Family Encyclopedia >> Travel

48 hours in the Bay of Ajaccio

Saturday

10 h. The door of the Galéani house (3, rue du Cardinal-Fesch), Ajaccio’s oldest bakery, is pushed open to taste homemade canistrelli or bruccio donuts. Family-friendly, the reception is as neat as the pastries.

10:30 a.m. We visit the Fesch Palace (50, rue du Cardinal-Fesch), for its Italian primitives and its Botticelli, Veronese or Titian. Want to meet an artist in the flesh? Fanfan Salvini paints the essence of Corsica and also disturbing portraits of women. His workshop can be visited by appointment.

5 p.m. We reach the Radisson Blu Resort &Spa Ajaccio. Moored like a luxury liner facing the beach of Agosta, this hotel opened in June 2012 with arms outstretched with its swimming pool overlooking the sea. Alternative in case of overcast weather:a modeling or a hammam at the spa.

7 p.m. Three options. 1 / Return to Ajaccio for a traditional dinner with the King of Rome (14, rue du Roide-Rome) and finish in one of the bars in the Place du Général-de-Gaulle. 2 / Drive to Porticcio, close by, for example to the Coliseum on the beach before reaching St James. 3 / Dinner at the hotel on the terrace of the restaurant A Muvra.

Sunday

10 h. We throw ourselves on the "super breakfast" of the Radisson Blu. Pastries, Corsican charcuterie and views of the Sanguinaires islands offshore… It's hard to motivate yourself for the gym, even if it also has a sea view!

11 h. You laze on a lounger around the pool, or cross the road to put your feet in the water on the sandy beach.

2 p.m. We embark with Corsica Cruises for a 1/2 day excursion around the Sanguinaires. These pebble islands planted at the entrance to the Bay of Ajaccio have become a paradise for cormorants and gulls. On the way back, the anchor is thrown into the heart of the Seven Ships, funny tortured rocks that enclose a natural pool of clear water where it is good to swim and dive at will, under the impassive gaze of the Genoese tower of the 'Isolella which dates from 1608.

6 p.m. Departure from the hotel… What if we extended the stopover a bit?