Madonetta lighthouse, Fazzio island, Paragan beach from Bonifacio

The path from Bonifacio to Strada Vecia, Madonetta is an old Genoese road paved and lined with low walls.
You'll discover the Madonetta lighthouse, the Fazzio cove and Paragan beach, with exceptional views over Bonifacio.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.91 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 283 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 274 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 71 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Bonifacio (20169)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 41.391349° / E 9.165078°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 4255OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Take the main road down to the port of Bonifacio, campsite on your left, then campsite on your right. Just after the campsite, you'll find the start of our hike and nearby car parks (an orange sign will help you find it).

(S/E) From the orange sign, take the paved track, cut a path about 300m further on and continue until you reach a crossroads.

(1) Leave the little path on the left that leads down to a pretty little cove (where you can swim).
Continue right to the next crossroads (small diamond-shaped sign).

(2) Turn left and take a path downhill, staying on the main track. When the path comes close to the cliff, continue south-west alongside it.

(3) At the crossroads, turn left onto a small path that leads to the Madonetta lighthouse. Take care: this is the only slight difficulty on the route.

(4) Madonetta lighthouse. After a few good photos, head back up to the path junction.

(3) Take the path on the left that leads to the Fazzio beach with its sailing school.

(5) Walk along the beach for a while before taking the path back up to the next crossroads.

(6) Turn left to reach the wild beach of Paragan.

(7) Paragan beach. Make a U-turn back to the previous junction.

(6) Continue straight ahead to find the crossroads you passed on the outward journey.

(2) Continue straight ahead along the same route until you come to a crossroads and a path left behind on the outward journey.

(1) Go right and descend into a pretty little cove (swimming). Go back up to the crossroads.

(1) Take the right-hand path back to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 5 m - Avenue Sylver Bohn
  2. 1 : km 0.78 - alt. 14 m - To the right on the outward and return journey
  3. 2 : km 1.67 - alt. 56 m - Left on the way out, straight on the way back
  4. 3 : km 2.97 - alt. 38 m - To the left
  5. 4 : km 3.15 - alt. 14 m - Madonetta lighthouse
  6. 5 : km 5.09 - alt. 1 m - Fazzio Beach
  7. 6 : km 5.89 - alt. 48 m - Left on the way out, straight on the way back
  8. 7 : km 6.62 - alt. 1 m - Plage de Paragan(o)
  9. S/E : km 9.9 - alt. 5 m - Avenue Sylver Bohn

Notes

Loop of 10km, without difficulty - 2h30 of effective walking - Total ascent. 215m.

Reviews and comments

4.9 / 5
Based on 36 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
Annie27
Annie27

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, culminating in the Madonetta lighthouse. A magnificent spot, easily accessible via the path and stone steps, with a magnificent view over the entire Gulf of Bonifacio. However, there is no point in going as far as the last beach, Paragan, where seaweed rots and gives off a foul smell. Swimming is better at Fazzio beach.

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Bruno 29
Bruno 29

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful loop with magnificent scenery, it's a bit uphill at the beginning but it's definitely worth it Thanks for this track

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Scot69
Scot69

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Easy, fairly shady walk. Can be done with the whole family.
Almost all of the walk is on old cobbled paths.
The vegetation is quite tall, so there are very few viewpoints and the path is mostly through shrubbery.
The Madonetta lighthouse has just been renovated: it's splendid!
Point 7 (Parangan beach) is interesting because it marks the boundary between limestone and granite. However, this beach is overrun with decomposing algae; the smell is quite powerful.

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Lili lolo
Lili lolo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Easy walk, very well signposted
Easy trail
Beautiful scenery!

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jolimatou
jolimatou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Easy hike with superb scenery
I recommend 👍👍

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lilouyoko
lilouyoko

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice walk. Best done very early in the summer. Walked in the opposite direction. The lighthouse is magnificent, apparently recently rebuilt. Some parts can be more complicated because of the stones. I really appreciated the poles.

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kikidu49
kikidu49

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A really pleasant route to do, the scenery is magnificent, not too difficult with good shoes.
We set off early in the morning and were alone at the lighthouse, which has been magnificently restored.
I absolutely recommend this walk.

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Hohmur
Hohmur

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's a bit of a rough start, as we start from level 0 and climb very quickly. But what a view!
Hardly anyone there at this time of year.
Superb coves, only accessible on foot or by boat.

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Penguelen
Penguelen
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent walk, but in my humble opinion it should be done in the opposite order to that indicated (which is what we did).
The straight line 1>2>6>7 ends up being monotonous with no real centre of interest (this historic path is charming for a while but you get bored with it over time) and it's better to leave it behind at the start of the walk.
The part of the route between 2 and 6 is the one with the best views, so you might as well finish with this part to preserve only the beautiful images.
Recommended route: 1>2>6>7>6>5>3>4>3>2>1

In 1: Once you're down on the beach, take a path that runs along the coast for a few hundred metres towards Bonif. This is where you'll get the best views of the town.
At the end of this path, the more adventurous can even reach the port by going over the rocks (we've seen it done, but we preferred to turn back). The diversions is well worth it, however, for the views over Bonif).

Beautiful renovation of the Madonetta lighthouse.

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Adeline3134
Adeline3134

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A great hike with beautiful views, typical Corsican vegetation and fun with the various possible stops.
Done in April, outside temperature 24'C so not too hot: perfect. But we didn't go swimming 😉. Paraguan beach full of decomposing algae, but it's still quite pretty to arrive at this cove.
A few comments though. This walk is described as simple but personally I don't find it so "simple". I did have to climb 250 metres and the path is chaotic at times, especially at the start (lots of large stones, so lack of stability).

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jp.argentel
jp.argentel

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

the path from the port is not in good condition; if it gets wet, be very careful. the nearby car parks charge for parking, so the bill could be high. it's best to leave from the free car park near the hospital and take the road to the "T" junction. on the left is the path to the port, on the right the one we're interested in. you need to be careful for the path leading to the Madonetta. from the paragan cove, there are 2 options; return along the same path along the cliff or along the slightly flat inner path without any difficulty.
the time indicated indicates a good pace...this hike deserves better. photos, snack...
to do

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MCVR13
MCVR13

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, very nice hike done in the opposite direction to the description to take advantage of the magnificent winter lights. The lighthouse is still being worked on, with a fine ballet of helicopters transporting the materials. I'm always happy to see these posidonia at Paragan, a sign of good water quality and real underwater life . What's more, this is where the white limestone of Bonifacio meets the red sandstone of the west coast.
Thanks for sharing

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Patbern69
Patbern69

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk with magnificent sea views. On the other hand, avoid the Paraguan beach, which is completely covered in decomposing algae. The walk is very accessible.

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Pascal188
Pascal188

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb

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Depdel1973
Depdel1973

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk with magnificent views of Bonifacio and the Fazzio islands. Note that access to the lighthouse is currently undergoing work. For those who don't want to take too long, don't go down to Paraguan: the beach is now covered in decaying posidonia.
A dip in the Catena cove 😍
Public car park 9.10

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