Jump to content

Corsica


rachjack

Recommended Posts

You do not say where you will dock in Corsica (there are at least two different port cities) but we will assume it is at Ajaccio. In that town you can actually walk from the pier into the heart of town (only a couple of blocks) and there is a pretty nice sandy beach right in town (towards your left as you walk up to town). If you want to tour the island outside of Ajaccio, you will need to take either an excursion, rent a car, or arrange for a private tour. An excursion to the so-called "Calanches" would certainly give you a decent cross island bus ride plus a change to view the interesting geological formations of the Calanches.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is not much near the port area. You would really need to book an excursion, either private or through the cruise line to really see the Island. We weren't very impressed with anything within walking distance of the pier.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both Calvi & Ajaccio have great beaches. Both are fabulous towns. Can't understand the above comment at all. The towns are beautiful with a selection of cafes, restaurants and shops. There are tourist trains around the sights and interesting site seeing in both. Ajaccio was the hometown of Napoleon and you can visit his house . Calvi has links to the Foreign Legion and the Citadel there is interesting to see. You should have a great time. Of course if you want to see more of the island itself you will need to do an excursion. The island is beautiful and quite spectacular with mountains, wild flowers and wild herbs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

On the positive side, Ajaccio has some unique items to buy such as chestnut flour. The downtown is close to the pier and easily walkable. We also took a tour to the Calanques which was a gorgeous, but thoroughly disorganized park. A huge traffic jam and physical altercation between our bus driver and another driver (an ambulance was called for the other driver) left a bad impression. The tour guide interrupted a funeral to show us a church and then later left one of the couples at our refreshment stop which unfortunately I thought were unprofessional. The island really didn't act like it knew how to handle the influx of tourists from cruise ships and probably should invest in better planning. I understand why someone would feel unimpressed, especially when you may compare it to other ports on the cruise such as Florence and Rome. But, it is a nice break from those ultra-busy, jammed packed stops.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you consider how volatile the corsicans are I'm not surprised to read your comments! They don't like anyone, even mainland French are considered foreign and aren't popular. They don't like tourists. You only have to watch french news during the summer to see the number of holiday homes that go mysteriously up in flames. That said, it is a dramatic and beautiful island - shame about the residents!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you consider how volatile the corsicans are I'm not surprised to read your comments! They don't like anyone, even mainland French are considered foreign and aren't popular. They don't like tourists. You only have to watch french news during the summer to see the number of holiday homes that go mysteriously up in flames. That said, it is a dramatic and beautiful island - shame about the residents!

 

We are thinking you have Corsica confused with Paris :) On our 3 visits to Corsica we found the locals to be quite friendly, but perhaps that was because we were not from France.

 

Hank

P.S. Before anyone flames us for the Paris slur, it is probably our favorite city in the world. It's just that sometimes we feel you have to love Paris despite the Parisians.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

We'll be docking at Ajaccio for 10 hours (8:00-18:00) in early April and plan to join the ship's excursion to Les Calanques de Piana. It costs US$79 per person for the 5-hr excursion. Is it worth visiting? Sounds like it's not easy to do this on our own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just walked the town, unlike previous poster we found it enjoyable and relaxing. Our cruise had many high action stops (Rome, Florence) so it was nice to take it easy. There are multiple museums and an old fort with a watch tower you can climb for great views of the city. We had a nice lunch, my DW did some shopping.

 

Kirk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
I would appreciate any ideas of best sights , lunch or a pub

. We will be in Bonifacio for 1 day late September

Bonifacio is simply one of the nicest place you can visit. There the old town on the chalk white rocks, but depends your time you can make a boat tour from the port area to Lavezzi islands. You are passing close under the splendid cape of Bonifacio. Mostly you can go off the boat at Lavezzi and take another boats later onwards. You will enjoy this place!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are thinking you have Corsica confused with Paris :) On our 3 visits to Corsica we found the locals to be quite friendly, but perhaps that was because we were not from France.

 

Hank

P.S. Before anyone flames us for the Paris slur, it is probably our favorite city in the world. It's just that sometimes we feel you have to love Paris despite the Parisians.

 

Agree that during more as 2 weeks tour with own car in Corsica, we have never felt any aggresive or negative attitude. On the contrary even people are quite friendly and hospital . Also food is excellent. I think that there is "over-aged" reference to a sitauation going back 15 years agoo where there have been incidents, mainly versus French mainland residents.

It is a very nice Island.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...