La Ville d'Ajaccio

The first time I saw Ajaccio was on the airplane from Nice, my first day of exchange. Yellow pastel buildings, sparkling blue pools, and many palm tees surrounded by the turquoise Mediterranean and the lush green Corsican mountains. It was completely different from where I'm from, foggy Northern California and I loved it.
Ajaccio is the biggest city in Corsica with a population of about 60,000. Even though it is a small city, most of the buildings are high rises so when you are in the heart of the city, you feel like you are in a bigger city than you are really in.
 During the spring and summer the city is flooded with tourists from the big cruise ships that come in. One day there will be many British people, the next German and after wards Greeks. People come to Ajaccio for the warm weather, the beaches, the hiking trails in the mountains surrounding Ajaccio and to visit the Casa Bonaparte, Napoleon's home where he was raised. Ajaccio is very proud of being the home of the Bonaparte family. On a mountain over looking Ajaccio, is the Chateau de la Punta, the mansion of the Bonaparte family, but it does not reflect Corsican architecture but instead a rich,  Parisian bourgeois style because the mansion had imported parts from Paris.
There are five lycees in Ajaccio. A lycee is the French equivalent of an American high school, but they are for only three years instead of four. The biggest being Lycee Laetitia Bonaparte, named after Napoleon's sister. Lycee Fesch in downtown Ajaccio is the second biggest high school after Laetitia Bonaparte. Lycee Pro Jules Antonini is the professional high school, where students go when they know what career they want and work in more of a technical setting instead of  a general education like normal lycees. There is also Lycee Saint-Paul is a private Catholic middle school and high school. They also have a small bilingual lycee for kids to get taught in French and Corsican.
The night life in Corsica can interests young adults to older persons. There are clubs, bars and the casino for young adults looking to mingle, or for a more relaxing night you could go to one of the restaurants on one of the beautiful beaches and watch the sun set over the Îles Sanguinaires.
Ajaccio is a great city for every age, to get away from the chaos and just relax on the beaches, restaurants or to hike, or to even live in! A small city which has quaint qualities.
For some pictures of Corsica, go to http://www.google.com/search?q=ajaccio&safe=active&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=OjurUp3pM8L9oASU9oKYBg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&surl=1