Cathédrale Ste-Marie

Ajaccio


Surprisingly small but in a commanding position facing out to sea, Ajaccio’s ochre-coloured cathedral dates from the 16th century. As well as a depiction of the Virgin of the Sacred Heart by Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863), it claims to contain Napoléon’s baptismal font, though some historians dispute that he was baptised here at all.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Ajaccio attractions

1. Maison Bonaparte

0.07 MILES

Unremarkable from the outside, the old-town house where Napoléon was born and spent his first nine years was ransacked by Corsican nationalists in 1793,…

2. Citadel

0.14 MILES

Constructed on the rocky headland during the 16th century, the imposing military fortress that adjoins old Ajaccio still belongs to the army. It has been…

3. Chapelle Impériale

0.31 MILES

The crypt of the imperial chapel, across the courtyard from the Palais Fesch, holds the tombs of Napoléon's parents and several other relatives. Don't…

5. Plage de Porticcio

3.83 MILES

Dedicated beach bums generally prefer the sands of Porticcio to Ajaccio's busy city beaches. It’s 15km by road around the bay from Ajaccio, or 6km…

6. Filitosa

13.73 MILES

Corsica's most important prehistoric site, 20km north of Propriano, preserves extraordinary granite menhirs (standing stones) that were originally erected…

7. Église de l’Assomption

16.61 MILES

Facing across the valley towards its Greek counterpart, barely 100m west, Cargèse’s Catholic church dates from earlier in the 19th century. Its matching…

8. Église St-Spyridon

16.64 MILES

Cargèse’s Greek community had been established in the village for 150 years by the time they erected this Greek Orthodox church, between 1868 and 1874…