Ajaccio
Currency
EUR
Language
French, Corsican
Timezone
Paris
Continent
Europe
Discover Ajaccio
Ajaccio became French by an accident of timing: Napoleon was born here on 15 August 1769, a year after Genoa ceded Corsica. The Maison Bonaparte, where he was born, is still open on rue Saint-Charles. The Cathédrale Santa-Maria-Assunta, where he was baptised, is small and dark and takes ten minutes. The real surprise is elsewhere: the Palais Fesch, built by Napoleon's cardinal uncle, holds France's second-largest collection of Italian painting after the Louvre — early masters, Botticelli, Titian — in a town of seventy thousand. The adjoining Chapelle Impériale holds the family tombs. The Citadelle closes off the old port. And the town opens onto a gulf ended by the Îles Sanguinaires, red at sunset, which is how they got their name.
When to go
May, June and September are the right months: twenty-five degrees, the sea at twenty-two in September, coastal paths walkable. July and August are fierce, the beaches full, and ferry crossings booked months ahead. Winter is mild at twelve degrees, but many restaurants and hotels close from November to March. Spring is the best season for the maquis, in flower and scented from out at sea.
Getting around
The centre is walkable: five minutes from the Maison Bonaparte to the Palais Fesch. The airport is seven kilometres out with a shuttle. The near beaches — Ricanto, Trottel — are on city buses, but the Sanguinaires road and the southern coves need a car, booked very early in summer when they run out. Boats leave the port for the Îles Sanguinaires in an hour. The Corsican railway reaches Bastia in four hours through the mountains, a journey worth taking for itself.
Where to eat
Corsican charcuterie is the heart of it: coppa, lonzu, figatellu grilled in winter only. Brocciu, a fresh ewe's cheese, goes into fritters, cannelloni and fiadone. Ajaccio wines, made from sciaccarellu, are light and drunk cool. Fish from the gulf is served plainly on the quay. And people eat late, especially in summer.
Good to know
The euro is the currency. Two sites are free; the Palais Fesch and the Maison Bonaparte charge admission and close on Tuesdays. Corsica is an island: ferry tickets and hire cars are booked months ahead for July and August, and prices double. Outside the season, shops close broadly between noon and four.
Where to Stay in Ajaccio
Top Activities in Ajaccio
museumMaison de Napoléon Bonaparte
landmarkCathédrale Santa-Maria-Assunta
landmarkDiocèse d'Ajaccio
landmarkCitadelle d'Ajaccio
museumFesch Museum
from €10
landmarkChapelle Impériale
landmarkHôtel de ville d’Ajaccio
landmarkPalais Lantivy
Palais Fesch
landmarkMaison des Milelli
landmarkProvince ecclésiastique de Marseille
landmarkAjaccio
Chapelle Saint-Érasme
landmarkÉglise de la Sainte-Trinité
Monument à la mémoire de Napoléon
Statue du cardinal Fesch
NapoRama
Centre d'Interprétation de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine
Free
Église San Rucchellu
Oratoire Saint-Jean-Baptiste
Marché d'Ajaccio - Marcatu d'Aiacciu
Chapelle des Grecs
landmark