Le Boulonnais
Le Portel beach
1.5 km of sand between two forts, below the Mont de Couppes
The essentials
- Water quality
How this rating is calculated
The regional health agency samples the water several times a season and measures two faecal bacteria: Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci.
The rating isn’t based on a single sample, but on all the results from the last four seasons. It’s recalculated every year and places the beach into one of four levels, from poor to excellent, based on the share of results that exceed European thresholds.
The upshot: a beach rated excellent can be closed on a stormy day, and a poorly rated beach can have perfect water today. The rating shows the trend, not today’s weather.
Sufficient
- Monitored bathing
Health monitoring and supervision
This is the period declared by the local council during which the regional health agency tests the water.
This isn’t the period of lifeguard supervision, which is down to the local council and is often shorter. Check with the town hall before relying on it.
- From 15 June to 15 September
- The sand
- Sable fin
- Dogs
- Off the lead beyond the barriers and the hoverport. Banned on the main beach and the lower promenade from 1 May to 30 September.Council order on record; the signs on site have the final say.
Le Portel beach: what you need to know
A mile-long beach of fine sand, where lovers of nature and sporty activities meet.
Give in to the various trails on offer, especially the climb up the Mont de Couppes, which rewards you with a remarkable panorama over Le Portel beach.
- 1.5 km of sand
- Mont de Couppes
- Fort d'Alprech
- Customs officers' path
Can you swim in Le Portel?
The regional health agency monitors this beach under the code FRE1262667M062170. It’s rated sufficient water quality over the last four seasons of testing.
6 closures or pollution incidents were reported during the last monitored season. These are one-off events, often linked to storms: after heavy rain, it’s best to wait a day or two.
Data: Ministry of Health, under Open Licence. Full details of the site are in its bathing water profile.
Our 3 restaurants
Where to eat near the beach of Le Portel?
Our favourite
To eat with your feet in the sand
Brasserie La Plage
Quai de la Vierge, on the seafront, facing the beach.
37 quai de la Vierge, Le Portel
For a table in the centre
Le Flobart
Boulevard Pasteur, Le Portel's main street, a few minutes from the sea wall.
12 boulevard Pasteur, Le Portel
To stay on the quays
Le Spot
Quai de la Violette, on the harbour and promenade side.
21 quai de la Violette, Le Portel
Our 3 places to stay
Where to stay near the beach of Le Portel?
Our favourite
For the view over the Strait of Dover
Nausicaá Fenêtre sur mer
A sea-facing address, ten minutes from Nausicaá and central Boulogne.
Rental · Le Portel
For a family house
Maison à la plage
Close to the seafront, for a multi-day stay without getting back in the car.
Rental · Le Portel
For the simplicity of a hotel
César Hôtel
A hotel address in Le Portel, handy as a cheaper base than Boulogne.
Hotel · Le Portel
After the beach
Worth visiting nearby
In the same area
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