Port

La Ciotat - Port vieux

3.4La Ciotat, FranceMarseille and the Calanques

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Maximum length: 147 ft
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 26 ft

Historic harbour of 700 berths in the heart of La Ciotat, at the foot of the former shipyards now converted into a superyacht refit centre.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the south or southwest across the bay of La Ciotat, in open water. Entrance on the east side of the old port, marked by red and green lights. Maximum draught 8 m, one of the deepest harbour approaches on the Provençal coast. VHF channel 9, asking for the Vieux Port to distinguish it from the neighbouring Nouveau Port; calls are not always answered, so phone the office if needed. Advance booking is not available.

Practical

700 berths on pontoons and along the quay, with water and shore power; a fuel station with petrol and diesel lies in the same basin. There is no marina Wi-Fi. The sanitary blocks, refitted in 2026, are now opened through a smartphone app with a Bluetooth lock, and showers are timed to about 7 minutes for a fee, a system many find awkward without a data connection. The adjacent La Ciotat Shipyards specialises in the refit of yachts above 40 m and operates Europe's largest travel lift at 4 300 tonnes.

Ashore

Old town of La Ciotat with shops and restaurants around the port, and a Sunday morning market that fills the whole quayside promenade. Eden Theatre on the quay, the oldest working cinema in the world, opened in 1889 and restored in 2013. Calanques of Figuerolles and Mugel accessible on foot within 2 km.

History

La Ciotat was an active shipbuilding port from the 17th century. Its yards built passenger liners and tankers into the 1980s before closing in 1989. The site was converted for megayacht refit in the 2000s and remains one of the main such centres in the Mediterranean.