Ajaccio - Walkable?

[tone]

I am going to Ajaccio next year with my young son and perhaps my parents so just wondering if the major sites, like Napolean's house and the Citadel are walkable from the port? If not, it appears from reading posts that it is hard to find a taxi so are there any options for people who don't want to walk much (ie. bicycles driving people around, private tours companies or reputable taxi companies)?

[teacherman]

We were there 2 years ago. We walked about 5 minutes to the main square and took a ride on "The Petite Train". (You can find it on Google). It is a little tour train. We took the longer tour, which went through the town and then out the coast rode to a beautiful little viewpoint. Whole trip was about 1 hour. We then strolled the streets and stopped at a sidewalk cafe for lunch. It was a pleasant day and easy to do. Enjoy.

[Morgans]

Ajaccio is very walkable - all the sights are near, as is the beach. It's one of our favourite ports.

[hcat]

the petite train would be nice--it was on our tour booked through the cruise line--that was not a good idea--the guide was way too focused on Napoleon--like teaching a college class...

 

but the train part was fun out to the big rocks...--everything else is quite walkable.. a very cute port

[Andym]

Tone,

 

If you get up Google Maps, you can see a cruise ship berthed in the harbour. There are lots of shops on Boulevard due Roi Jerome, nice craft shops. Napoleons house is on Rue Boneparte and you can walk easilly to the beach at Boulevard Pascal Rossini. We also walked around by the fort and were able to watch a beach landing excercise by the French Foreign Legion. Then walk through to the marina, where there are some nice cafe's where you can watch the world go by.

 

A very nice easy to do stop on your own.

 

There is a small market by the ship where you can get some traditional french fayre.

 

Hope this helps

 

Andy

[Andym]

Napoleons house is on Rue Boneparte and then up Rue Sainte-Charles, Missed the second bit off my previous post

[mygreyhound66]

Good morning all, i am on the Gem 11/29 transatlantic with a stop in Ajaccio (always wanted to go there), however, I am finding it a little difficult to obtain information so am seeking some input from previous travellers!! I understand that there is a train that goes from Ajaccio to Bastia/Calvi. This seemed like a good option to be able to enjoy some of the scenery of Corsica. I can only obtain the train schedule through 6 september so my question is for those that may have been there last november/december - do you recall this train? if you did it, was it worth it? any input on ajaccio would be greatly appreciated - i do try to do independent vs shore excursions wherever possible/feasible

 

Many thanks in advance......

[bigwally]

Just a heads up that Napoleon's house closes for the traditional extended French lunch hour - either 11:30-13:30 or 12:00-14:00, I forget which.

[Luv_to_Cruise]

Here is a walking tour of Ajaccio. You'll need Adobe Reader...

 

http://www.ajaccio-tourisme.com/doc/document_uk-36.pdf

[fun_seeker]

Just a heads up that Napoleon's house closes for the traditional extended French lunch hour - either 11:30-13:30 or 12:00-14:00, I forget which.

Thank you bigwally. It's the little details like that one that can really mess up a nice day, if you aren't aware of them. We imagine that many of the other sites are also closed during those hours or isn't that so?

[bigwally]

We imagine that many of the other sites are also closed during those hours or isn't that so?

 

If it's like elsewhere in France, I would imagine so.

 

We once broke down near Bailly Romainvilliers, a stones throw from Paris Disneyland. We managed to limp to this small repair shop in town just before lunchtime and had to cool our heels for two hours until they reopened and started to work on the car. While we were in town EVERYTHING but a couple of the eating establishments closed - the gas station, grocery mart, post office. Even small shops (which you probably wouldn't encounter as much in a hard-core tourist town).

[Andym]

The first time we ever went to France, we were due to disembark the ferry at 12.15 and had decided that we would call somewhere for lunch once we had cleared the port. Village after village was just like a ghost town, everything was closed and they shut the shutters so the places look dead. It's very strange, but hey that's the French for you.

[doctrd]

We were there 2 weeks ago, and we had a nice break by walking to the beach. It's only a few minutes walk to the left of the cruise terminal. No changing facilities, but so close to your ship it's easy to go back and change.

[snorklinbarb]

Good morning all, i am on the Gem 11/29 transatlantic with a stop in Ajaccio (always wanted to go there), however, I am finding it a little difficult to obtain information so am seeking some input from previous travellers!! I understand that there is a train that goes from Ajaccio to Bastia/Calvi. This seemed like a good option to be able to enjoy some of the scenery of Corsica. I can only obtain the train schedule through 6 september so my question is for those that may have been there last november/december - do you recall this train? if you did it, was it worth it? any input on ajaccio would be greatly appreciated - i do try to do independent vs shore excursions wherever possible/feasible

 

Many thanks in advance......

 

Are you part of the roll call? We're all chatting over here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=808408

 

Meet & Greet is planned. Hope you can make it!