Not a welcoming place for French tourists
The barbed wire fences, cows on the road, graffiti on road signs, tricky roadways, and overpriced day trips that all make the journey in Corsica an exhausting experience.
Nor, did I feel as welcomed as an American tourist
As an American visiting Corsica for the first time in spring 2017, it was hard to believe that this island is actually a part of France. There was nothing in this trip which would allude me to France, except for the occasional French flag flying in the distance (along with pirate flags and Corsican flag – the symbolic Moor’s head with white bandana) had I recognized this terrain as part of the mainland. There are many crumbled buildings
Since I didn’t know French, my whole experience at the B&B Fiore di Machja was uncomfortable. First thing, they pressure you to go on a boat ride to Bastia for 270 euros. Then, they push you to eat at the local restaurants that you may not like their menus. Then, they took down our credit card information the last day we stayed – and logged it in a notebook!
An older couple who visited the same Bed and Breakfast with my husband and I told us the South and North of France are polar opposites in personality, culture, and people. It’s true the southerners are warmer people in general, but Corsica was a different civilization.
There’s a nationalistic pride and attitude that’s hard to respect and understand as an outsider
I think part of the problem starts with its history. There were many foreign takeovers of the island. Pasquale Paoli was a significant leader of the Corsican independence. He has called for a Corsican Republic in 1755 and wrote the Corsican Constitution, which later he became an influence on the U.S. Constitution.
Later, the island was sold off to France and tensions grew among the locals. Today, there are vandalized road signs, with a black marker scribbled over the French language, with only the Corsican language underneath visible. There’s also bullet holes in the signs too. This destruction of property is from the National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC).
FLNC is an intense political party known to commit crimes that go unpunished because after all, there’s no formal government here at all. It’s anarchy. A local told us that the Mayor is so corrupt, there was voter fraud in the election where his name was being submitted by forged signatures from people.
It’s hard to navigate around and rental car GPS is unreliable
As a tourist with little to no French, it was difficult to navigate too. The car GPS takes you through back roads in the mountains, the Internet is poorly working for Google Maps, and it’s an exhausting ride to a destination.
The winding roads were almost dangerous; it was hard to see oncoming cars around the sharp bends. We managed to get directions from the Bed and Breakfast owner for our way back to the airport.
The other frustrating part is where to go for the beach. Many places are marked private and there’s fences and ropes blocking the entrance ways. The closest beach for us required a good hike up and down some dirt roads. The hotel owner drew us a map so we can understand how to literally climb our way to the beach.
As we went near to our destination, there was a rocky steep hill to manage down. So what I’m saying is you have to be physically fit to enjoy the beach we were at for the week. Which brings me to my next point. Do not go to Corsica if you are in a wheelchair! It would be a miserable experience for traveling around because there’s no accessibility at all. Thankfully both my husband and I are in good shape for the climb.
And speaking of car rentals, the office at Hertz was very unprofessional. They didn’t assist at all in showing us where the car is located. Their attitude is very uptight about the car’s return, needs to be vacuumed, cleaned, and fueled. Be very careful how you approach these people, because they will try to charge you for the smallest mark on the car.
There’s nowhere to park
To top it off, Ajaccio has nowhere to park. There were cars going in every direction and no one was paying attention to traffic signals and pedestrian crosswalks. There was a huge vacant parking lot near the shops but it was completely fenced off.
From what I’ve seen on this trip, there are more spacious areas for donkeys and horses than there are for tourists.
Along with donkeys and horses in Ajaccio, there is a main sidewalk dug up because there were “archeological findings” and so the whole chunk just close to the shoreline was ripped apart and fenced off so there can be excavations… even though we saw no one actually working during the day on the project. It is nearly impossible to walk on the main roads in Ajaccio!
If you think you’re going to have some excellent seafood, think again. You will be sorely disappointed. It is hard to find fresh fish if you stay in the mountains.
If you decide to go to Corsica despite my warnings to you, please do no go to the B&B Fiore di Machja! You will be disappointed in where to eat your meals.
