ajaccio, the foreigners' quarter

From the mid-19th century onwards, the "Quartier des Étrangers" was built to welcome the first tourists to Ajaccio. As on the Côte d'Azur, many of these visitors were foreigners, most of them English, Swiss or German...
The memory of this "belle époque" has been preserved by a few fine buildings, or by once-luxurious hotels, now transformed into housing or offices.
This tour begins at the intersection of the Cours Napoléon and the Cours Grandval, where the Place du Diamant (De Gaulle) is located. It was designed by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul. In fact, it's the city's most illustrious child, on horseback as a Roman emperor, surrounded by his four brothers, who sits enthroned on the square.
The Cours Grandval was originally lined with private residences and equally luxurious hotels. Some of these still stand:
The Grand Hôtel, headquarters of the Collectivité Territoriale de Corse, is remarkable for its façade and the beautiful garden separating it from the street.
The Château Conti, once a surgical clinic, is now closed.
The Cyrnos palace is now an apartment complex.
Further up the street, on the right, is a curiosity: the Anglican church, which the English community built for their worship in the 19th century.
At the top of the courtyard, on the Place d'Austerlitz, stands the great monument to Napoleon, built in 1938. It features a rock shelter where the future emperor is said to have played and meditated as a child, known as the Grotte Napoléon. The main attraction, however, is the large granite monument engraved with the major battles and achievements of the First Empire. The bronze statue of Napoleon is a replica of one in the courtyard of the Invalides in Paris.

Town of departure : Ajaccio - Place De Gaulle

Destination city : Ajaccio - Boulevard Sylvestre Marcaggi