Page 282 - Lonely Planet France’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

montée St-Roch to the
citadel gateway with
16th­ century drawbridge.
Inside is the 13th­century MICHAEL BUSSELLE / GETTY IMAGES ©
Bastion de l’Étendard
(adult/child €2.50/free, incl
Escalier du Roi d’Aragon €3.50/
free; h9am-8pm mid-Apr–Sep,
10am-5pm rest of year) with
a history museum. Stroll
the ramparts to place
du Marché and place de
la Manichella for jaw­
dropping views of the
legendary cliffs. Then hike
down the Escalier du Roi
d’Aragon (adult/child €2.50/
free, incl Bastion de l’Étendard
€3.50/free; h9am-sunset Apr-
Oct), a steep staircase cut
into the southern cliff-face
to the water. Legend says
its 187 steep steps were
carved in a single night by
Aragonese troops during
the siege of 1420. In truth,
the steps led to an under­
ground freshwater well, in
a cave on the seashore.
54 p284
The Drive » From the harbour,
head north along the T10 towards
PROVENCE & SOUTHEAST FRANCE 25 SOUTHERN SEDUCTION EN CORSE
Porto-Vecchio. Count on about
45 minutes to cover the 35km
from Bonifacio to the Plage de
Palombaggia turn-off, signposted
on the large roundabout south of
Porto-Vecchio town proper.

TRIP HIGHLIGHT
5 Plage de
Palombaggia
When it comes to arche­
typal ‘idyllic beach’, it’s
impossible to think past
immense Plage de Palom­
baggia, the pine­fringed
beach on most Corsica
postcards. Imagine

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