Bastia

As France’s second busiest passenger port, after Calais, the dynamic city of Bastia remains lively year-round, and offers a wonderful welcome to Corsica. While it may not have the relaxed charm of its long-term rival Ajaccio, and is home to fewer people, it’s much larger to stroll around, and has the feel of a genuine lived-in city that refuses to sell its soul just to please the tourists.