A Lumaga, a villa rental in Corsica

Med-Modern on France’s Isle of Beauty

A former guard’s home all grown up and re-envisioned as a Mediterranean-modern escape, this bright beach villa by French architect Vincent Leprince is quite literally built around leafy eucalyptus, leaning palms and shaggy coastal pines. The bleached residence angles around the soaring trees and holds a rectilinear pool at its heart, its notable alfresco space doubled by shade terraces.

This designer beach villa on Corsica’s eastern coast reveals an eclectic, globally influenced interior behind its many vertical windows. The two-story modern Mediterranean escape is lined with rugs and hung with classic paintings, giving it a stately ambiance toned down and made casual by playful pops of texture (cane, rattan) and color-infused art. The upstairs living room features the exclusive works of Corsican artists, and depending on which side of the residence you choose, you’ll either take in Mediterranean vistas of azure sea and sand, or the craggy mountainous panoramas characteristic of France’s Isle of Beauty.

AROUND

Located only meters from the Mediterranean and constructed around leaning palms and tall, shaggy eucalyptus trees, this Corsican getaway offers seclusion within easy reach of Taglio-Isolaccio beach, the Plage de Talasani (4 kilometers) and Plage San Pelligrino (6 kilometers). It is set close to Bastia, Corsica’s gateway to the island’s northernmost tip (a peninsula known as the Cap Corse), and Bastia's ancient citadel is not to be missed. The island’s northeastern coast is wilder than the rest, backed by grassy dunes, wind sculpted evergreens, and the island’s famous maquis, or aromatic shrubbery that reaches out to sea. Water sports enthusiasts love the area. Hikers can head into rugged high elevations broken up by crashing waterfalls and mountain ponds, the peaks crossed by the well-marked GR20 trail that cuts across the island. Driving the isle’s narrow mountain and coastal roads offers an exhilarating tour through unspoiled landscapes of staggering contrasts. Corsica has high mountains and low-lying, small harbors, plus dozens of lost-in-time villages inland and along the coast.

This part of the coast offers beautifully secluded inlets for arrival by sailboat for a day of private swimming and picnicking. And further afield, the Cap Corse’s jutting shores hide wee fishing villages and picturesque ports from which foothills covered in muscat wine vines rise. The mountain city of Corte is about 60 kilometers away, also home to a citadel, and is a favorite city of hikers, rock climbers and outdoor enthusiasts.