Sainte-Agnès circular via Borrigo Waterfall

A beautiful hike combining sightseeing, physical exercise and the discovery of Sainte-Agnès, the highest coastal village in Europe. The Borrigo Waterfall, this alpine trail and the duty to remember with a visit to the Maginot Line fort will round off a wonderful day.

Details

20811072
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.30 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,719 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,722 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,457 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 827 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the top of the village in front of the Maginot Line fort, at Square Sainte-Agnès.

(S/E) This hike begins with a visit to the highest point of the village. There is an information map of the site in the car park. Take the staircase called Montée du Souvenir, towards the cemetery, which leads, after some 200 steps, to the ruins of the 12th-century castle. This castle overlooks Sainte-Agnès and offers a magnificent 360° panorama. After consulting the orientation tables, turn around and return to the starting point.

(S/E) Turn right at the bottom of the steps and walk down the beautiful old Rue des Sarrazins, which is the main street in Sainte-Agnès. Walk past the church and town hall, then take Rue du Four and Rue des Comtes de Léotardi towards Avenue de Verdun. At this point, first turn right then left and take the paved slanting street called Promenade Saint-Sébastien, which leads down to the chapel of the same name. Continue to marker 440.

(1) Turn right onto theGR®51, towards Castellar - La Virette, and walk alongside the water treatment plant. This beautiful path becomes a paved slanting street a few hundred metres further on. You will reach the ruins of the hamlet of La Virette.

(2) Turn right between the two ruined houses (marker 476). Follow this unmarked, wooded path downhill, winding in short loops towards the south.

(3) At this point, you will come to a clearing. The path arrives at a small cirque where the Borrigo waterfall flows, and a stop at this site is a must. Continue on the path that starts on the south side of this cirque with a cairn. Continue on this path lined with tall vegetation, which turns into a carriage road after 200 m. Go through the forest gate and continue on an asphalted section. Reach a road junction (unmarked on the ground - number 490 on the map).

(4) Turn right onto Chemin du Vivaron. Pass marker 489 and continue along the asphalt road until the next bend. At this point, go straight ahead onto a path lined with properties.

(5) Walk along the back of a house, then turn right for about 30 metres, then go up the tarmac road on the left to marker 463.

(6) Turn right and follow the signs for "Village de Sainte-Agnès". From this point, the path climbs to the end point. There are magnificent views of Menton and the coastline throughout. Marker 462 is missing; ignore any trail junctions and continue straight ahead to reach the end of the trail, which is located below the terrace of the panoramic restaurant.

(7) In the last few metres, it is tempting to choose another route. Continue towards the restaurant where marker 461 is located. A glance down below reveals the path at the bottom that you took during this beautiful climb. A few metres further on is the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,205 ft - Fort Maginot car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.72 - alt. 1,985 ft - Marker 440, junction with GR°°®°°
  3. 2 : mi 1.75 - alt. 1,499 ft - Ruins of La Virette
  4. 3 : mi 2.09 - alt. 1,066 ft - Borrigo Waterfall - Borrigo (fleuve)
  5. 4 : mi 2.61 - alt. 827 ft - Marker 490
  6. 5 : mi 3.07 - alt. 971 ft - House
  7. 6 : mi 3.16 - alt. 991 ft - Marker 463
  8. 7 : mi 4.21 - alt. 2,169 ft - Marker 461
  9. S/E : mi 4.3 - alt. 2,201 ft - Fort Maginot car park

Notes

Hiking boots and walking sticks recommended.
No water available on the route.
Avoid rainy days, as the first part of the trail is paved slanting street and slippery.

Worth a visit

During this hike:

Visit the ruins of the 12th-century castle (free).
Borrigo Waterfall (free access).
Maginot Line fort (€6 admission): very interesting guided tour.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 21 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 18730629

A lovely walk that gave us the chance to discover a beautiful village. The scenery changes constantly, with mountainous terrain at the start and sea views towards the end. Overall, the walk is shaded except for the climb up to Saint Agnes at the end of the route. Avoid doing this when it’s very hot as the climb is steep and faces south. We did the walk at the end of May; the waterfall was almost dry.

Machine-translated

bernard bb
bernard bb

Thank you, mtl06, for your detailed review
Best regards, b.

Machine-translated

mtl06
mtl06
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely circular walk starting from the charming little village of Sainte-Agnès. The route is clearly marked and easy to follow. The waterfall is beautiful; we were lucky enough to see it flowing strongly under a magnificent blue sky.
The start of the final climb is a bit of a slog, but it’s well worth the effort as the end of the circular route offers a magnificent view of the sea.

Machine-translated

bernard bb
bernard bb

Thank you, User 27390416
The noise only affects part of the walk
hiking friends, b.

Machine-translated

User 27390416

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, though part of it does run alongside the A8 motorway and all its noise!

Machine-translated

bernard bb
bernard bb

Thank you Lucy-13 for this detailed review
Best regards, B.

Machine-translated

Lucy-13
Lucy-13

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little hike for the active, with a beautiful village to explore and a large waterfall! There are some stunning views and Sainte-Agnès Castle is open to the public. The route can also be done in reverse without any difficulty.

Machine-translated

bernard bb
bernard bb

Thank you, User 14934528, for this review.
A beautiful hike, and this waterfall as a bonus
Best regards, B.

Machine-translated

User 14934528

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

superb hike, well-marked trail

Machine-translated

bernard bb
bernard bb

Thank you for your review, User 10484545
Best regards, B.

Machine-translated

bernard bb
bernard bb
• Edited:

Thank you for your review, User 10484545
A beautiful hike indeed
Best regards, B.

Machine-translated

User 10484545

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike!
However, I had some difficulty finding the starting point from Sainte Agnès, so it would be helpful to provide some additional details.
After that, the route was well described.
The waterfall is magnificent.

Machine-translated

bernard bb
bernard bb

Hello Domenico0310

Thank you for your review
Unfortunately, the flow of the waterfall is not consistent
Best regards, B.

Machine-translated

JJBOUR
JJBOUR
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route under glorious sunshine!!!!...Everything is fine. Just one hiccup between points 4 and 5 (in Vivaron Street, near the houses), where it was impossible to follow the suggested route. At one point, we saw and followed the sign for St Agnès and took a path on the right that led away from Bernard bb's original route. But no worries, after straying quite far from the route, we found it again further on. Thanks to Bernard.

Machine-translated

bernard bb
bernard bb

Thank you, User 26018879, for this review.
The backup battery has become indispensable
for every hike (don't forget to recharge it)
best regards, Bernard BB

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.