Friday, May 18, 2007

Corsica (France): Home of Napoleon Bonaparte


Though, the island of Corsica is a tourist haven, it is more famous for being the birthplace of eighteen century French Emperor and Commander, Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon, who was born, in the Corsican city of Ajaccio in 1769, was of minor noble by birth.

It is one of the 26 administrative regions of France and lies to the south of the country, just southwards of the coast of French Riviera. Known locally as the ‘Island of Beauty’, Corsica is one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea and overall fourth largest after Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus.

With 1,000 km of coastline, it is gifted with more than 200 beaches of various types – sandy as well as pebble beaches. Most of the island is mountainous in nature with more than 20 peaks of over 2,000 metres. Monte Cinto is the highest one peaks at 2706 metres.

Though, it is a tourist season all year round, but most of the visitors to the island usually come during the summer months, particularly in August.

There are various places of interest here from beaches to coral reefs that provide best scuba diving experiences. It being a mountainous island, offers some of the best hiking and biking trails in the Mediterranean region.

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