North-west Corsica, with Calvi, l'Ile Rousse and Balagne

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Visit North-West Corsica

The region is found in the western and north-western part of Corsica, running south as far as Porto, and inland into the lower hills and mountains. The Balagne region of Corsica is extremely popular with visitors to the island and has several highlights.

Balagne Towns

Among the most important towns and resorts in Balagne are Calvi, L'Ile-Rousse, and Cargese.

Natural highlights

Places of natural beauty include the mountain villages inland, the Golfe de Porto (includes Calanches de Piana and Scandola Natural Reserve and the tiny village of Girolata), the Gorges of Spelunca below the village of Evisa, the Foret d'Aitone east of Evisa, and the Lac de Creno

Calvi beach (Calvi), Ostriconi beach (L'Ile-Rousse);

Balagne villages

One of the highlights of a visit is exploring the perched villages of Balagne set in the hillsides to the east of Calvi and to the south of L'Ile-Rousse. There are dozens of these small villages and each has its own particular charm. Most also have their own little church.

Time spent exploring these quiet roads in the hills exposes a Corsica that is far from the crowds of the popular resorts and beaches, and also very beautiful, with many fine views across the region to distract you en route.

Because of the nature of the roads, and the time you might or might not have available, it is hard to recommend a particular route or series of villages to visit, although the most popular is perhaps the D71 road between Belgodere and Lucio passing through several villages and much impressive scenery - the villages along the 'corniche road' (starting from Belgodere and heading south-west) include Occhiatana, Costa, Ville-di-Paraso, Speloncato, Nessa, Feliceto, Muro, Avapessa, Cateri, and Lavatoggio.

Other particularly worthwhile 'groups' of these villages that can be visited together include:

• Corbora and Pigna, Aregno, Sant'Antonino (classified as one of the 'most beautiful villages in France) and Cateri in the northern part of the region;
• Vallica, Olmi-Cappella, Mausoleo, Pioggiola further south-west again;
• Lunghignano, Montemaggiore and Cassano Zilia at the southern edge of the region

You don't need to visit every village on these lists but it is worthwhile spending at least a little time away from the coast and exploring the Balagne villages.