Offseason in Corsica: A welcome change of pace and price
BONIFACIO, Corsica -- Outside the Church of St. Dominique in this ancient cliff-top village, a burly cook is presiding over a grill laden with glistening sardines as fat as Cuban cigars. A sound system revs into gear, blasting folk music through the cool night air, and kids and dogs amble through the scene. The feast is in honor of local fishermen, the man says, beckoning passersby to join the celebration.
He might not have been as welcoming only weeks earlier, when this Mediterranean French island was besieged with sun-seeking tourists. But by mid-September, the visiting throngs have retreated. The residents are beginning to relax. The narrow byways are relatively traffic-free. Restaurant tables are available without reservations. Better yet, hotel prices have dropped by about 30%, helping relieve the sting of Europe's high prices.
Such are the benefits of late-season travel in the Mediterranean. The window is narrow — typically from mid-September to the end of October, when many resort-area hotels close until April or May — but savvy travelers know that the so-called shoulder seasons in popular tourist haunts also can be the most satisfying.
Regardless of season, Americans are just beginning to discover Corsica. It has long been adored by French mainlanders, Italians, Germans and Brits; of 2.5 million visitors in 2007 (most of them packed into July and August), only 6,000 or so were American. That may change, however, as tourism officials on this island of 260,000 begin their first promotional efforts in the USA next year in the hopes of attracting affluent culture-seeking, food-loving travelers.
"It's a little island with a lot of strong stories, good climate and good gastronomy," says Corsican Tourism's Marie Folacci.
Situated 105 miles off France's south coast and just 50 miles off Tuscany, L'Ile de Beauté, or Beautiful Island, as it's aptly called, Corsica may be part of France, but it maintains a distinct cultural identity. It is France without the attitude, layered with generous parts of Italian-style dolce vita. Though its coastal cities were invaded and colonized over the centuries mainly by Genoa and France, the ancient stone villages in its rugged interior retain an essentially Corsican character.
