From Centuri to Nonza the D80 becomes the road everyone talks about: a narrow ribbon cut into the mountainside, sometimes hundreds of metres above the sea, swinging in and out of ravines with nothing between you and the horizon. The villages here do not sit on the shore but on balconies high above it, each with a steep lane down to a tiny marine.
Pino is the greenest of them, half hidden among plane trees, palms and gardens, with a baroque church, a Genoese tower and a former Franciscan convent down by the water. Canari, further south, stretches along a ledge with a wide-open view west. In between lie Barrettali and the hamlet of Minerviu, and everywhere you look there are large, square, shuttered houses that seem too grand for such small villages — the maisons d’Américains.
These palazzi were built in the 19th century by Cap Corsins who had emigrated to the Caribbean and South America, made money in trade or plantations, and returned to show it. Beside the road you will also notice their monumental family tombs, domed and columned, standing alone among cypress trees.
Top things to do: Pino & Canari
Stop in Pino
Park by the road and walk down through the lanes to the church of Santa Maria and the viewpoint over the marine. A steep little road continues to the shore, where the old convent of San Francescu and a tower stand beside a pebble cove.
Climb to the Tour de Sénèque
From Pino the D180 crosses the spine of the cape to Luri. At the pass, a signed path climbs in about 20–30 minutes (steep at the end) to a medieval tower on a pinnacle, with both coasts in view. Tradition claims the philosopher Seneca lived here during his exile in Corsica in the 1st century; the tower is in fact much later.
See Canari’s bell tower and churches
Canari’s white campanile stands apart on the village square and long served as a landmark for sailors; the terrace beside it is a famous sunset spot. A short drive below, Santa Maria Assunta is a fine 12th-century Pisan Romanesque church with carved faces and animals along its cornice. The baroque church of the former convent of Saint-François is nearby.
Understand the asbestos mine
South of Canari the road passes the grey terraces of a huge abandoned works. Asbestos was mined here from the late 1940s until 1965. The pale waste rock tipped into the sea was carried along the coast by the currents and is what turned the beaches of Albo and Nonza dark grey. The site is fenced off and cannot be visited.
Swim at Giottani or Albo
Small roads drop to the marines of Giottani (Barrettali) and Albo (Ogliastro), each with a pebble beach, a tower or a tiny harbour and usually a place to eat in summer.
How to get to Pino & Canari
- By car: Pino is about 30 minutes south of Centuri and 1 hour north of Saint-Florent on the D80; Canari is 15–20 minutes south of Pino.
- Across the cape: the D180 links Pino with Santa Severa on the east coast in about 30 minutes, via Luri.
- Public transport: effectively none on this coast.
Insider tips
- The road has been widened in places but long sections are still narrow, with a low parapet or none. Drive slowly, use the horn on blind bends and give way to buses and camper vans at the wider spots.
- Driving north to south (anticlockwise) puts you on the seaward side, with the best views and the lay-bys on your side; driving south to north keeps you against the rock, which nervous drivers and passengers prefer.
- Mobile coverage drops out in the ravines. Download offline maps before you set off.
- Be on this coast in the late afternoon if you can: the light is at its best and the sun sets into the sea.
Best tours & boat trips for Pino & Canari
These experiences pair well with a visit to Pino & Canari:
Private tour from €399 per group Bastia: Private Driver – Customised Tour of Haute-Corse
If you would rather not drive the corniche yourself, this is the one product that lets someone else do it: a private driver for four hours, on a route you agree together — panoramas, villages, beaches and tastings. A new listing with no reviews yet, priced per group of up to three, so compare it with the cost of a day’s car hire.
- Price is per group of up to three
- Your own itinerary: villages, beaches, viewpoints
- Food-tasting stops possible
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
