Bastia is a town and commune in northern Corsica, in France. It is the préfecture (capital) of the Haute-Corse département. It is also the principal port of the island and its principal commercial town.
The city dates from Roman times, when a base was set up at Biguglia to the south, although Bastia began to thrive under the Genoese, when wine was exported to the Italian mainland from Porto Cardo, forerunner of Bastia's Vieux Port, or Terra Vecchia. Despite the fact that in 1811 Napoléon appointed Ajaccio capital of the island, initiating a rivalry between the two towns which exists to this day, Bastia soon established a stronger trading position with mainland France.
The Nouveau Port, created in 1862 to cope with the increasing traffic with France and Italy, became the mainstay of the local economy, exporting chiefly agricultural products from Cap Corse, Balagne and the eastern plain

	Country:	France
	Location:	Northeast Corsica
	Country Code:	+33
	Population:	37,884
	Language:	French
	Currency:	Euro (€)
	Time Zone:	GMT+1
	Train Station:	Gare de Bastia
	Tourism:	Bastia Tourism

By Car Bastia is connected to the rest of Corsica by good a road network. Ajaccio can be reached in 2 1/4 hours.

By Train You can reach Bastia by train with the SNCF coming from Ajaccio, Calvi or Ile Rousse.

By Ferry Bastia ferry port provides an important gateway to Southern France and Italy with regular ferry services to Nice, Savona, Toulon, Genoa, Marseille and Livorno.

• place St-Nicolas
• boulevard Paoli
• rue César Campinchi
• Terra Vecchia
• Terra Nova

Bastia isn't a large town and all its sights can easily be seen in a day without the use of a car. The spacious place St-Nicolas is the focus of town life: open to the sea and lined with shady trees and cafés, it's the most pleasant spot for soaking up the atmosphere. Running parallel to it on the landward side are boulevard Paoli and rue César Campinchi, the two main shopping streets, but all Bastia's historic sights lie within Terra Vecchia, the old quarter immediately south of place St-Nicolas, and Terra Nova, the area surrounding the citadel.