This sixth and final leg of my journey brings me back to where it all started: Gibraltar. We depart from our last stop Decimomannu on Sardinia, Italy and fly north via Corsica, France to the Ligurian coast of Italy and the large port city Genoa. From there we head west to reach the French Riviera. Over Marseille, we turn south towards the Spanish Balearic Islands, before we finally reach again Gibraltar. 

 

Over Porto Cervo at the north-eastern corner of Sardinia. Created by Prince Karim Aga Khan and various other investors in the 1950s, Porto Cervo has developed into the main center of Sardinia’s "Costa Smeralda". It has a resident population of just 421 inhabitants and has been named one of the most expensive resorts in the world, along as being a luxury yacht magnet and billionaires' playground. In the distance you can see the next island, French “Corsica”

 

Cruising along Corsica’s east coast. A single chain of mountains, which go as high as 2,700 m (8,870 ft), makes up two-thirds of the island. Btw, Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio.

 

We have reached the Italian coastline and fly here over Genoa. It is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and is with some 600,000 people the sixth-largest city in Italy.

 

 

Flying along the Italian (and later French) Riviera offers some spectacular views of this beautiful (and populated) area. No wonder it is a sought-after vacation spot for many Europeans. Here we are over Sanremo (or San Remo), founded by the Romans over 2,000 years ago

 

By now we have left Italy and have reached famous Monaco. While the Italian photoscenery (with its own autogen) is freeware, here starts now the payware scenery from France VFR with a dense and superb autogen. Not all, but most of the buildings are generic, but (I have been here often) they do fit the region very well. The scenery is excellent, but comes with one caveat: depending on your settings, it can be heavy on your frames

 

This is not Aerosoft Monaco, but the autogen from France VFR

 

Above Nice, it offers the airport closest to Monaco

 

The (in)famous and huge “Marina Baie des Anges” (Bay of Angels) was highly criticized during its construction in the late 1960s, early 1970s. But today it is regarded as an important landmark

 

Over Antibes. In the distance you can see the airport of Nice and in-between the Marina Baie des Anges

 

Close by is Cannes. We fly over the island “Sainte Marguerite”, which houses not only a nice old church, but also a large, modern maritime museum. However, being on an island, it can only be reached by boat. The museum buildings are again generic, the real ones are smaller

 

The next city, and as famous as Monaco, is St. Tropez. Should you belong to the reach and famous and want to berth your mega yacht during summer inside the harbor, so that the paparazzi have a better view of you and your loved ones, I have bad news for you: the waiting list is endless

 

Our last “port of call” on the French coast is Marseille; with a population of around 850,000 it is the second largest city of France. Never allowed in real life, here we have a low pass next to the “Notre-Dame de la Garde” (Lady of the Guard). It was built on the foundations of an ancient fort at the highest natural point in Marseille, a 149 m (489 ft) limestone outcropping on the south side of the Old Port of Marseille. The basilica is famous for its “Black Madonna”

 

Now we turn south for the Spanish Balearic islands

 

The smallest and most northern of the three islands is “Menorca”

 

Over the second and largest island “Mallorca”. It is also the most mountainous of the three islands. Due to its many beaches and modest accommodations, it is a highly popular destination for British and German tourists

 

But the island offers also some spectacular mountain hikes

 

In the background you can see Mallorca’s capital “Palma de Mallorca”

 

On final for Gibraltar. Here ends our flight around the Mediterranean Sea. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did

 

I feel almost sad that it ends here. But then…in the distance we can spot the most northern tip of the African continent. Hmmmh…

Edited November 21, 20187 yr by bernd1151

2 hours ago, bernd1151 said:

Hmmmh…

Yes, you should Bernd. And don't forget to post some pictures as nice as these here are!