Best anchorages and harbours in Atlantic coast

Port de Penerf

Tidal harbour of 110 berths on the Penerf river estuary in southern Morbihan, Brittany, serving the village of Damgan.

Anse du Saillant

Mud-bottom anchorage on the east side of Île d'Aix in Charente-Maritime, inside the Pertuis d'Antioche.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Anse Gavy

Buoy mooring on the Saint-Nazaire side of the Loire estuary, near the Pointe de Chémoulin.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Mouillage près du port d’Arzal

Anchorage on the Vilaine river, just downstream of the Arzal-Camoël dam and lock at the head of the Vilaine estuary in Morbihan.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Plage de la Chambrette

Anchorage off the sandy Chambrette beach at the tip of the Médoc peninsula, inside the Gironde estuary mouth near Le Verdon-sur-Mer.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Entree Port De Jard Sur Mer

Anchorage off the entrance to Jard-sur-Mer harbour, southern Vendée coast, sand bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Boucau near Bayonne

Estuary area at the mouth of the Adour between Boucau and Anglet, near Bayonne. Anchoring is prohibited in the navigable channel used by commercial traffic.

• Sheltered NE, W, E, SE

Ile Verte

Anchorage in the Gironde estuary off the Île Verte, a wooded island on the right bank between Blaye and Bourg, about 35 NM upstream from Royan.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SW, W

Pointe de Hautebelle

Anchorage on the north shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon, between Claouey and Andernos-les-Bains, mud bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Île du Pilier Nord

Anchorage on the north side of Île du Pilier, a small rocky island off Noirmoutier, 2.7 NM west of L'Herbaudière.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Port Des Callonges

Small tidal harbour on the right bank of the Gironde estuary, in the Saintonge marshes north of the Medoc, drying to soft mud at low water.

Cale De Vielle Roche

Mooring buoys on the Vilaine estuary just upstream of the Arzal dam, mud bottom with shelter on most points of the compass.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Maubuisson

Anchorage on the east shore of Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans, the largest natural freshwater lake in France, in the Médoc.

• Free
• Sheltered S, SW, W, NW

Port de Goulée

Tidal creek port on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, commune of Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac, northern Médoc.

Île de Patiras

Estuary anchorage in New Aquitaine, 0.9 nm W of Port de la Belle Étoile, mud bottom, sheltered from the south.

• Sheltered S

Kercabellec

Drying harbour on the Mesquer estuary, in the salt-marsh hinterland of Mesquer, Loire-Atlantique.

la Pointe aux chevaux

Anchorage on the western shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon between Claouey and Le Canon, on the Cap-Ferret peninsula, sand bottom, sheltered from N, W and NW winds.

• Sheltered N, W, NW

Mimizan

River port on the Courant de Mimizan, between the Atlantic beach and the Etang d'Aureilhan, in the Landes forest of New Aquitaine.

Roches du repos

Rock anchorage off the Vendée coast, south of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, open to the Atlantic swell.

• Free
• Sheltered N, NE, E

Port-des-Barques

Mooring on buoys off Port-des-Barques in the Charente estuary, Charente-Maritime, 4 berths on sand.

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

Châtelaillon - Plage

Anchorage off Châtelaillon-Plage on the Pertuis d'Antioche, south of La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Lac d'Hourtin - Piqueyrot

Sand-bottom anchorage on the eastern shore of the lac d'Hourtin-Carcans, Gironde, the largest natural freshwater lake in France at around 6,200 hectares.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, SE, S, SW, W, NW

Pointe de Manson

Buoy mooring with 2 berths off the Pointe de Manson on Île d'Oléron, sand bottom, sheltered from W through SW, open to the E across the Pertuis de Maumusson.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Fouras - La Fumée

Anchorage off the Pointe de la Fumée at Fouras, Charente estuary, facing the Île d'Aix and the approaches to Rochefort.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Port De Goisil

Drying tidal harbour on the north shore of the Ile de Re, between Loix and Saint-Martin-de-Re, in the Fier d'Ars.

Comberge

Small drying harbour on the south coast of the Pays de la Loire, between Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef and Pornic, a short hop from the Île du Pilier anchorages.

Damgan plage

Visitor buoys off the plage de Damgan in the Morbihan, south Brittany, on mud holding.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Vert Bois

Anchorage on the west coast of the Île d'Oléron, off the Vert Bois beach and the Saint-Trojan forest, Charente-Maritime.

• Sheltered NE, E

Arcachon

Marina of 2 600 berths at the south edge of the Arcachon basin in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the largest pleasure port on the French Atlantic coast.

Merquel

Small buoy field off the Pointe de Merquel at Mesquer, Loire-Atlantique, north of the Traict de Mesquer salt marshes.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S