Best anchorages and harbours in France

Rivière de Penzė

Ria mooring on the Penzé river west of Roscoff, sheltered in all directions except the north quadrant.

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

Anse des Broches

North-facing cove on the Île d'Yeu, Vendée, west of Port-Joinville.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Bodic

Anchorage on the Trieux estuary in northern Brittany, just downstream of Lézardrieux, off the Bodic lighthouse.

• Sheltered NW, W, E, SW, S, SE

Côte d'Heno

Anchorage on the northeast coast of Île de Groix, off Port-Tudy, sand bottom.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Goyave

Anchorage off Goyave on the east coast of Basse-Terre, in the Petit Cul-de-Sac Marin, sand and weed bottom.

• Sheltered NW, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Île des Poulains

Anchorage off the Pointe des Poulains at the north-west tip of Belle-Île-en-Mer, on sand and rock.

• Sheltered SW, S

Le Robert

Anchorage off Le Robert town, in the western part of Le Robert harbour on the Atlantic coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Marina Vizza

Rocky anchorage on the south-east coast of Corsica near Porto-Vecchio, sheltered from the south-west sector and open to the east.

• Sheltered S, SW, W

Pointe de la Parata

Open anchorage off the Sanguinaires archipelago west of Ajaccio, sand bottom, exposed to easterly winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Anse de Camfrout

Anchorage in the Aulne estuary, rade de Brest, off the village of Le Faou and the entrance of the rivière du Faou.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Anse de Stole

Sandy anchorage off Lomener, on the Morbihan coast between Lorient and Plœmeur in southern Brittany.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Anse du Creux Saint-Georges

Small sand cove on the north side of the Saint-Mandrier peninsula, inside the Petite Rade de Toulon.

• Free
• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W

Baie de Palombaggia

Open anchorage off the Palombaggia beach, south of Porto-Vecchio in south-east Corsica. Sand and rock bottom, protected from the north-west sector.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Penn vale

Sand-bottom anchorage on the north coast of Brittany in the Côtes-d'Armor, in the waters off Penvénan and the Port-Blanc archipelago.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Saint Jouin-Bruneval

Open anchorage off the chalk cliffs of Saint-Jouin-Bruneval in Seine-Maritime, sand bottom, just south of the Antifer oil terminal.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Aneret

Anchorage on the southern side of the Chausey archipelago, 8.3 NM west of Granville in the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW

Anse Foucault

Cove on the west coast of Martinique, 0.85 miles south of the Anses-d'Arlet bourg, north-west of Morne Larcher. Weed and mud bottom, sheltered from north-east through east to south-east.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Anse Pommelin

Anchorage on the west side of the Trieux estuary in the Côtes-d'Armor, sand and mud bottom, sheltered from west and south, open to the east.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Golfe de Monacchi

Anchorage on the west coast of Corsica between Cargèse and Sagone, sand bottom, sheltered from N through SE.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Île de Jarre

Uninhabited island south-east of Marseille, inside the Calanques national park, with a sand anchorage on its northern side protected from southerly winds.

• Sheltered SE, S

Les Trois Tourtes

Anchorage on the Odet river in Finistère, mud bottom, sheltered from all sectors except S.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, SW, W, NW

Plage de Kergalec

Anchorage off plage de Kergalec in the rade de Brest, Brittany, mud bottom, sheltered from NW, N, NE, W and E winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Plage du Béniguet

Sandy anchorage off the north-west coast of Île de Houat, in the Mor Bras between Quiberon and Belle-Île.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Sainte-Elme

Anchorage off Saint-Elme in the rade de Toulon, Provence, sand bottom, sheltered from N and NE.

• Sheltered N, NE

San't Ambrogio

Bay on the Balagne coast east of Algajola, next to Port Eugène Ceccaldi and the resort of Sant'Ambrogio.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW

Les Evens

Open anchorage on sand off the Côte d'Amour between Pornichet and La Baule, Loire-Atlantique.

Plage de la Madrague

Anchorage off the western shore of the Giens peninsula, near Hyères, on a sand and weed bottom.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Plage des Éléphants

Sandy anchorage off the Issambres coast between Saint-Aygulf and Sainte-Maxime, in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Punta De l'Ocell

Rocky anchorage on the Côte Vermeille, immediately south of Cerbère and just north of the Spanish border at Cap Cerbère.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Puntalle

Sand anchorage 2.5 NM NW of Saint-Florent on the southern edge of the Agriates, tucked behind a low rocky point that blocks swell from the main sector of winds.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE