Nonza appears suddenly round a bend: a stack of slate-roofed houses on a spur of dark rock, a square tower on the summit, and a sheer drop to a long charcoal-grey beach. It is the most dramatic village on Cap Corse and the last big stop on the west coast before Saint-Florent.
The tower was built in 1760, under Pasquale Paoli’s independent Corsican government, on the site of a medieval castle — which is why it is called the Paoline tower rather than Genoese. It is famous for a piece of bluff. In 1768, when French troops arrived to take the cape, the garrison slipped away and left an old captain, Jacques Casella, alone inside. By rigging up muskets and a cannon and firing them in turn, he persuaded the besiegers that the tower was strongly held. He negotiated a surrender with full military honours — and walked out by himself.
Nonza is also the village of Saint Julia (Santa Giulia), patron saint of Corsica, who by tradition was martyred here in late Roman times.
Top things to do: Nonza
Climb to the Paoline tower
A paved path leads up from the square in five minutes. From the terrace at its foot you look straight down the cliff to the beach and south across the Gulf of Saint-Florent to the Agriates and, on clear days, the high mountains. The tower itself usually houses a small shop or exhibition in season.
Visit the church of Santa Giulia
The pink-and-ochre 16th-century church on the square has a baroque altar of coloured marble. According to the legend, Julia’s torturers cut off her breasts and threw them against the rock, and two springs gushed out where they fell.
Walk down to the fountain and the black beach
Opposite the church, a long flight of steps descends past the Fontaine Sainte-Julie — the spring of the legend — and on down to the beach. Allow 15–20 minutes down and rather longer back up; it is steep. The beach is a kilometre of grey-black pebbles, coloured by waste rock from the old asbestos mine at Canari. Visitors arrange white stones into names and messages that can be read from the village above.
Linger on the square
Under the plane trees there are a couple of cafés and restaurants with tables on the edge of the drop. It is a good place for a late lunch, or a drink while the sun goes down over the gulf.
How to get to Nonza
- By car: Nonza is on the D80, about 20 km (25–30 minutes) north of Saint-Florent and about 30 km from Bastia via the Col de Teghime and Patrimonio.
- Parking: very limited. There are a few roadside spaces at each end of the village; in summer be prepared to park along the road and walk in. Avoid the middle of the day.
- By boat: day cruises from Saint-Florent sail beneath the village — the best way to appreciate the height of the cliff. See tours and boat trips.
Insider tips
- Swimming at Nonza beach is generally discouraged: the shore shelves steeply, there can be a strong undertow and there are no lifeguards. Come for the walk and the view.
- The beach has no shade and no facilities. Take water for the climb back.
- If you are driving the loop clockwise from Saint-Florent, Nonza comes first and is quietest before 10 am.
- A handful of guesthouses let you stay in the village itself — worthwhile for the evening light. See where to stay.
Best tours & boat trips for Nonza
These experiences pair well with a visit to Nonza:
Boat tour from €110 From Saint-Florent: Cap Corse and Agriates Desert Boat Tour
The one trip that joins both sides of the Gulf of Saint-Florent: north along the cliffs of Cap Corse towards Nonza, then across to the Agriates for the beaches of Saleccia and Lotu and a sea cave reached only by boat. Paddleboards and snorkelling equipment are carried on board and lunch is part of the day. Rated 4.7 by more than 200 guests, it is the most-booked Cap Corse experience on GetYourGuide.
- The west coast of Cap Corse and Nonza seen from the sea
- Swimming stops, paddleboards and snorkelling gear on board
- Beach time on the white sand of Saleccia, with lunch
Boat tour from €65 Cap Corse & Agriates Desert Half-Day Boat Trip
A shorter, cheaper version of the day cruise: four hours on a 12-seater boat out of Saint-Florent, with coves that have no road, swimming stops, paddleboards and snorkelling. With close to 250 reviews it has the largest number of ratings of any trip in the area — a good choice if you want a morning or an afternoon at sea rather than a whole day.
- Small group on a 12-seat boat
- Hidden coves and beaches of the Agriates coast
- Paddleboarding and snorkelling stops
