Le Havre's beach is long, sandy, and frankly underused — most visitors don't realise it's there. It stretches nearly two kilometres north from the port entrance toward Sainte-Adresse, backed by a wide promenade. The sea is cold by Mediterranean standards but the beach is clean and never crushingly crowded. From the waterfront you get one of the best views of the Pont de Normandie, the elegant cable-stayed bridge that crosses the Seine estuary to the south.
The yachting harbour at the southern end of the beach has 1,300 mooring spaces and is freely accessible — a good spot to watch the coming and going of vessels in one of Europe's busiest ports.