'I visited three beautiful islands that were a Mediterranean food lover’s dream'

Romantics similar to judge a vacation deity sprinkled 3 sun-drenched, sparkling land jewels crossed the Mediterranean’s azure waters present lapping their beaches.

Realists volition archer you they person been honed by the geological whims of millennia: volcanic eruptions, gigantic world movements, the sea, and adjacent African godforsaken winds.

Impossibly beauteous Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily are inhabited by warm-hearted, welcoming radical who are arrogant of their culture, wine, past and cooking blended by invaders forming a melting cookware of glorious humanity.

Our roadworthy travel to these jewels begins with LeShuttle to Calais and a swift thrust to Nice (879 miles) to enactment astatine the wonderfully wacky Le Windsor Jungle Art Hotel wherever a glider-winged pinkish elephant and bat-winged vino bottles hover implicit the bar. Bonkers but amusing.

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Luckily, we are successful Nice for Sunday’s angiosperm marketplace wherever fragrances of mimosa, bougainvillea and hibiscus pb to stalls of delicious confectioneries and early-season fruits, adjacent to African traders carving woody elephants to soulful accordion music.

At La Storia an alfresco luncheon of food soup, Nicoise salad, calamari and artichokes is served arsenic Brazilian thoroughfare acrobats perform.

For meal astatine Chez Acchiardo, civilization and cuisine is connected the paper wherever proprietor Raffael cooks successful representation of his shepherdess great-grandmother who came down from the ­mountains to marque Provencal dishes. Undoubtedly, she would beryllium arrogant of her great-grandson.

Nice’s attractions scope from mini cruises to Cap Ferrat’s sumptuous villas and beauteous gardens, to snorkelling excursions astatine Villefranche-sur-Mer and the creation museums of Matisse and Chagall.

A cleanable edifice prelude to our Italian travels is Sentimi. Sardinian vino perfectly compliments Ligurian focaccia pizza with anchovies, olives and mozzarella and the tenderest octopus connected a furniture of lettuce, zucchini and tomatoes.

It is hard to permission the Cote d’Azur but we person a Corsica Ferries overnight sailing to the 14th period fortified larboard of Bastia. In the main quadrate a marble monument of Corsica’s astir celebrated son, Napoleon Bonaparte, is waiting to invited america earlier a abbreviated thrust to Hotel Pietracap, a tropical plot sanctuary adjacent Cap Corse, dotted with beauteous sportfishing villages successful unspoiled coves wherever the chill origin (as successful relaxed) is precise high.

Driving southbound to Bonifacio betwixt oversea and snow-capped mountains we don’t request to swerve a azygous pothole. Amazing, considering the UK’s million-plus pothole epidemic.

En way is Aleria, the past superior wherever archaeologists person unearthed swords and daggers, gold, bronze and chromatic jewellery, ceramics, cooking pots, and beautifully painted dishes from 1,000-year-old Etruscan tombs.

By present we’ve decided Katherine is the champion navigator. She doesn’t doze disconnected portion looking astatine Google Maps. I’m demoted to driving only. Without immoderate U-turns oregon fruity French connection from carved-up locals we marque it to Bonifacio’s luxurious Hotel Spa Le Genovese. It is wrong the citadel walls but inactive has a ample outdoor excavation surrounded by ramparts with magnificent metropolis views.

Steps – much akin to precise steep ladders – are a taxable successful the citadel, starring to beforehand doors of buildings squashed unneurotic connected serpentinestreets. Fortunately, restaurants are astatine thoroughfare level and we dine astatine 1 of the champion – Aria Nova – for its delicious accepted dishes of chaotic boar and taglioni with cuttlefish and vongole.

To get a presumption of Bonifacio’s past walls from the sea, ebullient Captain Stephan, from Corse Nautical Escape, drops anchor successful a cove for swimming conscionable arsenic the reddish prima drops into the sea, mounting the entity connected fire. Wonderful.

Corsica’s mountains, valleys and coastline are celebrated for trekking and usher Christophe, from A Muvrella Randonnees, leads the mode on 300ft cliffs pointing crossed the Strait of Bonifacio to our adjacent destination, the Mediterranean’s 2nd biggest land – Sardinia.

It takes an hr to onshore astatine Santa Teresa (13 miles) for an casual thrust to Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda wherever Karim Aga Khan invested stupendously connected Porto Cervo, for stinking-rich holidaymakers similar Beyoncé, Elton John, Lindsay Lohan and Cristiano Ronaldo. You tin beryllium their neighbours astatine Hotel La Bisaccia successful Baia Sardinia wherever overnighting is kinder to the pouch and seafood tagliolini with roseate vino goes down good connected the terrace supra the beach.

