Piana travel guide

Visit Piana (Corsica, France)

The small village of Piana, founded in 1725, is poised 400 metres above the Gulf of Porto on the coast of western Corsica and 12 kilometres south-west of Porto. The village is listed as one of the most beautiful villages of France.

Explore Piana

With its traditional stone houses and a church that dominates the village, Piana has a small historic centre of narrow streets to explore, and several shops, bars and restaurants.

The church in the centre of the village is a late 18th century baroque style church, called the church of Sainte Marie or the church of the Assumption, which contains an important 17th century painting (Saint Hugo of Lincoln) and a wooden statue of the Assumption.

From various places in the village there are also lovely views along the coast, but the main village of Piana only takes a short time to explore.

The main reason why people come to Piana for the scenery along the road from Piana to Porto that winds through an astonishing landscape, known as Calanches de Piana, and the beaches around the village...

Piana highlights

In the village there is a road that descends towards the small natural harbour called the Marina de Ficajola. You need to walk the last few hundred metres but the small beach and red rock cliffs that surround the beach make it very lovely and worth the effort.

It is true that the sand on the beach is more gritty than some beaches in Corsica but apart from that it is almost perfect.

For a slightly larger beach you can follow the D824, west of Piana towards Capu Rossu. The beach, called the Plage d'Arone, is about 12 kilometres from the centre of Piana but along the way you are rewarded with lovely views along the coast.

Calanches of Piana

Between Porto and Piana, the Calanche of Piana ("Calanques de Piana") is a series of curious and extraordinary rock formations, bright red cliffs and rocks that in places plunge towards the deep-blue sea.

The Calanche de Piana are now listed as a protected site by UNESCO.

Attractions nearby

As well as driving along the narrow road, there are numerous walks through the rocks around Piana - the Tourist Office can give you advice - this is the best way to appreciate the beauty of the Calanche de Piana.

The region around Piana is one of the most attractive in Corsica and there are lots of things to see nearby. These include the coastal scenery of the Scandola Nature Reserve and the picturesque Gorges de Spelunca to the east of Porto between the villages of Ota and Evisa.

You can find more travel ideas in the Corsica guide.