CORSICA, SARDINIA : WHO IS THE QUEEN OF THE MEDITERRANEAN ? | M6 | Zone Interdite

Tails: South Corsica. Opposite, North Sardinia. Two jewels of the Mediterranean, but also two rivals who both make tourists dream. Every summer, 6 million set sail for the island, in search of pristine beaches and a mountainous hinterland.  They share the same challenge: to attract the maximum number of holidaymakers while preserving nature, island identity, culture and terroir.

On the coast of southern Corsica, from Bonifacio to Porto-Vecchio, the sea is crowded and by 8 a.m., the narrow streets of the citadel are sweltering, and so are the locals. In the port, its manager and shopkeepers are eagerly awaiting the summer season. Tourism accounts for 39% of the island’s GDP. The mythical beaches near Porto Vecchio, where many families run their straw huts with an iron fist, bear witness to this. Faced with these crowds, the locals try to disappear into the hinterland, where the resistance is organized… Because this year, a measure has shaken up the region: because of the greedy mountain tourists, the canyons, crowded as they are every summer, are now inaccessible even to Corsicans! They must be accompanied by a guide. The autonomists are determined to take this new issue in hand. The same people who have protected Corsica’s coastline in the past, are going to do their utmost to protect their mountains from tourists in search of peace and quiet…

While Corsica does its utmost to strike a balance between tourism and authenticity, Sardinia has decided to open the floodgates. Porto Cervo, Sardinia’s Saint-Tropez, where the world’s jet set arrives every year, is the perfect symbol. As for the eastern part of the island, the entire coastline has been concreted over.

To rediscover the island’s identity, you need to go further south. In the hinterland, many French people have even invested in remote Sardinian villages. Every year, they find themselves living in second homes they’ve bought for a pittance. Far from the glitz and glamour of Porto Cervo, they’re looking for the Sardinian spirit that comes through at every village fete!