Ajaccio Town and Coast Open-Top Bus Tour

Ajaccio old town and the citadel

Ajaccio was founded by the Republic of Genoa in 1492 on a rocky point of the gulf, and the citadel built to defend it still stands at the tip of the old town, its walls rising straight from the sea. Around it spreads a grid of tall houses in ochre and pastel shades, narrow lanes, small squares and the 16th-century cathedral, all within a few minutes of the port.

The town is also the birthplace of Napoleon, and the Maison Bonaparte, the family house where he was born in 1769, is now a national museum in the heart of the old town. The bus passes close to these landmarks so you can see where everything lies, which makes this Ajaccio city tour a useful first step before returning on foot to visit the museums at your own pace.

The port and the seafront squares

The tour starts on Boulevard du Roi Jérôme, beside the old port where fishing boats, yachts and ferries share the quays, and next to the covered market area where local producers sell Corsican cheese, chestnut specialities and honey in the mornings. From here the bus rolls along the seafront, past palm-lined squares, the town hall and the long promenade facing the gulf.

Sitting on the open top deck you get 360-degree views of the harbour, the mountains behind the town and the sea in front, which is the main pleasure of an Ajaccio sightseeing bus. The commentary explains the history of each district as you pass, in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish, so you understand the town even on a short stay or a cruise stopover.

The Route des Sanguinaires coast road

Leaving the centre, the bus follows the Route des Sanguinaires, the coast road of about 12 kilometres that runs west along the north shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio. It passes a string of small sandy beaches and rocky coves, the Ajaccio sea cemetery with its rows of white chapels facing the water, and the little Chapelle des Grecs, built in the 18th century for the town's Greek community.

This stretch is one of the most scenic drives in Corsica, with the maquis-covered hills on one side and clear turquoise water on the other. Many visitors ask how to get to Parata Point without a car: this tour is the simplest answer, as the bus takes you all the way there and back while you enjoy the view rather than the bends of the road.

Parata Point and the view of the Sanguinaires islands

At the end of the road the bus stops at Parata Point, a granite headland at the mouth of the gulf crowned by a round Genoese tower built in the 16th century to watch for pirate ships. Together with the Sanguinaires islands it forms a protected natural site, and paths through the maquis lead towards the tower for wider views over the sea.

From the viewpoint you look out to the Sanguinaires, a chain of dark red granite islets that glow blood-red at sunset, with a lighthouse on the largest one. Is Parata Point worth visiting? For most travellers it is the most beautiful view in Ajaccio, and the stop gives you time for photos before the bus returns along the coast to the port.