Best anchorages and harbours in France

Baie de l'Ours

Buoy mooring in the Baie de l'Ours on a Breton ria, mud bottom, well sheltered except from the south-east quadrant.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW, S

Baie de Lannion

Open bay on the north coast of Brittany between Trébeurden and Locquémeau, at the mouth of the Léguer estuary leading to Lannion.

• Sheltered SW

Baie de Nauzan

Small sandy cove between Saint-Palais-sur-Mer and Vaux-sur-Mer on the Côte de Beauté, at the mouth of the Gironde.

• Sheltered NE, E

Baie de Quervière

Sand-bottom anchorage on the north-west tip of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, between Goury and Port Racine.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W

Banc Arc

Sand bank at the entrance of the bassin d'Arcachon, classified as a réserve naturelle nationale since 1972.

Banc d'Agnas

Sand bank anchorage in the Pertuis de Maumusson area, off Île d'Oléron, 0.8 NM SE of Le Château-d'Oléron in Charente-Maritime.

Banc d'Arguin

Shifting sand bank at the mouth of Arcachon Bay, between the Cap Ferret spit and the Dune du Pilat.

• Sheltered E

Beach de Brevy

Anchorage off Brevy beach on the eastern tip of the Cotentin, between Barfleur and Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue in Normandy.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Beach Pors Rand

Anchorage off plage de Pors Rand on the north coast of Paimpol peninsula in Côtes-d'Armor, facing the Bréhat archipelago.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Beg Bran

Buoy mooring inside the Ria d'Etel in south Brittany, on mud bottom, protected from N through E winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Beg vilin

Anchorage on the Trégor coast between Port Blanc and the Jaudy estuary leading to Tréguier, Côtes-d'Armor.

• Sheltered NW, W, E

Berchis plage

Anchorage off Berchis beach in the Golfe du Morbihan, near Larmor-Baden, on a weed bottom.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Bo

Anchorage on the Aven river between Port-Manec'h and Rosbras, southern Finistère. Mud bottom, good holding.

Brigognan - Caouloc

Sand anchorage in the rocky shoreline of Brignogan-Plages on the north coast of Finistère, in the Pays Pagan.

• Sheltered E

Cabane

Anchorage on the north side of the Seine estuary, sand bottom, 4.9 nm N of Le Havre.

• Sheltered E, S, SE

cabourg

Anchorage on mud off the beach of Cabourg on the Côte Fleurie in Calvados, Normandy.

Calanque Blanche

Small calanque west of Les Goudes, on the southern edge of Marseille, in the Calanques National Park.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Calanque d'Aurelle

Small rocky cove on the Esterel coast between Théoule-sur-Mer and Miramar, western end of the Baie de Cannes.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Calanque de la Mounine

Small calanque on the Marseilleveyre massif east of the Goudes, inside the Parc national des Calanques on the Marseille coast.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Calanque du Petit Caneiret

Small red-rock cove on the Estérel coast between Agay and Anthéor, sand bottom, open to the south-east.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Cale d'accès du Paradis

Slipway on the Loire between Le Pellerin and Couëron, downstream of Nantes. Anchoring is prohibited.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Cale Sud Hauteville Sur Mer

Drying anchorage off the south slipway of Hauteville-sur-Mer on the Cotentin west coast, Normandy, between Granville and Agon-Coutainville.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Camping Beau Rivage

Anchorage off the Beau Rivage campsite on the Lac de Pareloup, Aveyron, at the southern edge of the Lévézou plateau.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Camping de Vigneux

Buoy mooring on the Rance estuary off Vigneux, between Plouër-sur-Rance and Saint-Suliac, Ille-et-Vilaine.

• Sheltered E

Canal d l'Est

Inland waterway section in the Vosges, Grand Est region. Anchoring is prohibited on the canal itself, mud bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, S

Canal du Loing

Halt on the Canal du Loing, a 49 km freshwater canal in the Loiret linking the Seine at Saint-Mammès to the Canal de Briare at Buges.

• Sheltered NW, W, E, SW

Cap Ferret

Anchorage off the inner shore of the Cap Ferret peninsula, Bassin d'Arcachon, Gironde.

Carquefou

Anchorage of about 80 buoys on the Erdre river, in Carquefou, 12 km upstream from Nantes.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, S, NW

Cattenom

River anchorage on the Moselle near Cattenom in Grand Est, close to the Nautic'Ham base.

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

Caye Verte

Islet just off Orient Bay, inside the Saint-Martin national nature reserve, where anchoring is forbidden.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE