CorsicaCyclist
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    • The North >
      • Circuit de Cap Corse
      • Tour de Balagne
      • L'Île Rousse-Col de Battaglia circuit
      • Calvi-Calenzana circuit
      • Calvi Coast and Col
      • Haut Asco ski station
    • The Middle >
      • Scala di Santa Regina
      • Corte-Ajaccio
      • Vivario Cols
      • Ghisoni Pendulum
      • Restonica Gorge
      • D84 Francardo to Porto and Piana
      • Piana-Calvi (Col) >
        • Piana-Calvi (Coast)
      • Le test de Piana
    • The South >
      • Col de l'Ospedale
      • Porto Vecchio-Bonifacio loop
      • Route de Bavella
    • Randonnée Col Corses
  • Pro Races
    • TDF Stg 1 Porto Vecchio to Bastia
    • TDF Stg 2 Bastia to Ajaccio
    • TDF Stg 3 Ajaccio to Calvi
    • Criterium International
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Corsica street sign
Corsica train tramway balagne
Corsica beer pietra
corsica montemaggiore
Corsica road signs


Useful local information

The basics

For detailed local information the various tourist office websites are a great start. Links to the main ones are over on the right. Many are French language only. This is not an all encompasing list as many other towns and villages such as Sartene and St Florent etc will have their own local office and website. The Rough Guide to Corsica is a must as it's well researched and well written.

Bike shops and guides

Generally few and far between so the more self sufficient you can be the better. Often general sports shops and the larger supermarkets in the main towns will carry some basic cycling kit and equipment.
  • Bastia area - Europe Active or Bcyclet Corse one stop site for bike hire (deliveries further afield), guided and self guided tours; Cycles Orsini for bike hire and equipment
  • L'Île Rousse area - b-Bikes for bike hire, repairs and equipment (english spoken)
  • Algajola - Algajola Sport et Nature for bike (road, MTB & 'e') hire, equipment and guided tours. Also excellent for windsurfing, diving and paddle boarding!
  • Calvi - Wild Machja for great range of Cannondale bikes for hire (road, MTB & 'e'), repairs and guided tours; Europe Active also can provide rental bikes here
  • Ajaccio - Route Evasion for rental and equipment; Decathlon for spares; for guiding contact Rémy Duguet at Corsica Outdoor
  • Porto-Vecchio - IsulaBike and Mondovélo for rental

Getting around

The best option is a hire car which are available at all the main arrival points. If arriving with Air Corsica the hire option at the time of booking your flight is generally good value. Otherwise use a site that searches the best rates such as Rentalcars or Auto-Europe.

There is public transport on the island - trains and buses. The best source of information for both is the local daily newspaper, Corse-Matin. The printed edition has a section called 'Practique' for each of the main towns and villages which contains useful stuff like taxi telephone numbers and also the departure/arrival times for the local bus and rail (chemin de fer) services. The rail network is extensive for such a small island and the network map can be found at Le Train Corse. Do note however that the trains do not carry bikes. For bus services see, CorsicaBus. Some routes do show a price for bike carriage but check when planning your trip.

Weather

Corse-Matin is a good source as is France Meteo where you can get a ten day forecast for the island, the departments and all the main towns.

Food and drink

Taken very seriously of course and plenty of choice. The Corsican wines are excellent as are the beers, especially Pietra. The local dishes tend to be dominated by fish, lamb and sanglier (wild boar); excellent pizza and pasta is widely available. Also there is an excellent range of local charcuterie as well as soft and hard cheeses.

Emergency

In case of emergency the telephone numbers to call from a UK mobile are,
112 or 18
The first puts you through to general emergency number and the second to the Pompiers which is a combined ambulance/fire service. You should assume that they don't speak english so be prepared with some basic information about where you are and what you need.



Tourist Offices



visit corsica
Official visit Corsica website
Bastia tourist office
Bastia and the launch pad for Cap Corse
calve tourist office
La Balagne - Calvi, L'Île Rousse
Corte tourist office
Corte
Porto Piana tourist office
Porto and nearby Piana
Ajaccio tourist office
Ajaccio
Bonifacio tourist office
Bonifacio
Porto Vecchio tourist office
Porto-Vecchio





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