Ajaccio, Corsica - ideas needed

[natjimmer]

Hi. My boyfriend and I are going on our first Cruise with Royal Caribbean in June! One port is Ajaccio, Corsica. Any advice/tips/ideas on what to do for the day?

[Smithford]

We are also going to Ajaccio with RC next month.

Having looked at the trips offered - there was nothing that sprung out as being interesting to us - so after a little research - we plan to walk around town and they have a little tourist train that takes you around the main sites - then go to the beach in the afternoon - a nice easy day as we have Cannes and Barcelona the next two days after.

[Smithford]

A Couple of Links for you:

 

Cruise Critc Video of Ajaccio

 

 

Tourist Train

 

http://www.petit-train-ajaccio.com/

[Hlitner]

We think the tourist train is a bit silly if you have legs and feet that function. Ajaccio is not a very large town. We do like the beach since its sandy (not all that common in Europe) and is located right in town (towards your left as you walk into town) with enough nearby cafes and shops to fill-out the day. As to excursions, we did find the so-called Calanches (these are rock formations) kind of interesting because you do get a long bus ride which gives you some nice views of part of the island. However, as one poster already said, we do view this port as a nice beach day and prefer to stay in town and save a few dollars.

 

Hank

[Gingerbint]

Hi. My boyfriend and I are going on our first Cruise with Royal Caribbean in June! One port is Ajaccio, Corsica. Any advice/tips/ideas on what to do for the day?

 

Hiya natjimmer - We are visiting Corsica too and I think you may be on the same trip. Independance Med Treasures?

This is a link to our roll Call if your interested?

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=992089&highlight=

 

Have a read and see who is on the same trip and what we've been chatting about!

Also don't forget to join us on the Meet & mingle if your'd like to come along :)

 

Have a fab first cruise! :D

[Musicgirlcruiser]

We took the double decker bus for 10euros which brought us to Iles Sanguinaires. I initially wanted to try our luck with the boat operators to Les Calanches but all 3 weren't running that day. Stores mostly closed on Sunday so there wasn't much to do in town. Here's a question for Hlitner. I initially booked Les Calanches but my companions were too tired for a day long trip. Did we miss much? Have you been to Montserrat? How does it compare? Thanks!

[Hlitner]

You did not miss much unless you love large rocks. The Calanches are a group of rock formations which do not really compare to many formations we have in the Southwest. You really can't do a comparison to Montserrat which is a monestary up on mountain (some might call it a cliff). The Calanches are just rocks.

 

Hank

[Smithford]

Thanks for the info about the tourist train - we will use legs & feet as suggested.

 

We are there on a Thursday so shops should all be open :)

[natjimmer]

Thanks for all your help everyone! We are also there on a Thursday. We are on Adventure of the Seas, not Independence. I like the sound of the train, but may decide to use feet once we get there!

[KirkNC]

Ajaccio is the birth place of N. Bonaparte. There are many walking tours, we are using Rick Steves. It hits all the highlights such as the Fesch Museum, the Bandera Museum, the Bonapate House as well the the Cathederal. The tourist office also conducts tours as well as sells passes that can save you some $$$ if you are going to several sites.

 

Kirk

[Musicgirlcruiser]

Thank you, Hank!

[NancyIL]

Ajaccio is the birth place of N. Bonaparte. There are many walking tours, we are using Rick Steves. It hits all the highlights such as the Fesch Museum, the Bandera Museum, the Bonapate House as well the the Cathederal. The tourist office also conducts tours as well as sells passes that can save you some $$$ if you are going to several sites.

 

Kirk

 

Where does Rick Steves cover Corsica? He doesn't in his France 2009 book.

[KirkNC]

Where does Rick Steves cover Corsica? He doesn't in his France 2009 book.

 

My bad, we are using Lonely Planet for Corsica not Rick Steves. They are the ones with the walking tour.

 

Kirk

[NancyIL]

My bad, we are using Lonely Planet for Corsica not Rick Steves. They are the ones with the walking tour.

 

Kirk

 

Thanks!

[Gisha]

Hi. My boyfriend and I are going on our first Cruise with Royal Caribbean in June! One port is Ajaccio, Corsica. Any advice/tips/ideas on what to do for the day?

Hi, my husband and I will also be on the Indy in June... the June 15 cruise. Is that the one you and your boyfriend will be on? I think we will walk around town and do the beaches since we are only in port until 2 pm. Beach, lunch and walking sounds good.

[happy_travellers]

Hi

We picked up a short tour bus just outside the dock area. It gave a nice overview of the town. http://www.ajacciovision.fr Then we walked around the city center. There are lovely open air bars along the pier where the ship docks.

 

Karen

[petlady7]

Regarding the road train , you normally get a narration in several languages so that you know some history of the town and places of interest , you would not necessarily know what you were looking at or the history if you walk it on your own , our choice in April 2013 is to do both , the train or bus are not expensive and feel that we could miss out a lot by walking it on your own as suggested by previous posts , after one of the tours we plan to walk around the town ourselves too