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Practicalities
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Porto-Vecchio doesn't have a
bus
station; instead, the various companies who come here stop and depart outside their agents' offices on the edge of the old town. Coming from Bastia or the eastern plain (eg Solenzara or AlA©ria) you'll be dropped at the Corsicatours office on 7 rue Jean-JaurA?s; services to and from Ajaccio via Bonifacio, SartA?ne and Propriano stop outside the Trinitours office on rue Pasteur, just north of the citadel; finally, the minibus connecting Porto-Vecchio with Ajaccio, via the chief villages of Bavella and Alta Rocca, pulls in at A?le de BeautA© Voyages, at 13 rue GA©nA©rale de Gaulle, near the post office. From here it's a five-minute walk to the main square, place de l'HA?tel-de-Ville, site of the efficient
tourist office
(June & Sept Mon-Sat 9am-1pm & 3-6pm; July & Aug Mon-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun 9am-1pm; Oct-May Mon-Fri 9am-noon & 2-6pm, Sat 9am-noon; tel 04.95.70.09.58,
www.accueil-portovecchio.com
), where you can consult timetables for local buses.
Accommodation is easy to come by except in high summer. One of the least expensive places in town is the noisy but central Le Modern , 10 cours NapolA©on (tel 04.95.70.06.36; 300-400F/a?¬46-61; closed Oct-April), followed by the simple, family-run Panorama , 12 rue Jean-Nicoli, just above the old town (tel 04.95.70.07.96; 400-500F/a?¬61-76). If you can, it's worth spending a bit extra for a place down by the marina, where pick of the bunch is the very pleasant GoA©land , port de Plaisance (tel 04.95.70.14.15, fax 04.95.72.05.18, hotel-goeland@wanadoo.fr ; 500-600F/a?¬76-91). If you're camping and don't have a vehicle, your best bet is the Matonara site (tel 04.95.70.37.05), just north of the centre at the Quatre-Chemins intersection - it's large, with lots of cork trees for shade. Otherwise, try the well-equipped Arutoli on route de l'OspA©dale, 2km northwest of town along the D368 (tel 04.95.70.12.73), which has an enormous pool. For eating , try the moderately priced Chez Mimi , 5 rue du GA©nA©ral-Abbatucci (tel 04.95.70.28.54), whose Corsican set menu (70-80F/a?¬10.64-12.16) is one of the best deals in town, or splash out on a meal at pricier L'Antigu , 51 rue Borgu (tel 04.95.70.39.33), which offers the best views of the gulf and most-renowned local cuisine in town, with set menus costing 100-140F/a?¬15.20-21.28. Pizzerias are found all over the centre: U Borgu , also on rue Borgu, does a fair selection, and the views from its terrace are on a par with those at L'Antigu . The far north end of rue Borgu runs into rue de la Citadelle, where you'll find an excellent little Moroccan restaurant, Le Tajine (tel 04.95.70.17.58), whose delicious meat, fish and fresh vegetable stews are served on groaning piles of couscous. If you're on a really tight budget, though, head for Sur le Pouce , a hole-in-the-wall joint on the rue Porte GA©noise, which does toasted sandwiches and paninis made with quality local cheeses for around 25F/a?¬3.80.
Nightlife
in Porto-Vecchio centres on the main square in the old town where, in the summer, hordes of suntanned Italians strut their stuff. A lively bar to head for, and a must for Tintinophiles, is
Objectif Lune
, 3 rue JA©rA?me-LA©andri (on the left as you leave the old town on cours NapolA©on), which hosts regular live music sessions in its Tintin-memorabilia-filled-bar. An even more upbeat option is
Pub de Bastion
, at the opposite end of the old town near
Le Tajine
, which claims to serve three hundred varieties of beer and stages live music (ghastly rock cover bands) most Friday and Saturday nights. The snazziest club in the area, however, is
AmnA©sia
, an outrageously kitsch, Italian-oriented
boA®te
, midway between Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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France,
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