The B&B owners provided a breakfast but it’s always the same thing, some heavy fattening desserts, blocks of cheese and meat, loads of bread, and teas. They will boast of how wonderful the island is and push you to go on the boat tour to Bastia for 270 euros each person. They also took down our personal bank card information and logged it in a journal! Then, they proceeded to take a picture of us on their deck!
They would also phone the nearby restaurants to RSVP a table for you and place a even though you have no idea what’s on the menu.
Our first night we went to Chez Francis, which was just 5 minutes from the B&B and on the coast. There was an advertisement just at the intersection of the B&B and it looked like a seafood restaurant by the big fish on the billboard. Both of us wanted to try fresh seafood since afterall, we are on an island!
However, Chez Francis was just an empty dive bar, and was really unprofessional and sloppy. The menu was outrageously expensive given the way the restaurant looked with its dilapidated rooftop and dirty appearance. The lobster was 50 euros a person, which is a total rip off. Half the menu was unavailable. I tried asking for just a simple salad and it was unavailable. The wine — horrible.
This wasn’t a restaurant. It was just a beach dive bar. The servers were wearing very short shorts and hair pulled up high like a valley girl from the 90s in California. There were also a group of locals drinking and talking so loudly about their opinions on French presidents and just making a scene of themselves. Just for a place of tuna and a bowl of small langoustes and two drinks, our bill was almost 70 euros.
I felt bad seeing the boatloads of tourists coming here each day for their lunch destination. I almost wanted to tell them not to come here, just stay on the boat for the hour.
The last night, we went to Hotel Belvedere and we had another frustrating experience. We tried to be a bit smarter this time, and the night before we drove there to get the menu in our hands to know what we’re in for.
The restaurant owner took a pen and scratched out what was unavailable. So, then we understood what our options were for the prix fixe. It’s a family restaurant and so the portions were way too much for just two people. They came out with plates after plates of meats and my stomach was about to explode from eating too much. Across from us, we saw the other guests enjoying a plate of fish.
Here, I learned that only those who stayed at the hotel were given the fish. What a rip off! Is this island so scarce on food, that they have to “limit” quantities of fish? I didn’t understand why we could have plates and plates of meat, but then to have something that’s out of the damn Mediterranean Sea, where there are thousands of fish swimming out there, they couldn’t catch just two more for us?
There are no ATMs
Forget trying to get any cash out from an American bank here. Better off just carrying a wad of euros in your wallet while traveling to Corsica.
Speak Italian and you’ll be loved
I noticed that the guests at one of the restaurants was speaking Italian, and the Corsicans were quick to move right into a conversation in Italian. But if you tried speaking French, then they would speak in the Corsican-French language to you instead of just pure French.
Corsican Cola is just Pepsi Cola
All you have to do is switch the label. It’s the same thing. I did not taste any difference
Are there pirates? There is a black market … hard to find but you know it’s there
We stopped at a Esso gas station, and there was a huge warehouse without windows next to it with a car parked in the front with a huge Brazilian flag. You could see a sliding door, and inside the warehouse were racks and racks of packages. A gas station attendant would take a shopping cart and unload items from there and bring them to the store. What else was in the warehouse is unknown but it looked suspicious like items were smuggled into this place. Even the local Finra, I felt that the iPhones and tablets were not bought from one single source. I had bad vibes about how the merchandise was coming in.
So I can sum up Corsica in two parts:
1. If you’re a meat-lover (and love wild boar), then feast on and go to Corsica!
If you’re from Texas and love local ranch food and smokey BBQs, then you’ll love A Baracca. This is the only best highlight for meals during our 4 days there was ‘A Barracca, which had a very nice platter of cold cut chacuteries from local boars in the mountains. The view is perfect too with the sunset over the sea. However, you had to call way in advance to ensure their availability because the restaurant is small and only run by the owner.
2. If you’re a meat hater, save your money and don’t go to Corsica!
I wouldn’t recommend going to Corsica at all. I wouldn’t send my kids to schools here and I wouldn’t make a retirement here (unless you love eating charcuterie 24/7). If I were the President of France, I’d immediately start a referendum for the local Corsicans to vote on independence. We have to leave this stubborn island alone to figure out the mess of their economy and way of life.
