Sacred music and manga share Bastia this weekend, Sagone goes electro, Luri turns 168: our verified pick for Corsica's weekend of July 24-26, from Ajaccio to Lama.
This weekend of July 24-26, Bastia leads a double life. The Festival d'Art Sacré closes on Sunday, while Bastia Jap'Anim Day takes over the same town with cosplay and manga stalls. Our pick of the weekend is this Bastia split, a rare thing on an island where village fêtes usually rule the summer.
Over in Sagone, electro music takes the place of polyphonic singing. In a village of a few streets, Lama draws close to 10,000 people every year for its film festival. Here is our verified pick, with exact dates and locations.
Bastia Jap'Anim Day, Bastia (July 25-26)
Bastia Jap'Anim Day marks its 24th edition in 2026. Launched in 2003, it brings together manga and Japanese culture fans in Bastia every year. On Saturday July 25 and Sunday July 26, cosplay, video games and animation stalls take over the town for the weekend.
Twenty-three years after it began, the event has found its crowd, far from the usual island clichés. Teenagers in costume mix with families discovering the manga world for the first time. It's an odd fit in a Corsican summer normally built around the sea and old traditions, and that's exactly the point.
Festival d'Art Sacré, Bastia (July 21-26)
A few streets over, the Festival d'Art Sacré wraps its 25th edition on Sunday July 26. Launched in 2002, it has spent six days staging sacred music concerts inside Bastia's churches. The closing date rounds off the week on a musical note.
Sacred music rarely shows up on a Corsican summer bill, which usually leans toward folk polyphony or village fêtes. Voices and organs, inside churches often closed to the public the rest of the year, give this closing concert a setting of its own. A good pick for anyone after something other than an outdoor gig.
LastSummerDance Festival, Sagone (July 24-26)
On the other side of the island, on the west coast, the LastSummerDance Festival takes over Sagone from Friday July 24 to Sunday July 26. Launched in 2018, this electro and dance music event marks its 8th edition. Three days of open-air sets facing the bay, far from Corsica's traditional repertoire.
The festival draws a young crowd, arriving from the island and the mainland alike. Eight years after it started, it has become the go-to electro date on this stretch of coast. A clean break from the village dances that usually fill up July.
Fête de Luri, Cap Corse (July 22-24)
In Cap Corse, the Fête de Luri closes on Friday July 24, after three days of festivities. Founded in 1859, it marks its 168th edition in 2026. Few Corsican events can claim an age like that.
The village lays on a dance and traditional entertainment every year, in a format that has stayed modest despite the decades. A hundred and sixty-eight years of continuity, in a village of a few hundred people, says a lot about local attachment to the date. Anyone driving up Cap Corse this weekend should catch the closing night before heading back toward Bastia or Saint-Florent.
Les Voiles d'Ajaccio, Ajaccio (July 24-28)
In Ajaccio, Les Voiles d'Ajaccio takes to the water from Friday July 24 to Tuesday July 28. Created in 1974, the event marks its 53rd edition in 2026. Vintage sailboats and modern yachts cross paths in the gulf, watched by locals gathered along the quays.
More than half a century of history makes it one of the island's oldest sporting fixtures. The regatta remains a marker of Ajaccio's summer, on a par with the town's livelier fêtes. The whole weekend falls within the five days of racing, a chance to see the bay from something other than the beach.
Festival Lettres de Corse, Ajaccio (July 23-25)
Also in Ajaccio, the Festival Lettres de Corse closes its 23rd edition on Saturday July 25. Founded in 2004, this literary gathering brings together writers and readers around Corsican and Mediterranean publishing. Twenty-two years on, it remains one of the island's few literary festivals.
The last day, Saturday, is still a chance to meet a few authors before it wraps up. The format has stayed modest, nothing like the big mainland book fairs, but it has built real loyalty over the years. A quieter way to close out an Ajaccio stay than the regatta down the road.
Festival du Film de Lama, Lama (July 25-31)
Head inland for the Festival du Film de Lama, which opens Saturday July 25 in this small Haute-Corse village. Founded in the early 1990s, it marks its 32nd edition in 2026 and runs through July 31. Every year, the event draws close to 10,000 people to a village that barely counts a fraction of that as residents.
The gap between the village's size and the scale of the festival remains its best calling card. Thirty-two years on, this international event still pulls in film buffs and industry professionals from far beyond the usual city screening rooms. The opening weekend, Saturday and Sunday, traditionally marks one of its busiest stretches.
Un Été au Théâtre, Porto-Vecchio
On the south-east coast, the Compagnie I Chjachjaroni keeps running Un Été au Théâtre in Porto-Vecchio, through September 3. The open-air theatre at the Usine à Liège, on the harbour front, hosts a summer programme mixing repertoire plays, new work and shows for younger audiences. The troupe has performed here since 1983.
More than forty years after it began, the company remains a summer fixture for locals and holidaymakers alike. A show is scheduled this weekend; it's worth checking times before booking. An easy evening out to slot between two beach days, a world away from the buzz in Ajaccio or Bastia.
Also worth noting
Fans of Corsican polyphonic singing should note a date just after this weekend: the Polyphonic Thursdays of Bonifacio resume their usual rhythm on Thursday July 30, at the Saint-Dominique church in the upper town. About thirty evenings like it run through the season, from April to October.
In short
Bastia splits this weekend between sacred art and manga, Sagone bets on electro, and Luri closes out 168 years of village fête. Ajaccio shares its time between a regatta and a book festival, Lama hosts its film festival, and Porto-Vecchio keeps its theatre season running.
Hard to find a common thread between all of that. Which is exactly what makes this Corsican weekend worth a look. Plenty of material for a custom-built trip, between coast and interior. Browse our weekend agenda to compare with other French regions.
