Best anchorages and harbours in Atlantic coast

Le Gourcq

Sand-bottom anchorage in New Aquitaine, sheltered from N, SW, W and NW, off the Cazaux lake shoreline.

• Sheltered N, SW, W, NW

Port Joinville - Île d'Yeu

Main harbour of the Île d'Yeu on the north coast of the island, 648 berths, maximum draught 3 m, 13 nautical miles from the mainland at Fromentine.

Ars-en-Ré - Bassin de la Criée

Tidal marina on the north shore of the Île de Ré, inside the Fier d'Ars lagoon, 550 berths, maximum draught 2 m.

Château D Oleron

Tidal harbour of 200 berths on the eastern coast of Oleron island, facing the Brouage marshes in Charente-Maritime.

Quai Garnier

Town-quay pontoons on the Chaume side of the Les Sables-d'Olonne channel, 120 berths, maximum draught 1.5 m.

La Rochelle before marina

Waiting anchorage west of the Port des Minimes entrance in La Rochelle, used before lock openings or when berths are full.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SE

Anse de l’Iboga

Sand anchorage in the Gironde estuary near the Pointe de Grave, close to the northern tip of the Médoc peninsula.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Ponton Cité du Vin, Bordeaux

River pontoon on the Garonne at the foot of the Cité du Vin building in Bordeaux, used by river shuttles and visiting yachts waiting for the lock.

Plages des Anneries

Shallow beach anchorage on the north coast of the Île de Ré, east of the Pointe du Grouin, in New Aquitaine.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Anse de la Maleconche

Sandy anchorage on the north-east coast of Île d'Oléron, 1.2 nm east of Le Douhet harbour.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Pointe du Chatelet

Anchorage off the northwest tip of the Ile d'Yeu, near the Grand Phare and the wild Cote Sauvage.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Bonne Anse

Tidal bay on the northern side of the Gironde estuary mouth, between Pointe de la Coubre and La Palmyre.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SW, W, NW

Le Canon

Anchorage off the village of Le Canon on the north shore of Arcachon Bay, on the Cap Ferret peninsula.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Baby Plage

Anchorage off Baby Plage on the Île de Ré, in the Pertuis d'Antioche, Charente-Maritime.

• Free
• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Chatressac

Oyster port of 60 berths on a tidal creek of the Seudre estuary, commune of Chaillevette in Charente-Maritime.

Pointe de Mindin

Anchorage in the Loire estuary, on the south bank at Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, opposite Saint-Nazaire.

• Free
• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Les Sables d'Olonne - Port Olona

Non-tidal marina in Les Sables-d'Olonne, 1400 berths, maximum draught 5 m, starting harbour of the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race.

Lac d'Hourtin

Anchorage on Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans in the Médoc, France's largest natural freshwater lake at around 62 km2, west of the Gironde vineyards.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Plateau Cordouan

Sandbank anchorage around the Cordouan lighthouse, at the mouth of the Gironde estuary between Le Verdon and the Pointe de Grave, New Aquitaine.

Plage des Souzeaux - Anse Rouge

Anchorage on the north coast of Noirmoutier island, between the Souzeaux beach and the Plantier point, with around 200 moorings on mud bottom.

• Paid
• Sheltered SW, S

Baie du chapus

Shallow mud anchorage in the channel between the mainland at Bourcefranc-le-Chapus and the south-east coast of Île d'Oléron, crossed by the viaduct to Oléron.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Le Mimbeau

Sand-spit anchorage at the tip of Cap Ferret, inside the Bassin d'Arcachon, largely drying at low water, with sand holding and shelter from W, NW and SW winds.

• Free
• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Baie De Saint Jean De Luz

Anchorage of around 15 berths on sand inside the Baie de Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, protected by three seawalls built between 1864 and 1895.

• Paid
• Sheltered NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Port des Gaves Réunis

Tidal river port at Peyrehorade, Landes, at the confluence of the Gave de Pau and the Gave d'Oloron, about 30 km upstream from the Adour estuary at Bayonne.

la Plage des Américains

Sand anchorage on the east shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon, north of the Cap Ferret peninsula, opposite the village of Le Canon.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Rade de Saint-Martin

Roadstead off Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Île de Ré in Charente-Maritime. Anchoring prohibited in the marked zones of the harbour approach.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Baie de Loia

Anchorage in the Bay of Txingudi on the Franco-Spanish border, opposite Hendaye, with a mixed rock and sand bottom.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW

Piriac-sur-Mer

Marina on the presqu'île guérandaise north of La Turballe, 830 berths behind a breakwater, in a village labelled Petite Cité de Caractère.

Île du Pilier

Anchorage off the Île du Pilier, a small granite island northwest of Noirmoutier in the Bay of Biscay.

• Sheltered W, SW

Bahía de Chingudi

Estuary on the Franco-Spanish border at the mouth of the Bidassoa, shared between Hendaye, Hondarribia and Irun.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W