri, sommelier at La Villa, tasting six organic wines with local charcuterie and cheese at Clos Culombu or Clos Landry.
Scandola from the sea
A sea outing from Calvi to the Scandola reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Agriates.
Corsica from the air
About three hours above Calvi and its bay by helicopter or Cessna 172, over the Balagne, the lakes of central Corsica or the whole island.
The Caldane hot spring
Sulphur-rich natural hot spring waters in the Alta Rocca, known since antiquity for their healing properties.
Subject to availability.
Ways to make it yours
- A night in the old town of Bonifacio.
- A day walking in the Bavella massif with a mountain guide.
- Canyoning in the Bavella gorges, at Purcaraccia, Pulischellu or Vacca.
This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.
Made around you
Most travel is bought. This is designed.
Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.
The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.
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