Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio: Pointe de la Parata to Petit Capo

The Sentier des Douaniers (Customs Officers’ Path) in Ajaccio is undoubtedly one of the best walks in the capital of Corsica. Starting from the car park at Pointe de la Parata, the coastal trail takes you to a small yet sublime beach called Plage de Sevani (AKA Petit Capo). Just north of it, you’ll find another beach called Plage du Grand Capo (Grand Capo). Together, these two beaches form Capo di Feno (Plage de Capo di Feno).

In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about doing the Sentier des Douaniers in Ajaccio. We’ll also tell you about our experience of doing this walk, which actually involved exploring Pointe de la Parata beforehand. Pointe de la Parata is a spectacular headland, featuring a Genoese tower (Tour de la Parata) and offering views toward the Iles Sanguinaires (Sanguinaires Islands).

FYI – throughout the guide, we’ll use ‘Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio’ as the name of the walk. That’s because there are numerous paths called ‘Sentier des Douaniers’ across France. Just to be clear, this guide is talking about the Sentier des Douaniers in Ajaccio!

Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio (Customs Officers’ Path)

In English, Sentier des Douaniers translates to Customs Officers’ Path. Historically, the trail was used by customs officers to patrol the coastline and protect it against smuggling. This practice likely occurred during the Genoese rule in late medieval and early modern times.

Today, the Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio is a popular coastal trail that offers stunning natural scenery to visitors and locals alike.

During our stay in Ajaccio, Beck and I completed this walk and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Below, we’ll look at the trail stats related to this coastal walk.

Trail Specs

• Type: Out and Back
• Distance: 7.6km
• Time: 2–2.5 hours
• Accumulated elevation gain: 200m
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Trailhead: Parking Area
• Map: AllTrails

We’ve rated the difficulty of this walk as moderate due to its fair distance, rocky trail surface and relatively challenging accumulated elevation gain. Despite this difficulty rating, we’re confident that even beginner hikers can manage this walk.

Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio Map

Trail navigation for this walk is quite simple. Just in case, though, we recommend having this AllTrails map saved, downloaded and ready to go.

How to Get There

It’s possible to get public transport from Ajaccio to Pointe de la Parata. From Ajaccio, the L5 bus takes around 30 minutes. Frequency is usually every 30 minutes. Check local bus timetables before setting off.

Personally, Beck and I hired a car during our trip to Corsica. So, we simply drove from our accommodation in Ajaccio to Pointe de la Parata.

To find out more about renting a car with Discover Cars, read our Discover Cars review and Discover Cars Insurance review.

Parking

There is plenty of parking at Pointe de la Parata. This is where Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio starts.

Parking location: Google Maps

Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio: Our Experience

Here, we’ll talk about our experience doing this walk. As mentioned, the walk starts from the car park of Pointe de la Parata. Technically speaking, Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio doesn’t include exploring Pointe de la Parata itself. You actually park at the headland’s car park, but then head north of it.

Before we completed Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio, we decided to explore Pointe de la Parata. After all, the headland is beautiful in its own right!

The best way to explore the headland is to do a circular walk around it. Essentially, we completed this 4km circular walk, all before setting off to complete Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio.

So, our adventure started at Pointe de la Parata!

Pointe de la Parata

From the car park, we headed to the peak of Pointe de la Parata. From there, you’ll enjoy exquisite views of both Tour de la Parata and Iles Sanguinaires further in the distance.

Having set off bright and early, Beck and I luckily arrived at the top before anyone else had arrived. We took the opportunity to fly our drone to take some aerial photography. At the same time, we captured some droolwrothy video footage, which you can check out in our Corisca Walks YouTube video (coming soon).

After spending ample time at this vantage point, we retraced our steps and rejoined the figure-8 loop, walking it anticlockwise. If you follow in our footsteps, you’ll then walk north of the peak, where you can enjoy sensational northward views, overlooking Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio.

Tour de la Parata

Once you pass the initial peak of the headland, the trail descends onto a narrow sliver of land. This leads you towards Tour de la Parata (Parata Tower), a Geonese tower, dating back to the 16th Century.

At the time of writing, similar to the Genoese tower on Capu di Muru, Tour de la Parata is currently closed for renovation. Given its closure, Beck and I simply walked around it, marvelling at its rather precarious position on top of the peninsula’s distal peak.

After going around the tower, we continued walking along a paved road back to the car park, enjoying splendid views of Ajaccio along the way.

Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio

Once we completed the circular walk around Pointe de la Parata, we started Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio. Right from the get-go, the winding and undulating seaside trail offers glorious views of the coast.

Along this sometimes rocky and uneven trail, you’ll walk amongst pockets of low-lying yet dense shrubland. Having visited in May, Beck and I enjoyed wildflowers galore along the trail.

Capo di Feno (Plage de Capo di Feno)

After gaining a fair amount of elevation, you’ll begin to set your eye on Capo di Feno. Not to be confused with Capo di Feno in Bonifacio, Capo di Feno (AKA Plage de Capo di Feno) in Ajaccio refers to two beaches. These include Plage de Sevani (Petit Capo) to the south and Plage du Grand Capo (Grand Capo) to the north.

Plage de Sevani (Petit Capo)

As mentioned, Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio technically finishes at Plage de Sevani (AKA Plage du Petit Capo). Commonly known as Petit Capo, it’s the smaller of the two beaches that make up Capo di Feno.

From the rocky southern end of the beach, you’ll enjoy sweeping views of the beach and the green hills in the distance.

If you’ve packed your swimsuit, this is the perfect time for a dip, before you return to Pointe de la Parata to complete the walk.

Of course, you may also want to explore a bit further north to check out another beach!

Plage du Grand Capo (Grand Capo)

Beyond the northern headland of Petit Capo, you’ll arrive at Plage du Grand Capo, which is known as Grand Capo. As the name suggests, this beach is much larger than Petit Capo, stretching approx. 1km.

Grand Capo is one of the most highly rated beaches in the Ajaccio area and a top spot for surfing in Corsica. For sure, if you have the time and energy, we recommend extending your walk to check out this beach also.

Whether you turn around at Petit Capo or Grand Capo, you’ll then retrace your steps back to Pointe de la Parata to complete the walk.

Beck and I really enjoyed walking the Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio, but we also enjoyed the circular walk around Pointe de la Parata. If you have time, we highly recommend following in our footsteps and walking around the peninsula before or after completing Sentier des Douaniers Ajaccio.

If you’re really stretched for time, you may even opt to do the walk around Pointe de la Parata instead, given it’s a shorter walk that’s equally beautiful in terms of natural scenery.

Where to Stay in Ajaccio

We stayed in Ajaccio for two nights during our 10 day Corsica trip. Being the capital of Corsica, Ajaccio offers the widest range of accommodation options. Whether you’re looking for something budget, mid-range or luxurious, we’re sure you’ll find accommodation in Ajaccio that’ll suit your needs.