Piana, Corsica is one of the most magical places we’ve ever visited. There are so many amazing reasons to visit Piana it was hard to break down into just 7. I can truly say the landscape blew my mind and the village was like a Disney movie dream. I did research before visiting here, but nothing could have prepared me for how beautiful it actually was. There is so much to do and see in this area and my only regret about visiting here is that we didn’t stay longer. I know we will be back someday and for now I will continue to dream about it.
This post will detail 7 of the top reasons to visit Piana. I think by the time you’re finished you’ll be ready to book a flight!
The Roads/The Calanques of Piana
I giggled as I wrote this, I am sure most “top 7 reasons you should visit somewhere” lists don’t begin with “the roads”. But honestly, they were one of the main attractions of this area and they were AMAZING! The rock formations along the Calanques of Piana can only be described as unreal. They are absolutely one of the very best reasons to visit Piana. They are towering over the road and are a very popular attraction in the area. People stop and get out all over the roads here to look at the views and admire the rock formations.
I can truly say we were stunned by this and stopped our car many, many times to explore the different scenes and views. There are also numerous places along the road where you can pull over and just hike out onto the rocks for incredible views.
The Village of Piana
The most charming little village you could imagine. It has been called “the most beautiful village in France” and you can see why it is one of the best reasons to visit Piana. The village is full of stone walls & homes, flowers everywhere, little shops and delightful restaurants. You can walk through this village pretty quickly, but we loved that we stayed right nearby so we could go slow and spend some time.
We had dinner here twice and both spots were absolutely lovely. We ate at Josephines which is on the edge of town overlooking the Scandola Reserve and has the dreamiest views and wonderful food. We also ate in town at La Voute which had an excellent 3 course menu and very fresh fish! I highly doubt you could go wrong with any spot in this village. During the day the village was a bit more buzzing, but we loved walking the quiet streets later in the evening and having a drink in the village after a day out exploring. The sunsets here were some of my favorite of all time and I highly recommend staying in this area. Which brings me to my next point…
Le Scandola Hotel: Piana (when the hotel is one of the best reasons to visit Piana)
This hotel was utterly perfect for all that we wanted to experience in this area. The first thing I noticed when looking for a place to book was the view. This hotel has rooms and balconies facing out over the Scandola Reserve that have to be seen to be believed. It was worth it for the view alone, however, the hotel also had a lot going for it. It was within a 5 minute walk to the village of Piana, which we enjoyed immensely. It had one of the most elaborate hotel breakfasts we have seen. There were so many options and it was such a beautiful space.
Many people adventure around this area so I believe they were really preparing you to get out and have yourself a day! It was also a lovely place to come back to and have a drink after a long day out! They had parking on site and even had a charging station for electric cars. This was so helpful because on Corsica many rental companies will give you an electric vehicle. The room itself was clean, cozy, and comfortable, although we spent most of our time here out on the balcony! I highly recommend this hotel if you’re visiting this area of Corsica.
Hiking around Piana
This area is known for having some wonderful hikes and is one of the main reasons to visit Piana! One of the great things about this area is that almost anything can be turned into a hike. Most paths you walk down will lead you to something beautiful, and people pull over seemingly anywhere and everywhere and just set out. However, there are also some well known and really wonderful hikes and we were able to do a few! Two of my favorites that we did were the Cappo Rosso hike and some of the hike to Girolata (another story for another day). Hiking here was so beautiful and diverse!
There are also major hikes you can do here and Corsica is the home of the G20 which is arguably one of Europes toughest hikes. If you are a mountaineering type of person, this would also be high on your list of reasons to visit Piana.
Another advantage of this area is that if you are not a hiker at all, you can still experience a lot of incredible views. You can boat or drive around the area and stop at viewpoints and beaches and have a very dreamy experience.
Check out the Beaches
Surprisingly, even though this area is quite mountainous and known for hiking, you can find some lovely beaches here too. It can be a great way to unwind between hikes or when you’re finished exploring for the day. If hiking isn’t really your thing you can just spend the day enjoying the beaches and views. Rock formations around many of the beaches here are just beautiful, and the water is crystal clear and so lovely.
I will note that most of the beaches we visited in this area did not have sun-beds for rent and you’d have to be prepared with your own beach set up.
Get out on a boat
We actually didn’t do this in Piana, we only had 2 days here and we spent them hiking as much as we could. But this area is VERY popular to see from the water and if we had another day we’d definitely have done it. I think this is one of the number one reasons to visit Piana for many people. There are numerous options for boat tours to go see all of the amazing rock formations and the Scandola reserve from the water. I know the views would have been insane and it is first thing on my list for next time! This is your lesson to make sure to spend enough time in this amazing area.
If getting on a boat is one of your top reasons to visit Piana you can check out some boat tours here —–> Piana Boat Tours
Visit nearby Villages
Corsica is an island of villages and they are all so incredibly delightful! When you’re in Piana you are close enough to visit a number of other villages and check them out. One highlight for us was having lunch and checking out the beach near the charming little village of Porto.
If you’re looking for more information about visiting the Island of Corsica in general, you can find my posts here ——> Corsica Blog Posts
This post on reasons to visit PIana contains affliate links. This means that if you click and book through my links I will earn a small commission at NO COST to you. This helps me to keep sharing out this awesome info! I also will FULLY recommend things that I acquire NO commission on and I just think are truly good recs. You will always get the truth from me here I would never recommend something I didn’t love.