Anchorage

Plage De La Darse

Shelter: NW, N, W, SW
Seabed: sand, algae
Anchoring: Forbidden

Buoy field of 21 moorings off Plage de la Darse in Villefranche-sur-Mer, in the western arm of the Rade de Villefranche, on the Côte d'Azur.

Mooring buoys
Visitor buoys
Beach
Seagrass

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach through the Rade de Villefranche from the south. Sand and posidonia bottom, the buoys installed to protect the seagrass meadow, a Natura 2000 habitat. The buoys were renewed in the winter of 2022 and are picked up bow and stern, about twenty pairs aligned with the opening of the bay. An abandoned anchor chain lies on the bottom on one side of the field, opposite a small beach and restaurant, and can foul an anchor, so motor it up rather than drag. Anchoring outside the buoys is on rocky scree in 10 to 20 metres and only sound in good weather or light westerlies. Sheltered from NW, N, W and SW, exposed to easterly swell, with a slight roll at night when the wind turns into the cove.

Practical

The mooring costs about 48 euros for the night, which covers a full 24 hours, with no service on the buoy and management by a private operator; the surrounding ports run under 40 euros with services. The office is not always staffed. Port de la Darse immediately to the N at 0.2 NM for services and tender landing. Villefranche-Sante at 0.5 NM to the N for provisioning.

Ashore

Old town of Villefranche-sur-Mer reached on foot along the quay. Chapelle Saint-Pierre decorated by Jean Cocteau in 1957 on the main port. Citadelle Saint-Elme, a 16th-century fortress built under the Duchy of Savoy, houses three municipal museums.