When to Go

The best time to visit Corsica is fall or spring, when the weather is cool. Most Corsican culinary specialties are at their best between October and June. Try to avoid July and August, when mostly French and Italian vacationers fill hotels, crowd beaches, and jam roads. Prices soar and the Corsican temperament is at its most volatile. In winter the island has the best weather in France, but a majority of the hotels and restaurants are closed.

Travelers enjoying Corsica’s laid-back vibe might be surprised to hear that it has the highest homicide rate per capita in France. Organized crime is the reason, and a spate of bombings and shootings has not helped improve the island’s reputation. The good news is that none of the violence has targeted visitors, and the government of France is so confident that things are under control that it allowed the Tour de France to pass through the island for the first time in 2013.