TOUR THE HILLTOP VILLAGES OF NORTHERN CORSICA

by YouShouldGoHere
August 25, 2016
in Eat Here, Go Here, Stay Here
1

[CORSICA, FRANCE] — You know when you’re in a rental car in a foreign land and you’re on a steep impossible skinny one lane road with dropoffs of hundreds of feet and wondering “what the hell am going to do if another car comes the other way???”

I was in exactly in that situation, on a steep rocky road, barely wider than my car, pointing downdowndown on my way to the a sleepy fishing village I was told was a gem. The crazy road was a bunch of zig-zags all the way down to the sea, each turn more precarious than the last. My clutch skills failing on the steep hill, killing the car as I rounded the tightest bends.

When you’re traveling with someone else, you kinda have a strapped-in support system. Someone to cheer you on, feigning encouragement, in mutual self-preservation. A co-pilot. A navigator. (Unless it’s an ex-wife, then you’re wondering the whole time if she’s going to get all Scarlett Johansson on you, undo your seatbelt, flip open your door and kick you over the edge. Like a cat.)

Anyway… when you’re in a rental car as a solo traveler, you don’t have that encouragement. You’re all own your own, screaming out loud to nobody, yelling ohfuckfuckfuck… sweat and fear visible from space. Seconds feel like hours.

But when you finally get at the end of the road, you’re rewarded with something as magical as Marine de Scalo. A quiet centuries old stony fishing village; built in the rocks, out of the rocks. A bunch of fun kids scampering all over the place, cannonballing into the clear blue water. And giggling. You can finally catch your breath and enjoy it all. Ahhh yes, this was definitely worth it.

Until you realize you have to go back up the same damn road…

Marine de Scalo boat — *This is the little town I described getting to in the opening of this post. See what I mean?*

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As you’ll see, northern Corsica is a lot different than the Southern Part. More wide open. Broad, wind-swept hilltops open to the sunny sea. But equally enchanting.

I was in northern Corsica for just a few days and barely scratched the surface; there’s so much to see. When I was there several years ago, there wasn’t much information in English to be found — TripAdvisor hadn’t really caught on yet — so it was a bit of hunt-and-peck, searching the internet for photos, then figuring out where they were. There’s a lot of info here, but I consolidated several posts into one dense post to give you info all in one place.

But hopefully you’ll get a feel for the place and want to come, too.

Corte — The Capital of Corse

Corte is the capital of Corsica, spiritually and physically. A centuries old bastion of Corsican culture and home to its feisty separatist culture. It’s a great base to roost and explore the steep gorges all around central Corsica, flopping exhausted into the nice sheets of your hotel at the end of each day.

Corte view of castle — *Corte. The start of our northern Corsica tour.*

Corte is cool. A college town surrounded by unreal gnarly Corsican mountains. It’s the center of Corsican pride and independence. You can base out of here where there are all sorts of ways you can duck into the surrounding peaks and gorges. You can find outfitters that take you into the mountains canyoning, climbing, trekking and hiking.

Soveria

As you leave Corte and head to northern Corsica — which we’ll be doing next — you immediately run across the picture-perfect town of Soveria. It’s the most photographed town in Corsica.

The mountain backdrop is just stunning and it’s a nice place to stop for lunch. I think it looks surprisingly similar to Omessa, that pretty hill town nearby. I dunno, maybe whoever was second slipped some money under the table to the architect when it came time to build. “Psssst, Francescu, make our town look cool like theirs.” It worked.

Omessa

Omessa is just a beautiful little Corsican mountain town — aren’t they all?

Only 20 minutes outside of Corte, it’s great for a stop in, or get there before sunset and have dinner outside. My hotel hooked me up with a tiny, but very well known, restaurant in the heart of Odessa called Les Jardins de L’Oubly. Fanastic meal on a leafy terrace where you can watch the sun turn the surrounding mountains from orange to blue.

Scala Santa Regina

Driving around Corsica you run across one unreal looking scene after another. Different from any place I’ve ever seen. With the meanest, gnarliest looking mountains that look like they’re still in the larval stage. They’re all rarr-rarr-raaaa… everywhere. Like this gorge. Scala Santa Regina.

It doesn’t even look real. I had to blink a coupla times. It looks like a life size version of that crazy huge miniature railroad setup at Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg. With a narrow road hand-chipped from the rock, a steep cliff waaay down to the coursing river below. It doesn’t even want to be photographed.

Of this gorge, they say “if Corsica is the work of God then the Scala is the work of the devil’. I’ll buy that.

Sant’Antonino — The Prettiest Village in Corsica

The owner of my hotel, Thierry, said “you must go to Sant’Antonino, it’s the prettiest village in Corsica.” So I did. He was right.

You can see it from far away, a little cappuccino cap of a little village sitting on a hilltop. Postcard alleyways and terraces looking all the way to the sea. A church that looks like it’s a painting. Go in the late afternoon where the sun casts a golden light over the entire countryside.

Pigna

Pigna is the next hilltop over and almost just as pretty. There’s a great restaurant there called A Mandria di Pigna and it was fantastic and in the Michelin Guide. You should eat there.

L’ille-Rousse

L’Ile Rousse is much cooler than you’d think it would be. A pretty little port and beach, clean as a whistle. A lot of ferries come through here, but it has a great little swimming bay and cute streets with lots and lots of outdoor restaurants and good people watching. Lots of French families cooling off under the plane trees to escape the heat of the day.