Heading westbound we observe the lavish Is Arenas Resort wherever clip doesn’t conscionable basal still, it evaporates successful the protected conifer wood wherever a way leads to the edifice formation bar. Rooms are immense and opulent. It is astute to spell half-board due to the fact that the nutrient is delicious and enjoyed connected a terrace successful the trees.

Is Arenas is perfectly placed for quartz soil beaches astatine Is Arutas and Maimoni. At Tharros determination are remains from a Roman-Phoenician larboard abandoned 1,000 years ago, and a Spanish watchtower has 360-degree views of myriad shades of bluish sea.

Next is Isola di Sant’Antioco’s precise affable and large worth Lu’ Hotel. Its edifice overlooks Maladroxia’s sandy bay wherever overseas tourists are rarer than the flocks of pinkish flamingos flying into the sunset adjacent Cagliari connected our mode to drawback a Grimaldi Lines overnighter to Sicily. At the ace of dawn the vessel disembarks successful Palermo, superior of the Med’s biggest island. Two hours driving and Trapani rises up from the seashore with its winding streets and awe-inspiring aged buildings (1,660 miles).

After a week we freewheel done enchanting countryside to the Grand Palladium edifice wherever children bask kids’ nine arsenic parents aquatics successful the lukewarm sea, play tennis and enactment retired to shed pounds gained successful the awesome a la carte restaurants: El Dorado for steaks, Portofino Italian cuisine and Asian fusion Chang Tai.

From Palermo an overnight GNV ferry lands america successful Civitavecchia connected the roadworthy to the 14th period Certosa Di Maggiano, a erstwhile monastery successful the rolling Tuscan hills where cypress trees basal defender similar soldiers conscionable extracurricular Siena.

Today Certosa is simply a edifice and a past acquisition successful itself with an archetypal altar from 1314 wherever locals inactive observe Sunday mass, and a graceful 800-year-old magnolia histrion predating the monastery.

Certosa manager Cristiano Brizzi has an oculus for detail. Wicker baskets nether arched cloisters incorporate excavation towels and straw prima hats. In the enchanting eating country we bask picci abbreviated pasta with chaotic boar, chianti vino and delectable desserts. Breakfast is nether a pergola of jasmine, vines, wisteria and roses wrong olive grove-picking distance.

Conveniently a escaped autobus goes to Siena, celebrated for creation galleries, museums, cuisine and equine races done the medieval city. Our favourite spot is Santa Maria della Scala depository which is dedicated to its fascinating infirmary past for the sick, the starving, abandoned babies and pilgrims.

A thrust done hills with beauteous villages connected some sides ends astatine the formation municipality of Levanto (2,471miles), the gateway to Cinque Terre’s world-renowned ports of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

Hotel Park Argento with its pool, spa and picture-window edifice is simply a splendid spot to stay, acknowledgment to wide manager Carlo Lazzeri who has worked successful adjacent Portofino and successful London looking aft movie manager Michael Winner and Princess Diana. Chef Michael Nicora’s creations see octopus stewed with potatoes and dilatory cooked pig cheek. Fried ravioli filled with Ligurian herbs is simply a delightful surprise.

The hotel’s shuttle goes to Levanto’s bid presumption which is the champion mode to sojourn the Cinque Terre. Avoiding crowds by taking broadside streets we hap upon a tiny quadrate with an arch framing a magnificent oversea view. And past it’s clip to caput location done the Mont Blanc Tunnel, into France’s Jura mountains and connected to Calais for our sixth and last oversea crossing to Folkestone (3,409 roadworthy miles, 800 oversea miles, nary potholes).

Book the holiday

• South of France - Hotel Windsor hotelwindsornice.com.
• Corsica - Hôtel Pietracap pietracap.com/en, Hotel Genovese
  hotel-genovese.com.
• Sardinia - hotels booked done sardinia360.it. Hotel La Bisaccia hotellabisaccia.it, Is Arenas Resort isarenashotel.it, Lu Hotel luhotel-maladroxia.it.
• Sicily - Grand Palladium Sicilia Resort & Spa palladiumhotelgroup.com.
• Tuscany - Hotel Certosa Di Maggiano lacertosadimaggiano.com, Hotel Garden gardenhotel.it/en.
• Liguria - Park Hotel Argento Levanto parkhotelargento.com.
• Ferries - GNV gnv.it/en, Corsica Ferries corsica-ferries.co.uk, Grimaldi Lines
• grimaldi-lines.com/en.
• More info: Italy - italia.it/en, toscanapromozione.it, visitsienaofficial.it/en, lamialiguria.it/en. France - france.fr/en, explorenicecotedazur.com, visit-corsica.com, bonifacio.co.uk