ABOUT AREA
Sitting south of Ajaccio, Porticcio is a busy, lively resort with an abundance of shops and restaurants. It also has a couple of large sandy beaches with windsurfing, boat hire and a choice of other water sports and beach activities. The sunsets from here are truly spectacular.
BEACHES
Plage d’Agosta
A long sandy beach with water sports and other facilities, making it quite lively. It runs along the Porticcio road. The area of Porticcio and Agosta has the highest proportion of hotels in the whole of Corsica and so the area can be busy in peak season.
Plage de Ruppione
A half-moon shaped cove 8km south of Porticcio – perfect for sheltered swimming snorkelling.
Plage de la Viva
A wide sandy stretch of beach, popular particularly during high season. It has great views of the gulf and a buzzing water sports scene.
Portigliolo, Isolella & Ruppione
The area has abundant sheltered coves, highly rated in summer and virtually untouched out of season. You may have these pretty beaches to yourself!
FESTIVALS
Festival du Film Japonais – Ajaccio - May
All art and culture of Japan will be celebrated. This new and atypical event in Corsica reveals the great wealth and beauty of the traditions and expression of Japanese art. Famous guests will come and present cinematographic, pictoral, theatrical, literary and even gastronomic works!
Jazz in Aiacciu – Ajaccio - 24th-28th June
Ajaccio hosts a jazz festival every year, showcasing some of the most exciting artists of the international and French jazz scene today.
Fête de la Musique – June
Numerous free live music events are held each year across the island on 21st June.
Fête de la Saint Erasme – Ajaccio - June
Mass and procession honouring the patron saint of fishermen through the streets of the old town and out to sea. The population is invited to come aboard the boats to follow this procession on the water after the priest blesses the boats.
Fête de L’Assomption – Ajaccio - August
In addition to the religious celebrations for the Assumption, there are also commemorative festivities marking the birth of Emperor Napoléon 1st, which makes this date the high point of the summer season in Ajaccio.
Les Fêtes Napoléoniennes – Ajaccio - August
Ajaccio celebrates the August birthday of Corsica's most famous son with period processions and a fireworks display.
Festival du Film Italien – Ajaccio - September
The discovery of countries and their inhabitants through cinema. During this festival, Corsica welcomes directors and numerous actors, with spectators voting after the screening of each film.
THINGS TO SEE & DO
Ajaccio & les Iles Sanguinaires
Ajaccio, Corsica's diminutive capital sparkles with Mediterranean buzz reminiscent of the Côte d'Azur and is the largest town on the island. It is an attractive town with an exceptionally mild climate and boasts a wealth of cafés, restaurants and chic shops. The old town is especially charming with a cluster of ancient streets spreading north and south of the Place Foch, which opens out onto the seafront by the old port. The Place de Gaulle forms the town centre. Following on from this is the Cours Napoléon, lined with chic boutiques and brasseries, and running parallel to the beach for almost 2km. There are plenty of places to visit including Napoléon's house (Maison Bonaparte), Musée Capitellu, the Citadel and Musée Fesch. There is also a local produce market held every morning Mon-Sat at Place Cesar-Campinchi providing an ideal scene to capture the essence of local life as you watch the world go by.
Cargèse
Cargese is at the northernmost tip of the bay and is a charming cliff top village with an unusual history and ancestry linked to the Greek Peloponnese. Even today there are both Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches although both are presided over by the same minister.
A Cupulatta
The tortoise park of "A Cupulatta" makes a good family day out. Located half an hour away on the N193 in the small village of Vero, the park, which is home to some 150 different species of tortoises and turtles. The site is open every day from 9am to 7pm in the summer and from 10am to 5.30pm during the rest of the year.
Walk on the Capo di Muro
A walk to the cliff-top of Capo di Muro, which separates the gulf of Ajaccio from the gulf of Valinco, will reward you with outstanding views of the bay and beautiful hidden coves along the way (a 3h / 4h circular walk from Cascionu).
Aullène
Aullène is now a relatively remote village of the southern mountains among magnificent scenery. It has fewer than 200 permanent inhabitants today, but once it was a place of importance before any of the modern, faster roads by the coast were built, the only route from Ajaccio to Porto Vecchio went through here. Surrounded by chestnut and pine forests, it is a splendid centre for exploring the mountains.
Sartène
Sartène is said to be the most Corsican of Corsican towns is a brooding place of tall buildings and narrow, cobbled alleyways. Famous for its local wines you can experience the culture at first hand.
