Charcuterie first — coppa, prisuttu, lonzu and figatellu, made from a native pig breed and carrying AOC status since 2012. Brocciu cheese and chestnut-based dishes like pulenda and fiadone follow close behind.
Discover Local Corsica: What to Do Around Mercure Corsica
At Mercure, we believe you shouldn't need a guidebook to feel like you belong somewhere. That's the idea behind Discover Local: since 1973, every Mercure hotel has been built around its neighbourhood, not just dropped into it — from the décor on the walls to the flavours on the menu. Step into any Mercure and our teams are on hand with the kind of tips you won't find in a guidebook: the market stall locals queue for, the bar where nobody speaks English, the walk that skips the crowds. They live here. They know. Discover Local isn't a generic city guide — it's a short, honest list of the restaurants, markets and neighbourhoods our own hotel teams actually recommend to guests, updated as the city changes around us. Below, you'll find our picks for Corsica, an interactive map to help you find your way, and answers to the questions travellers ask us most. So — where will Discover Local take you?
Corsica in 5 picks
Ajaccio
Napoleon's birthplace, and still the island's capital. Wander the old town's ochre streets down to the marina, then join locals at the Sunday market on Boulevard du Roi Jérôme for cheese, charcuterie and citrus straight off the mountain.
Bonifacio
A citadel balanced on a limestone cliff above the sea, its streets narrow enough that two people barely pass. Boats leave the marina for the Lavezzi Islands, where the water turns a colour that photos never quite get right.
Calvi
A fortress town over a curved bay, with the olive groves and hill villages of the Balagne spreading out behind it. It's also one end of the GR20, Europe's toughest long-distance trail, which runs south toward Porto-Vecchio.
Corte
Corsica's mountain heart, ringed by peaks and chestnut groves, and home to the island's only university. The pace here is slower than the coast, and chestnut flour turns up in everything from bread to cake.
Porto-Vecchio
An old town on a hilltop above the Golfe de Porto-Vecchio, with the white sand of Palombaggia and Santa Giulia a short drive south.
FAQ
Yes, if you want to see beyond the coast. Mountain villages, chestnut groves and inland trailheads are reached mostly by road, and Corsica's interior roads are narrow and slow, so plan for more driving time than the distance implies.
It depends what you're after. Ajaccio and Bastia sit close to transport links, Calvi and Porto-Vecchio are nearer the beaches, and Corte puts the mountains right outside the door. Our Mercure hotels across Corsica cover both coasts, so it's really a question of north versus south.
Where to sleep
See our Mercure hotels across Corsica, ideally placed to explore these picks.