Best anchorages and harbours in France

Charles de Gaulle

Anchorage on the north shore of the Étang de Thau, off the village of Bouzigues in Hérault, Occitanie.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Chasse Sur Rhône

River anchorage on the Rhône at Chasse-sur-Rhône, south of Lyon, between Givors and Vienne.

chez Yves

Sheltered mooring in the Ria d'Étel on the south coast of Brittany, between Magouër and Port Niscop.

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

Claouey

Shallow anchorage on the west shore of Arcachon Bay, off the village of Claouey at the northern end of the Cap Ferret peninsula.

• Sheltered NW, W

Claouey Pastourelle

Anchorage on the north-west shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon, off the village of Claouey on the Cap Ferret peninsula.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Club Nautique de Regneville sur Mer

Drying anchorage in the Sienne estuary on the west coast of the Cotentin, south of Coutances in Normandy.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, W, NW

Club Nautique Ploërmel Brocéliande

Freshwater mooring on the Lac au Duc near Ploërmel, Morbihan, in eastern Brittany.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Club Nautique Rochefortais

River anchorage on the Charente upstream of Soubise, off the Club Nautique Rochefortais, between Rochefort and the estuary.

• Paid
• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Coat trédrez

Buoy field of 31 moorings off the hamlet of Coat Trédrez on the north Brittany coast, east of the Léguer estuary.

• Paid
• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Coatéozen

Sand-bottom anchorage near the mouth of L'Aber Ildut in the Finistère, sheltered from N through SE, open to the W.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Conche Madame

Anchorage on the west coast of the Île d'Oléron in Charente-Maritime, on the Atlantic side between Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron and Saint-Denis.

• Sheltered NE, E

Côte des Basques

Open anchorage off the Côte des Basques beach in Biarritz, Basque coast.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Côte Fleurie

Open roadstead off the Côte Fleurie between Deauville and Trouville in Normandy, sand bottom, water available ashore at Deauville 1.4 NM east.

Craste De liboy

Anchorage on the Étang de Cazaux et de Sanguinet, on the west shore near Navarrosse, Landes.

• Sheltered E, S, SE

Crique

Small cove on the Cote Vermeille between Banyuls-sur-Mer and Cerbere, last stretch of rocky coast before the Spanish border in the Pyrenees-Orientales.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

Cul-de-sac de Paquemar

Enclosed inlet on the Atlantic coast south of Le Vauclin. Weed and mud bottom, sheltered from every sector except the north-east.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, E, SW, S, SE

CVVFCM

Club mooring of the Club de Voile de la Vallée de la Fépin et du Château-Regnault-Mairus on the Meuse, in the Ardennes valley between Revin and Laifour.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Daon

River anchorage on the Mayenne at the village of Daon, between Château-Gontier and Angers, sand bottom.

Dolmen du Gorneveze

Anchorage in the upper Gulf of Morbihan near the Ile d'Arz, on mud bottom in a very sheltered basin.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Douane

Anchorage of 120 moorings on sand in the inner bay of Perros-Guirec, Côte de Granit Rose.

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

Écueil du Nidan

Anchorage off the rocky shelf known as the Nidan, on the south shore of the Giens peninsula in the Var.

• Sheltered N, NW

Etang d'Icard

Open roadstead off the Camargue coast, west of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, sand bottom on the foreshore of the Etang d'Icard lagoon system.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, W, NW

Étang Des Aigrettes

Anchorage in the south basin of the Lac du Bourget, off the Étang des Aigrettes reedbed near Le Bourget-du-Lac, in Savoie.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Euronat

Open anchorage off the Euronat beach on the Médoc Atlantic coast, north of the Gironde estuary mouth.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Fond Blanc du François

Anchorage on one of the white sand shoals of Le François bay, Atlantic coast, used by foilers.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Fort Boyard

Stone sea fort between the Île d'Aix and the Île d'Oléron, in the Pertuis d'Antioche off the Charente-Maritime coast. Anchoring and approach within 50 m of the walls are prohibited.

Fort Royal

Anchorage off the beach of the Fort Royal hotel, north of Deshaies on the north-west tip of Basse-Terre, sand bottom, sheltered from NE through SE.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Galéria Nord

Rocky anchorage on the north side of the Golfe de Galéria, western Corsica, 1.4 NM NE of Galéria village.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Gare de l'Eau

Inland mooring on the canal network of the Audomarois marshes in Hauts-de-France, muddy bottom, sheltered from all wind directions.

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

Générelles

Isolated buoy mooring off the Pointe de Grouin du Cou coast in Vendée, west of the Aiguillon bay, Pays de la Loire.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, N, NE