I didn’t see a single American during my two weeks in Corsica.

L'Ille-Rousse swimmers — *Teenage boys, like a pack of hyenas scoping out their prey.*

Calvi

Calvi is noticeably absent from my visit. I had planned to come through, but had to cut some places short because I under-anticipated how long it took to get not far in Corsica and had to cancel a stint in the NW part of the island. I was just able to do a drive-by by boat on the way to the amazing Scandola Nature Reserve.

It’s a big town, with direct flights and ferries. A spectacular old town and they’re famous for their giant music festival every summer. But it’s good leave a place wanting more.

A Driving Tour of Cap Corse

Cap Corse is that great Corsican middle finger pointed toward France at the top of the island. A big montain-y peninsula, with a rocky side on the east and a cliffy side on the west. Sparsely populated except for a lucky few picturesque villages, as you’ll soon see.

If you don’t stay on the Cap, you can take an all day tour along the deeply narrow road around its shores, clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on where you like the sun to be. Leaving in the morning, I’d go counter-clockwise. Afternoon, I’d go clockwise, which is how this tour will go, from the lower left of the penninsula at 6:30 to the lower right, 5:00.

If you do the tour, it’s a very long day. Like eight hours with a couple of stops and pictures along the way. But worth it. Remember, driving in Corse takes a long time, with narrow roads and a ton to see. So if you can stay somewhere on the Cap, I’d suggest it if you want to have more time and can catch both sunrises and sunsets.

Saint-Florent

Nonza

Nonza was my favorite town on Cap Corse. Clinging to the edge of a steep 1000ft cliff, you’re can stop here for a gelato or have a bite or vin at this cool bar that prows out over the still blue sea. Pinch me.

Clinging to the edge of a steep 1000ft cliff, you’re can stop here for a gelato or have a bite or vin at this cool bar that prows out over the still blue sea. Pinch me.

Nonza is also famous for its radioactive beach, which is closed to the public. There’s a closed-down mine at the other end that spewed all sorts of toxic chemicals onto the beach for years. Still, some are brave to go down and walk along its grey, dead rocks.

Marine de Scalo

This is the picturesque Marine de Scalo marina I was referring to in the start of this post. Looks like that fake harbor scene in that Popeye movie (actually filmed in Malta). But here, stone houses line the turquoise pebbled waters, each with a deck for views. The house are simple but sturdy, made on-site from the flinty rocks dug up on site.

It’s a little scary going down. And up.

Anse d’Aliso

I really like looking at stuff like this. The beaches around Centuri aren’t that great, so keep going down the road a bit for your post-lunch dip right here. It is more better.

Centuri & Its Gorgeous Marina

Centuri has a dual personality, the quaint village up in the hills and the cute harbor down below. A scenic little stone marina, lined with cafes.

Tollare

Tollare, right at 12:00 at the top of Cap Corse, was a bit of a letdown. I’d seen pics of cows that wildly graze its beaches, but when I arrived, there was some sort of seaweed infestation that loaded all the rocks with a stinky, smelly, fly-ridden hunks of rotting vegetation. You can see those sailors anchored upwind, no doubt sailing here for the same reason. Moving on…

Erbalunga

The hanging-it-all-out-there town of Erbalunga, about mid way up the great finger of land called Cap Corse. It’s pretty, that’s all you need to know. Go there. I remember this view from my high school French book. Really cute little village with some amazing looking private villas and grounds in the hills right above.

I didn’t stay in Erbalunga but if you’re taking the long tour around Cap Corse like I did, this is a sweet spot to stop for a sour sunset Aperol.

Here’s a Picto-Map(TM) of where everything is on a map:

*Here’s a handy Picto-map of where all these beautiful towns are.*

Can’t wait to come back.

A Piattatella — The Best Hotel in Northern Corsica

I had the best luck finding the perfect hotels in Corsica. Small, boutique hotels nestled in the hills. Another of my favorites was a place in the hills above L’Ile Rousse in a town called Monticello. A Piattatella was just perfect. Great little restaurant, just for guests, with stunning views from every room over the vast inland valley. Family-run, super-friendly. It’s a great central base to explore all of northern Corsica.

[NOTE: It was several years ago that I was there, but it looks like they’ve really upgraded everything since, the rooms, a brand new infinity pool and the restaurant all look fancier and it’s a five star hotel now. And rates FIVE stars on TripAdvisor]

“A Piattatella means ‘hideout’ in Corsican and that is the perfect name for this cool place that blends into a mountain side. What’s cool is it is just on the backside lip of a mountain ridge, overlooking the mountains of la Balagne and the big wide and lovely Regino valley, with a reservoir in the center. Just stunning views from every room, dining room and pool. So peaceful and quiet. I just loved this place.

I spent hours here, not reading my book at all, but just soaking in all the details of this valley that looks like some painting the Picture Lady brought to class.

There are only a handful of rooms, 13 I think, so this place feels more like a family-run guest house, but much nicer.

A Piattatella has a great little restaurant, which is nice after you’ve been exploring all day, climbing over rocks or flopping at the beach, you can come home to a nice cold Negroni and a big fat view. Oh, and lamb.

The dozen or so rooms are spread out in little buildings across the property, gorgeously landscaped. Each room faces the incredible view. My room was above the lobby in main building, as I recall.

The town of Monticello is about 10 minutes above L’Îlle-Rousse, with views for miles. It’s like a wealthy-looking suburb. You go up and over the mountain ridge to the backside, where A Piattatella roosts.