France · Pyrénées-Orientales
Plage Des 3 Colonnes
Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Right now
Sample dataIllustrative conditions — the live Open-Meteo marine feed wasn't reachable, so these are deterministic placeholder values that will be replaced automatically once the feed is available.
7-day outlook
Sample dataModeled placeholder forecast for demonstration — will be replaced by a live marine-weather feed.
Sea temperature
Next 7 days, °C
Wave height
Next 7 days, metres
View as table
| Day | Sea temp (°C) | Wave height (m) |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 2 | 23.3 | 0.3 |
| Thu 3 | 23.7 | 0.3 |
| Fri 4 | 23.7 | 0.3 |
| Sat 5 | 23.3 | 0.3 |
| Sun 6 | 22.8 | 0.3 |
| Mon 7 | 22.6 | 0.3 |
| Tue 8 | 22.8 | 0.3 |
Water quality history
Official EEA classification, one rating per bathing season, 2015–2025 — real data reported by national authorities.
- 2015: Excellent2015
- 2016: Excellent2016
- 2017: Excellent2017
- 2018: Excellent2018
- 2019: Excellent2019
- 2020: Excellent2020
- 2021: Excellent2021
- 2022: Excellent2022
- 2023: Excellent2023
- 2024: Excellent2024
- 2025: Excellent2025
Excellent in the most recent season, and 11 of 11 classified years rated Excellent or Good.
- Excellent
- Good
- Sufficient
- Poor
- Not classified
View as table
| Year | Classification |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Excellent |
| 2016 | Excellent |
| 2017 | Excellent |
| 2018 | Excellent |
| 2019 | Excellent |
| 2020 | Excellent |
| 2021 | Excellent |
| 2022 | Excellent |
| 2023 | Excellent |
| 2024 | Excellent |
| 2025 | Excellent |
Typical sea temperature by month
Modeled estimatePlausible seasonal climatology derived from latitude, for illustration — not a measured average.
Monthly sea temperature
Typical range across the year, °C
View as table
| Month | Typical sea temp (°C) |
|---|---|
| Jan | 16 |
| Feb | 15 |
| Mar | 16 |
| Apr | 18 |
| May | 20 |
| Jun | 23 |
| Jul | 25 |
| Aug | 26 |
| Sep | 25 |
| Oct | 23 |
| Nov | 20 |
| Dec | 18 |
Location & nearby beaches
Nearby beaches
- Plage Du Lido (Barcares)1.2 kmPyrénées-Orientales
- Plage Du Lydia1.3 kmPyrénées-Orientales
- Copacabana2.5 kmAude
- Plage Digue Sud Du Port (P6)2.6 kmPyrénées-Orientales
Distances calculated as straight-line (haversine) from official coordinates.
Getting there & around
- By car: there's parking about ~650 m from the beach.
- Bus stop: Lido (Le Barcarès), about ~660 m away.
Food, stays & town
- Nearest village: Le Barcarès, about ~2.5 km away.
- 1 place to eat within 1 km Closest is Bar le Graffiti, about ~570 m away.
- 3 places to stay mapped nearby Closest is Le Sable d'Or, about ~880 m away.
- 1 shop nearby, about ~1.4 km away
What kind of beach is this?
This beach belongs to a small coastal village. It's usually calmer than a resort or town beach, though a popular village spot can still fill up on the best summer days.
Estimated from OpenStreetMap surroundings data (ODbL).
Is the water clean at Plage Des 3 Colonnes?
Thinking of swimming at Plage Des 3 Colonnes? The short answer: its official EU Bathing Water rating for 2025 is Excellent — the highest official classification under the EU bathing-water assessment. That rating is set once a year under the EU Bathing Water Directive, from a full season of testing for intestinal enterococci and E. coli reported to the European Environment Agency the following spring, so the 2025 season's grade appeared in spring 2026 and the 2026 season won't be graded until spring 2027. In addition to that yearly rating, some national authorities — for Croatia, the national environmental authority — publish individual water sample results during the season itself, ahead of the annual report. It's been a consistently reliable spot too — the rating has held at Excellent for 11 straight years. There's parking about ~650 m from the beach.
Looking to avoid the busiest weeks? The water is typically warmest around August, with the most reliable swimming window running July–September; outside that stretch you'll find a cooler sea but a quieter beach. That rating has been consistent: every one of the 11 classified seasons on record has come back Excellent or Good. The nearest town, Le Barcarès, is about ~2.5 km away.
Worth remembering: “Excellent” isn't a live reading, it's an annual grade — Excellent, Good, Sufficient or Poor — set once a year from that season's water samples and describing the average, not this afternoon's conditions. For what the sea is doing right now, check the “Right now” panel and 7-day outlook above. It sits in Pyrénées-Orientales. There's 1 place to eat near the beach — Bar le Graffiti, about ~570 m away.
Frequently asked questions
Should you swim at Plage Des 3 Colonnes?
Plage Des 3 Colonnes is rated Excellent for 2025 — the top EU Bathing Water classification — with 11 of 11 classified seasons rating Excellent or Good, so yes. It's also held steady at Excellent for 11 straight years.
What temperature is the sea at Plage Des 3 Colonnes right now?
For Plage Des 3 Colonnes, the ~23°C figure above is a stand-in value, not a live reading — the marine-weather feed was unreachable when the page last built, and it'll swap in automatically once the feed responds again. That's the reading right off Pyrénées-Orientales. On the modeled climatology here, August usually runs warmest.
When should you plan a swimming trip to Plage Des 3 Colonnes?
For the warmest water, aim for July–September — that's when the modeled sea temperature is typically at its best. That applies to the water around Pyrénées-Orientales. Within that window, August is typically the single warmest month.
Where does the water quality rating come from?
Once a year, national authorities report a full season of testing for intestinal enterococci and E. coli to the European Environment Agency, which grades the season Excellent, Good, Sufficient or Poor under the EU Bathing Water Directive. A handful of countries, including Croatia via IZOR, also publish individual in-season samples ahead of that report — Plage Des 3 Colonnes doesn't have that feed set up yet.
What's nearby Plage Des 3 Colonnes — parking, buses, or a ferry?
By car, there's parking about ~650 m from the beach. By bus, the nearest stop is Lido (Le Barcarès), about ~660 m away. The nearest town is Le Barcarès, about ~2.5 km away.