Nearby Saint-Laurent-du-Var 18 km · Saint-Aygulf 30 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
The east and northeast blows are synoptic. They run through the day and the night rather than switching on at an hour, so the forecast decides your session and not the clock. A thermal component is reported on lighter days, which would build through the afternoon; no local onset hours have been documented.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: The east and northeast blows are synoptic. They run through the day and the night rather than switching on at an hour, so the forecast decides your session and not the clock. A thermal component is reported on lighter days, which would build through the afternoon; no local onset hours have been documented.
Typical strength
Nothing is measured at the spot itself. The nearest airport station a few kilometres west averages 5 knots over the year with gusts to 14, an indicative figure that describes how much of the calendar is unrideable in this bay rather than what a session looks like. Riding here is the synoptic east and northeast blows, not the average day, and the east reads lighter on the beach than it is out on the water.
Thermal or synoptic
synoptic
The quiver, in words
No local size chart exists. Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider, derived from weight and wind rather than measured here: around 12 m when it is barely on at 14-16 knots, 9-10 m in an 18-22 knot easterly, 7 m once it is over 25. Size for what the water looks like 300 m out, not for what you feel standing on the tarmac, because the easterly is stronger off the beach than on it.
Direction to shore
Varies around the cape. NE is side-on; SW and W reportedly work if you walk upwind and launch on the cape side.
Dominant direction
NE, E, SE, S, SW, W all get ridden; E and NE are the ones the locals wait for.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan14
- Feb21
- Mar, riders' month47
- Apr, riders' month34
- May, riders' month13
- Jun16
- Jul11
- Aug10
- Sep, riders' month29
- Oct, riders' month19
- Nov, riders' month24
- Dec15
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 7Jan15°
- 8Feb14°
- 11Mar14°
- 10Apr16°
- 8May19°
- 8Jun23°
- 8Jul26°
- 8Aug27°
- 9Sep24°
- 8Oct21°
- 8Nov19°
- 7Dec16°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14% | 7.3 kt | WNW | 9.3°C | 14.9°C |
| Feb | 21% | 8 kt | ENE | 10.4°C | 14.3°C |
| Mar | 47% | 10.6 kt | ENE | 12.3°C | 14.4°C |
| Apr | 34% | 9.9 kt | ENE | 14.6°C | 15.8°C |
| May | 13% | 7.8 kt | E | 18.6°C | 19°C |
| Jun | 16% | 8.4 kt | E | 23.1°C | 22.9°C |
| Jul | 11% | 8.2 kt | E | 26.7°C | 26.2°C |
| Aug | 10% | 7.7 kt | E | 26.8°C | 27.4°C |
| Sep | 29% | 9 kt | ENE | 22°C | 24.4°C |
| Oct | 19% | 7.8 kt | NE | 19.1°C | 21.3°C |
| Nov | 24% | 7.9 kt | WNW | 13.4°C | 18.5°C |
| Dec | 15% | 6.9 kt | NW | 10.2°C | 16.3°C |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024
The water
Type
sea
Standing depth
No standing-depth area confirmed. There is a shallow bank with a break about 300 m out, but you launch from the edge of a car park, not a learner lagoon.
Tides
Tide is not a planning factor; the Mediterranean range here is about 20-40 cm.
Temperature
24°C summer · 13°C winter
Wetsuit
Summer: shorty, light top or boardshorts depending on wind chill; winter: full suit, typically 4/3 or warmer for long windy sessions. Cannes water peaks around 20-27 C in mid-August and falls to about 13 C in early March.
Currents
No tidal current to speak of. In a strong easterly there is current as well as waves, reportedly enough to matter.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
2 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: narrow
Somewhere else
Saint-Laurent-du-Var, 18 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
VHF 16
Launch
Launch from the reduced former heliport, the strip on the south side of the Palm Beach parking at the end of Cap de la Croisette. Parking fills early on a forecast day.
Space
narrow
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- On a forecast east day be there early: the parking and the launch strip both fill.
- Walk the south-side launch before you rig. The workable patch is small and it changes with where the cars are parked and where people are sitting.
- Do not make this your first solo Mediterranean session; if you must ride here, do it only on a day the locals on the beach call manageable.
- In SW or W, walk upwind to the cape side before launching, as the locals do; the angle changes the risk.
- Keep well clear of the anchored yachts and the wave breakers, and decide on your self-rescue line before you launch, because no rescue for independent riders has been confirmed.
- March to May and September to November are when the east wind shows up most often.
- No school is based on this launch. The nearest ones teach at Cannes-Mandelieu and Antibes, so there is nobody on this beach whose job is to come and get you.
- Save 196 in your phone before the trip; it is the maritime emergency number in France and it reaches the rescue centre that tasks the lifeboats.
- The east feels weaker on the sand than it is on the water. Rig for the outside, not for the launch.
- On a foil, expect to swim the board out through the stones before you can ride.
Getting there
Airport
Nice Cote d'Azur Airport
Route
By car: A8 exit 42 toward Cannes Centre, then along Boulevard de la Croisette to Palm Beach at the end of the cape. Buses and taxis get there too, and there is parking by the beach for as long as it lasts on a windy day.
Transfer
About 35-50 minutes by car from Nice Cote d'Azur Airport in normal traffic; actual time varies strongly with Cannes traffic.
Cost level
high
Staying
Stay in Cannes; hotels and rentals around Pointe Croisette put you next to the launch.
No-wind days
The Croisette and the town beaches, Le Suquet (old Cannes), the ferry out to the Iles de Lerins, a museum or a walk along the coast.
Photos
FAQ
Is Palm Beach Cannes suitable for beginners?
No; the launch is narrow and obstacle-heavy, and multiple sources call it not beginner-friendly, best treated as an intermediate-to-advanced urban session spot.
What is the wind like?
East and northeast wind are repeatedly highlighted as best quality, when the islands off Cannes shelter parts of the water and stronger conditions create ramps and swell.
When is the best time to visit?
March through May and September through November are the favored months, when synoptic east and northeast episodes are most likely.
Are there rules or restricted zones?
Kiteboarding is authorized year-round on the south side of the parking area, and the spot carries an FFVL label as the only beach in Cannes where kitesurfing is permitted.
What are the main hazards?
A very technical launch with lampposts, cars and street furniture close to kite lines, rocks, anchored yachts, and crowding on good east-wind days.
Last updated: August 2026