Corsica & Elba

Nearing NAPOLEON

Follow in the Frenchman’s footsteps on a small-ship sailing to the Mediterranean isles of Corsica and Elba, writes Sara Macefield

This page, clockwise from above: Porto Azzurro, Elba; artisan fair, L’Ile Rousse; Star Clipper; Old Town, Nice A s we sweep into Portoferraio, Elba’s striking capital, guarded by such imposing fortresses that Admiral Lord Nelson branded this the safest harbour in the world, I can’t help thinking that I’d rather like to be exiled here.

Around the horseshoe-shaped bay sit rows of handsome pastel-hued merchant houses, lined up like soldiers standing to attention alongside hulking stone walls built to defend the city by its Italian founders, the all-powerful Medici family of Florence.

But this pocket-sized Mediterranean isle, just off the coast of Tuscany, is arguably most famous as the place where Napoleon Bonaparte was banished in disgrace in 1814.

His exile lasted just 10 months after the military mastermind gave his British overseers the slip, escaping on a tall ship to a hero’s welcome in Paris, where he temporarily regained his crown before eventually being defeated by British troops at the Battle of Waterloo.

Like the French emperor, we are also aboard a square rigger, though arriving with rather more panache during a week-long sailing from Cannes on the four-masted barquentine Star Clipper.

Much of this voyage is devoted to the rugged French isle of Corsica and its intimate resorts, set off the main cruising routes. We moor close by, making it easy to wander off the ship at will to explore independently, especially in the sleepy seaside town of L’Ile Rousse with its small market and stone streets bustling with boutiques and cafes.

Yet such rustic simplicity is the antithesis of our first call at the billionaire playground of Monte Carlo, where Star Clipper rubs shoulders with swanky multi-millionpound mega yachts and their champagne-quaffing owners,

THANKFULLY, FOR MERE Mercedes, BMWs and nearly every other status marque you can think of.

MORTALS LIKE US, THE VIEW Wealth and opulence flow from every street, where swanky apartment blocks

IS FREE AND MAKES THE and grande dame hotels sit shoulder to

MOST INCREDIBLE BACKDROP shoulder, and the windows of designer boutiques are resplendent with the latest haute fashions that, crucially, do not have price tags. who look as though they have just sailed off the set of a Thankfully, for mere mortals like us, the view is free and James Bond movie. makes the most incredible backdrop for an evening cocktail

The walk from the marina to the statuesque casino, soiree on the deck of Star Clipper with the ship’s officers. resplendent in the belle époque style that reflects this As dusk falls, our impending departure unleashes a burst of principality’s reputation for glitz and glamour, is perfect activity among the crew, as winches whine with the strain of for people-watching with glossy, groomed young things unfurling vast flapping sails to a backtrack of creaking ropes posing and preening at waterside cocktail bars. and purring pulleys.

Car spotting is even more entertaining as we admire Every sailaway is accompanied by the stirring notes of convoys of gleaming Ferraris gliding past with the distinctive Vangelis’s Conquest of Paradise, which makes this windheavy growl of their engines, though it’s soon obvious in-your-hair occasion even more evocative, but there are so these are 10 a penny, along with a procession of top-flight many other atmospheric moments too. 8 Above: Casino de Monte Carlo, Monaco

Clockwise from above: Bonifacio, Corsica; relaxing on the ship’s bowsprit; houses above the Mediterranean sea, Bonifacio

LYING IN THE BOWSPRIT NETS SOON BECOMES A FAVOURITE PASTIME

Rising early and stepping out onto the freshly hosed teak decks before everyone else awakens is another pinch-me moment, and a perfect setting for the daily pre-breakfast yoga classes that are a special feature on this voyage.

There are just a handful of us, led by our willowy instructor Idi, and I am the sole beginner, but do my best to master the seemingly impossible positions. Having turned up with the intention of trying just one session, the irresistible lapping of the waves and gently billowing sails makes for the most memorable of experiences and has me hooked for the rest of the week.

Star Clipper holds up to 170 guests, but there are only 74 on our cruise with an international mix of Brits, Australians and Americans, and a few French and German guests. 8

This page, clockwise from above: Onboard dining; flag of Corsica hanging out to dry, moored boats in the harbour and a statue of Napoleon on Place d’Austerlitz, all Ajaccio, Corsica Most guests are older, and because we’re out of school holidays there aren’t many families either – plus this trip is generally better suited to guests over eight years old.

That was the age my twin girls were on their first Star Clippers cruise some years ago. Now aged 19, they are more interested in lazing around the two small pools and posing for Insta shots at the ship’s prow, while looking out for dolphins.

Lying in the bowsprit nets, just a couple of metres above the waves, becomes one of our favourite pastimes and during a particularly magical evening we are rewarded with perfect views of a huge shoal of giant yellowfin tuna coursing through the inky depths directly below us.

Life on board revolves around the Tropical Bar, the hub of the ship’s social scene where a crew talent show and fashion parade, teamed with feel-good disco nights, spice up the house-party ambience.

The light and airy dining room, decorated in the nautical style of varnished wood and gleaming brass that runs throughout the ship, is where we tuck into sumptuous buffet lunches, sometimes Italian and Asian themed. They are

IN THE LIGHT AND AIRY DINING ROOM, WE TUCK INTO SUMPTUOUS BUFFET LUNCHES

followed each evening by five-course feasts with tangy salads, velvety soups succeeded by prime cuts, lobster and fresh fish.

With its line-up of waterfront restaurants, the fashionable resort of Bonifacio is just as mouth-watering and becomes one of our favourite stops thanks to the contrast of its chi-chi marina and maze of stone streets in the Old Town, carved from the rocky cliffs that lead up to the ninth-century citadel.

It’s hot work walking to the top, but we’re rewarded with views to Sardinia just over seven miles away, its proximity lending a feel of Italian chic to this medieval enclave, which is renowned as Corsica’s oldest town.

On arriving at the island’s capital, Ajaccio, Star Clipper

turns heads as we dock next to P&O Cruises’ ship Azura, which towers above our small sailing ship like a huge monolith. We even spot some passengers taking pictures of our traditional vessel from the deck.

The winding narrow streets of Ajaccio’s Old Town beckon, offering welcome shade from the burning heat of the midday sun, while the irrepressible spirit of Napoleon rears its head because his birthplace and early home, Maison Bonaparte, is here.

Now a museum, it offers a fascinating insight into his family life, though it could do with having information boards in English. Despite the lack of translation, and thanks to our rusty French, we learn that the young future emperor stayed here only until he was nine years old before leaving to be schooled in France, returning for the final time when he was 30.

Just 15 years later, France’s military leader was forced into a humiliating abdication and exiled to the nearby isle of Elba where he divided his time in relative freedom between two residences, now museums, with his official base being Villa dei Mulini in Portoferraio.

I’m determined to see where he spent his time, and follow the steep streets to the villa’s hilltop setting on a craggy promontory overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. The views are exquisite and as I amble through the Italianate gardens, where Napoleon is said to have spent most of his days, I wonder if he ever regretted leaving this captivating island in such haste, never to return.

GETTING THERE

A seven-night Star Clippers sailing from Cannes to Civitavecchia (Rome), including calls at Monaco and the Corsican ports of L’Ile Rousse, Ajaccio, Bonifacio and Bastia, plus Portoferraio on Elba, departs May 13, 2023. It costs from £2,039 per person, including flights. Find out more at starclippers.co.uk Above: Palazzina dei Mulini, official residence of Napoleon in Portoferraio, is now a museum