Anchorage

Villefranche-sur-Saône

2.2France

Shelter: NE, E, SE
Seabed: algae, mud
Anchoring: Allowed

River mooring on the Saône in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, on the left bank opposite the town of Villefranche-sur-Saône.

Water
Electricity
Pontoon
Dock

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach on the Saône under Villefranche, watching for commercial barge traffic on the navigable channel. Bottom is mud and weed, holding acceptable once through the algae layer. Sheltered from W winds by the river banks, exposed from the NE, E and SE.

Practical

Water and electricity on the pontoon, drawn through a QR-code reader that does not always work. The pontoon is T-shaped, so lie on the inside or the outside according to draught; a boat of 1.6 m reached the dock without trouble. A restaurant stands beside the pontoon. Trévoux lies 3 nm downstream to the south, the former Port Bernalin lock site 5.1 nm SE.

Ashore

Villefranche town centre is a 15-minute walk across the bridge. Rue Nationale is the main shopping street with listed Renaissance courtyards of the 16th century. Beaujolais vineyards begin on the hills immediately west of the town, with cellar visits in the villages of the Pierres Dorées.