It may not be the best place to swim (head to Port Fouad for this), but Port Said beach on the north of the city is a great place to go for a stroll. Stretching from the canal for a fair few kilometres, the beach is usually full of activity and has a great atmosphere. At pretty much all times of the day you can see couples walking along the beach, families and friends having barbeques, mothers attentively watching over their kids as they jump into the waves, vendors selling street food, large groups playing football, children going on horse rides, locals putting on acrobatic shows for tips and joggers on their daily workout trying to not bump into everyone mentioned above.
While there are plenty of cafes and restaurants lining the beach, there are also several street food vendors that stroll up and down the beach. We got some candyfloss from this guy (above) and unfortunately didn't get to try anything else. However, my wife insists that I have to try the other classic beach snacks that are on offer, and that is what I'll be doing on my next trip!
Along the beach, there are plenty of small wooden fishing boats and nets, which oftentimes are surrounded by cats eager to find some leftover fish from the day's catch. The sea also coughs up plenty of interesting seashells, which are fun to search through in the aim of finding the perfect souvenir. If you're looking for a bit more excitement, or if you have kids, there are also plenty of small carnival rides on the adjacent boardwalk, along with small bicycles for children to rent.
I'd recommend heading to the beach any time of day, but it's especially relaxing and beautiful at sunset. It's great for a little stroll in and of itself, but it can also be part of a wider walking tour of Port Said. After strolling along the corniche boardwalk to the De Lesseps plinth, you can easily join up with the beach and continue your walk, ending up at either the Port Said Military Museum or a good fish restaurant along the beach (We'd recommend Al- Kastan for this). Likewise, if you're hoping on heading the other way towards downtown Port Said, it's a scenic way to get to the other side of the city while avoiding as much traffic as possible.
Also, for those of you looking for somewhere for a morning jog, especially those of you from Cairo, running up and down the beach is certainly worth it. Although, it makes returning back to your morning jogs in Cairo pretty hard, as I found out the hard way.