Harbour

Port de plaisance d'Aire-sur-la-Lys

3.8Rely, FranceOpal Coast and Bay of Somme

Maximum length: 59 ft
Maximum draught: 3 ft

Inland marina of 46 berths on the Canal de Neufossé, in Aire-sur-la-Lys, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Reached via the Canal de Neufossé between Saint-Omer and Béthune. Maximum draught 1.2 m. The route passes the Fontinettes boat lift at Arques 7.4 NM to the north-west and the Cuinchy lock chain to the south-east. Pass under fixed bridges with air draught around 3.5 m.

Practical

46 berths on recently refurbished wooden pontoons with water and electricity. A long jetty along the canal carries water points and a waste pump-out within easy reach; the water hoses run on a prepaid card. Capitainerie with showers and laundry. Free short stays commonly offered by the town. Bakery, supermarket and cafés within 500 m in Aire-sur-la-Lys town centre.

Ashore

Collégiale Saint-Pierre, a late Gothic church rebuilt from the 15th century, stands 600 m from the port. Grand-Place with the 18th century Bailliage, a small stone building listed as a historic monument, at 700 m. Towpath of the Canal de Neufossé offers flat cycling to Saint-Omer and the Audomarois marshland 14 km north.

History

Aire-sur-la-Lys was a fortified border town rebuilt several times under Spanish, then French rule after the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. Vauban reinforced the bastions in the 1670s. The Canal de Neufossé, dug from the 18th century, linked the Lys basin to the Aa and allowed barge traffic toward Dunkirk.