Things to See in Corsica

Just back from the ferry terminal lies Place St-Nicolas. The beating heart of city life, this 19th-century square is lined with trees and cafes, and at the southern end, a bizarre statue of Napoleon Bonaparte depicted as a muscle-bound Roman emperor stands guard, ringed by a phalanx of palm trees.

The Col de Bavella (Bavella Pass) is overlooked by the imposing silhouette of one of the most striking and beautiful landscape features in the south of Corsica: the sharp points of Aiguilles de Bavella, also called the Bavella Needles. If you're lucky you may spot a few of the mouflons (wild mountain sheep) that sashay around the area.

Flaming a fiery red in the sunlight, the giant granite cliffs and outcrops of Les Calanques de Piana (E Calanche in Corsican) are a spectacular landscape of red granite cliffs and spiky outcrops, carved into bizarre shapes by the forces of wind and water.

The citadel (often referred to as Haute Ville, upper town) is the main town centre. Set on the cliff-top promontory 70m above the harbour, the northern side overlooks Bonifacio Sound, while the southern ramparts give you dreamy views of Sardinia. On all sides, white limestone cliffs drop vertically and dramatically into the sea.

Filitosa's megaliths and menhirs have been surveyed since their accidental discovery in 1946 by the land's owner, Charles-Antoine Césari. Set amongst 1000-year-old olive trees, some of these extraordinary monuments date as far back as the early Neolithic era; others date from as (relatively) recently as Roman times. A museum at the site displays major finds.