Discovering Cap Corse

2023-06-03 11:36:43

Far from the summer crowds, the month of June is ideal for exploring this 40 km long strip of land, at the northeast end of the Island of Beauty.

Cap Corse is nicknamed “The finger of God”, and you don’t have to be asked to embrace its wild landscapes which are revealed along the panoramic road linking the ports of Macinaggio and Centuri from east to west.

In just under an hour from Bastia, we reach Macinaggio and the town of Rogliano, on the eastern tip. Populated by trawlers and pleasure boats, the city has the largest port in Cap Corse. After attending the concert of the masts, tinkling around the harbor master’s office, and enjoying a coffee on the seafront, we set sail for the north coast.

At 20 minutes, we spread our towel on the white sand beach of Tamarone. After swimming in clear, transparent water, take out your binoculars to watch the birds fluttering opposite, on the islands of Finocchiarola, classified as a nature reserve.

1h30 from there, on the tip of Cap Corse, we reach the small port of Barcaggio, located at the end of a bay, in the town of Ersa, to sit down at one of the huts on the beach of La Cala, and enjoy cannelloni with broccio. From there, you can see the islet of Giraglia, which has a listed lighthouse from 1848 and a Genoese tower that give it the appearance of a fortress.

A 15-minute drive takes you to an old windmill, perched 400 meters above sea level, on the Col de la Serra. We owe its restoration to the Mattéi family, who made their fortune by marketing, from 1872, the aperitif wine that bears their name. A path dotted with panels retraces its history. At the foot of the mill, you can make out the two slopes of the Cap: to the east, the Tuscan archipelago, to the west, the Agriates desert.

Architecture of the coastal village of Giraglia in Haute-Corse. (JP AMET / PHOTODISC / GETTY IMAGES)

Then we climb onto the roof terrace of the hotel-restaurant Le Vieux Moulin, to enjoy the flamboyant spectacle of the setting sun. On the menu, lobster pasta, cooked according to an ancestral recipe, by chef Marie-Pierre Alessandrini. Because for centuries, traditional lobster fishing has continued in Centuri.

View of the port of Centuri, Cap Corse in Haute-Corse. (WALTER BIBIKOW/DIGITAL VISION/GETTY IMAGES)

4 kilometers from the port, we then go to the hamlet of Camera, to La Casamatta, to Marie Luccioni, the owner of this traditional 16th century bourgeois house. century, has three bedrooms including that of the “Lovers” with a view of the Mediterranean. A place so soothing that even insomniacs can sleep there! From 89 euros per night.

CAPE CORSICA TOURISM OFFICE