8 Best Sights in Ajaccio, Corsica

One of four national historic museums dedicated to Napoléon, the multilevel house where the emperor was born on August 15, 1769, contains memorabilia and paintings of the extended Bonaparte family. History aficionados can tour bedrooms, dining rooms, and salons where Charles and Letitzia Bonaparte raised their eight children. Period furnishings and antiques in Corsican and Empire styles are scattered about and pay tribute to the family's bourgeois upbringing. Head downstairs to see the cellars and granite oil-pressing mill acquired by Napoléon III in 1860, which depict the importance of rural industry for the Bonapartes' income. Visit the trapdoor room and find the opening next to the door through which Napoléon allegedly escaped in 1799. The building itself changed hands multiple times through Bonaparte heirs until 1923, when it was donated to the state of France by Prince Victor, elder son of Prince Jérôme Napoléon.

This internationally recognized museum houses one of the most important collections from the Napoleonic era; it's undoubtedly one of the most significant displays in France of ancient Italian masterpieces spanning the 14th to 20th centuries. There are nearly 18,000 items, all part of an astounding inventory that belonged to Napoléon's uncle, Cardinal Fesch. Thanks to his nephew's military conquests, the cardinal was able to amass (steal, some would say) many celebrated old-master paintings, the most famous of which are now in Paris's Louvre. The museum's beautiful vaulted corridors showcase 700 paintings, portraits, still lifes, and sculptures from the First and Second Empire from the French school. Don't miss the gallery with engravings and drawings depicting historic Corsica. The building itself, constructed by the cardinal as the Institute of Arts and Sciences, dates back to 1837.

The 16th-century Baroque cathedral where Napoléon was baptized sits at the end of Rue St-Charles. The interior is covered with trompe-l'oeil frescoes, and the high altar, from a church in Lucca, Italy, was donated by Napoléon's sister Eliza after he made her princess of Tuscany. Eugène Delacroix's The Triumph of Religion hangs above the Virgin of the Sacred Heart marble altar from the 17th century.

In the south wing of the Palais Fesch, the neo-Renaissance-style Imperial Chapel was built in 1857 by Napoléon's nephew, Napoléon III, to accommodate the tombs of the Bonaparte family (Napoléon Bonaparte himself is buried in the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris). The Coptic crucifix over the altar was taken from Egypt during the general's 1798 campaign. The somber chapel, which is officially classified as a historical monument, is constructed from the white calcified stone of St-Florent and worth a visit to view its neoclassical cupola and ecclesiastical iconography.

Ajaccio's town hall houses the Empire-style Napoleonic Grand Salon, which is hung with portraits of a long line of Bonapartes. Also here are a fine bust of Letizia, Napoléon's formidable mother; a bronze death mask of the emperor himself; and a frescoed ceiling depicting Napoléon's meteoric rise.

At the intersection of Rue du Roi-de-Rome and Rue St-Charles, you can visit the confrérie, or religious brotherhood, of St-Jean Baptiste. On June 24, the patron saint is honored with a solemn mass conducted by the city's bishop and a Corsican music concert.

For an authentic view of daily Corsican life, tour this wonderful open-air food market brimming with gastronomic delights. There is an array of local cheeses, charcuterie, breads, pastries, olives, condiments, and aromatic meats for sale. Traditional indulgences like chestnut-infused beignets can be savored in an atmosphere guaranteed to be lively and local.

Bring your euros—cash is the preferred method of payment.

Surrounded by a row of stately palm trees, Place Maréchal-Foch is easily recognizable by its fountain of four Corsican granite lions encircling a commanding statue of Napoléon, the work of sculptor Jérôme Maglioli. Popular as a spot to people-watch on a sunny day, this triangle is surrounded by cafés and opens up to the Ajaccio port.