Corsica/Corse

Corsica Overview

Travel: by ferry (100% recommend Corsica Linea, 100% DO NOT RECOMMEND Moby!), by train

Eat: Seafood, pasta, local cheeses and sausages, if you’re in Ajaccio be sure to hit the marché and stock up on local produce and cheeses, it’s a lovely place to visit. 

Sleep: In Bastia, Hotel Central Bastia 3 Rue Miot - great location, you can walk everywhere, really interesting & unique rooms, but no elevator or bellhop so check what floor you’re on when you book if that’s a concern and if it’s not, be prepared to get some climbing in. 

Repeat: Probably not, at least not without a car. I’ll explain below.

Corsica wasn’t originally in my travel plan, but when I looked at how long it would take to get from Marseille to Genoa via train (a solid day of travel, and too many changes for it to be any fun) my eyes shifted to the water. Marseille is a port city, and so is Genoa, so what about a ferry? Sadly, no direct ferries exist, but adding a detour through Corsica would do the job. Some research into sailings and how to get around the island led me to settle on an overnight ferry from Marseille to Ajaccio, the capital city on the southern coast of the island, then a train journey across the island to Bastia, the second-largest city in the northeast, where we’d spend four days and three nights before taking a five-hour ferry to Genoa. 

I do not like to rent a car when traveling if it can be helped; I love public transportation, especially trains, so finding a home base that was accessible without a car was a must. Corsica has a train line with just 144 miles of track, but there isn’t even an official website, this one has accurate, up-to-date timetables; and you can’t buy tickets ahead of time online, you have to buy them at the station. You can get from Ajaccio to Bastia in about four hours for under 25€ and see some truly gorgeous scenery. If you look at the topography of the island you can understand why: its rugged, fairly uninhabited center doesn’t lend itself to a rail line. 

Ajaccio was our first stop, right off the ferry (about a 10-minute walk to the marché in the town center) and we grabbed coffee and some pastries before leisurely exploring the marché. We had a four-hour delay between our ferry docking and our train, so we decided to just take our time at the market before making our way across town to the train station. 

The train was small, only two cars with unassigned seating, and it made its slow, meandering journey across the island with many stops and lots of spectacular scenery. No bar car so bring provisions if you’re on a long trip, and just one bathroom. The route passes through the Parc Naturel Régional de Corse, a spectacular nature preserve with lots of hiking and camping (we picked up a lot of backpackers along this stretch) and many small, rural stops before reaching Bastia. 

Boulangerie Au Blé d'Or, 7 B Av. Emile Sari - this was a great discovery after our first morning’s so-so breakfast at one of the unremarkable cafes near our hotel - filled with locals and a serviced by a woman who corrected my French pronunciation (I truly appreciate when people do that) we spent our second and third mornings here, enjoying the comings and goings of people stopping in for a quick coffee and cigarette while greeting their neighbors before heading off to work. Coffee was great, as were the pastries, and we grabbed some lunch things for a picnic later in the day, all excellent. 

L'Epica, 2 Rue de la Marine is a small, pretty Corsican restaurant back behind the Vieux Port. We had a nice lunch there, with great seafood and a nice bottle of local wine. The service was indifferent; I got the impression that our young server had been pressed into service and had other plans for her afternoon, but it was fine, and the food was lovely. There’s a sweet little balcony with just a few tables with views out over the port.

La Maison de Cocagne, Rue Vattelapesca is an elegant Corsican restaurant close to the Vieux Port but far enough away to be a little bit off the main tourist path, and it was the spot for what was hands-down our best dinner. (FYI, cocagne means plenty in French, NOT cocaine.) The place was packed and we managed to snag a table outside under the string lights, next to the fountain. All the surrounding tables were filled with larger groups of locals, some that appeared to be at least three generations. Service was the best we’d experienced in Bastia, professional and helpful. Portions are HUGE, so be warned - we had two entrees to share (the tarte tatin salée with courgettes and brocciu cheese, and the petits farcies au brocciu, and then each ordered a plat (the fish of the day with ratatouille and pepper gazpacho, and the cordon bleu maison with pasta). The entrees were delicious, but once our plats came out it was clear that we’d made a serious tactical error. The fish and ratatouille was a large portion, but the cordon bleu was HUGE, like it could have been a main course for a small family. And the pasta was an entire main course size as well. There was no chance that it was going to get finished, I can’t think of a person I know who could have cleaned that plate, even without the starters. I hate to waste food, and the European custom of no doggie bags usually isn’t a problem because portion sizes are generally scaled to be manageable for a hungry adult, but this was a sad case of having to leave a lot of good food on the table. Sadly, we weren’t able to try the desserts due to being STUFFED. 

Bastia is a pretty town on the coast, with a picturesque old port (Vieux Port) and a large, modern port for ferries and larger ships. The historic center is very walkable with lots of churches, cafes, restaurants, and shops. It’s definitely touristy, and it takes some effort to get off the beaten path as far as finding good restaurants and cafes. It’s an easy town, though, and our full three days there felt like a day too long; there’s just not that much to do.

Corsica is known for its incredible natural beauty, particularly its beaches. Unfortunately, Bastia is probably the worst choice for a home base if you want to visit beaches but don’t have a car. The coast nearest to the city is rocky with no sandy beaches within walking distance; you need to either head north or south. An e-bike could get you to a beach. We toyed with that idea, then decided to just take what we thought was going to be a bus but turned out to be our old friend the train south along the coast to the stop for L'Arinella, just a short, if weird walk (along the train tracks, through the bushes, and along a quiet street) to Plage de l'Arinella, which is a lovely, sandy beach lined with playgrounds, cafes, and a handful of beach clubs where you can rent beach loungers and get food and drinks. This is a European custom that I love; it’s so nice to have an umbrella and sunbed that you don’t have to haul around, not to mention order beachside cocktails - I will gladly pay a premium for this luxury after a lifetime of uncomfortably spreading a towel on rocky Pacific Northwest beaches.

Corsican cuisine developed around the local ingredients and the island’s rugged terrain, so you’ll see a lot of pork (there’s a type of pig specific to Corsica), goat, sheep, and seafood. Local cheese brocciu is a must try,