Leaving the campsite neat Bonifacio I headed north east to Porto Vecchio, just to see what’s there really. It certainly is a pretty town, but not as charismatic as Bonifacio. I decided to carry on and instead of heading directly to Ajaccio, I decided to cut north west through the mountains, taking the D368 to Zonza, which took me higher and higher straight into the mountains. At one point I was riding in the clouds and it like riding in fog. And very cold..! Coming down again I then took the D420 and D69, which eventually led me through many green valleys to Ajaccio.
And what a superb day’s riding. For about 50 miles I had nothing but bend after bend after bend, going up as well as coming down – and the scenery was absolutely stunning from start to finish. If you like lots of nice scenery, lots of bends and a challenging ride – then Corsica is the place for you.
After coming down from the mountains Ajaccio wasn’t too far, and after a ride through the busy town I headed to my campsite at Camping Les Mimosas, which is about 4km outside the town on a hillside surrounded by trees. It’s quiet, it’s green and peaceful. I arrived at the campsite about 3.30 and had to wait a short while for the reception to open, but the lad was great. She just said go and camp anywhere. The cost was 15eu a night and the site was great, with lovely hot showers and a covered area with benches and free wifi.
Another few days which were superb, and as much as I liked Sardinia – when it comes to biking roads, I think Corsica has the edge. I’m here to visit the Bonaparte Museum, visit the main museum and also bimble around the town to do touristy things.
If you like history, then the Bonaparte Museum is really interesting. This is the house where napoleon grew up, leaving home when he was 16 to join the army. The house stayed in the families hands for many years, and the museum has gone to great lengths to recreate the house just as it would have been during napoleon’s time, even including some of the original furniture, which stayed within the family.
I like art. But I’m quite picky about what I like. I visited the main museum which was interesting, especially to see the art and relics surrounding Napoleon, but as for the art, there was quite alot of 16th and 17th century religious art, which I’m not into. But it was worth seeing it, especially for the Napoleon artifacts, painting and marble effigies. Next to the main Museum is a chapel which was built for the Bonaparte family, and in the crypt there are several family members. It really is an impressive chapel, with lots of superb marble.
having a wander around the town I visited the old fortress, which has been here since the 1600’s and was only recently vacated by the army. there wasn’t really much to see so i ended up wandering around the main street that runs through the centre, with many, many shops.
