Monaco – Roquebrune – Mont Gros

Few launches on Earth deliver a view like Mont Gros. From a carpeted take-off at 674 m above Roquebrune, you glide out over the rooftops, harbour and swimming pools of Monaco and set up for a landing on the beach — quite possibly with an audience at the seaside café. It is as glamorous as free flight gets, and it is regulated accordingly: a local by-law reserves the site for pilots aged 16+ holding at least IPPI 4 / ParaPro 4 (school students may fly with two official instructors), with mini-wings forbidden and wing loading capped at 5 kg/m². The site is fully open from mid-November to the end of April, with restricted windows in the warmer months.

Launch & conditions

The carpeted launch faces the sea and works on easterly through southwesterly flow. The aerology is classic Riviera sea-breeze: pleasant in moderation, but the beach landing turns turbulent in an easterly — and if there are whitecaps on the sea, it is too windy to launch at all.

Getting there & local rules

Leave the A8 at La Turbie and follow signs for the Monte-Carlo golf club, turning right at the radio antennas — but parking is only ~10 spaces, so most pilots use the official paragliding shuttle (Line G) from near the train station by the landing; it must be activated by phone at least two hours ahead and does not run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Hiking back up from the beach takes about 1 h 20. Respect the landing rules to the letter — this site exists thanks to a delicate local agreement.

Check conditions before you fly

A forecast for the valley is not a forecast for the launch. Before heading to Monaco – Roquebrune – Mont Gros, read the wind and thermals for the site itself, confirm the day's rules with the local club, and remember the standing rule — when in doubt, don't launch. In the free OutDare app you can open Monaco – Roquebrune – Mont Gros with a 7-day forecast built from high-resolution weather models, see who else has been flying, and get there with offline maps.