Car hire Ajaccio

Introduction

Ajaccio is the capital of the French island Corsica. The city has an atmospheric center and is furthermore mainly known as the birth place of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Population

The city has almost 55,000 inhabitants.

Location

Ajaccio lies on the west coast of Corsica, 390 kilometers in a straight line southeast of Marseille.

The buildings stretch out along the Gulf of Ajaccio and along the River Gravona. The water of that river is mainly used for the drinking water supply of the city.

Ajaccio lies 146 kilometers of Bastia and 140 kilometers from Porto-Vecchio.

Economy

From way back Ajaccio is a fishing village, the fishermen mainly fish for sardines in the Mediterranean Sea. Also yachts enter the city's harbor.

Furthermore there are a few small companies that make pasta products, cigars are also produced. The agriculture mainly produces citrus fruits.

The economy depends on tourism. Ajaccio is a center for the so-called Thalasso therapy, where seawater is used for medicinal purposes to fight skin problems among others.

Airports

Ajaccio Airport lies 5 kilometers east of the city. The highway N194 leads from the airport to the city center.

Public transport

In Ajaccio there are city buses, but the timetable is irregular, furthermore there are bus lines to other places in Corsica.

There are excellent ferry connections to cities in the French Riviera, they leave from the Quai L'Herminier to Marseille, Toulon and Nice among others.

Traffic and parking

Although Ajaccio is a small city, traffic can become busy in the center, especially during summer. Though there are many parking lots and garages so that you can always find a place to park your car, you can park at the marina and the Quai des Torpilleurs among other places.

The highways N194 and N196 lead from Ajaccio to respectively Corte and Bonifacio.

However do take into account that Corsica is mountainous and the roads are curvy, a distance on the map may seem short, but in reality it will take more time than you think. For a trip from Ajaccio to Bastia you have to count at least 2,5 hours.

Hotels

Ajaccio has a good selection of hotels to offer, the highest class is four-star. Also in surrounding areas you can find some hotels and resorts, some of them specialize in Thalasso therapy (see 'Economy').

External sources

For more information about Ajaccio, we recommend Google and the following sources:

• Wikipedia, Ajaccio
• Official site of the city of Ajaccio (multilingual)
• Official site for tourism on Corsica (multilingual)