Best anchorages and harbours in France

Port Laurent

Anchorage on the Rance estuary near La Richardais, between Saint-Malo and Dinard.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Port Saint-Michel

Open anchorage off the south coast of the Le Croisic peninsula, Loire-Atlantique.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Porz ar Birnec

Small anchorage on the Trieux estuary, between Paimpol and Loguivy-de-la-Mer, north Brittany.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Porz Kerid

Anchorage in the rade de Brest on the south shore of the Elorn estuary, mixed sand, rock and weed, sheltered from NW to NE.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Porzh ar Roc'h Vran

Open anchorage off the Pointe Saint-Mathieu sector in the Iroise sea, west Brittany, sand bottom, sheltered from N through NW.

• Sheltered N, SW, W, NW

Punta Di U Capicciolu

Anchorage on the east coast of Corsica, at the northern entrance of the Gulf of Sant'Amanza, south of Porto-Vecchio.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Rampe Les Canalous

Mud-bottom river halt on the Saône at Pontailler-sur-Saône, Côte-d'Or, at the confluence with the Vingeanne.

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

Récif de la pointe Vauclin

Anchorage behind a reef north of Le Vauclin village, on the Atlantic coast.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Rivière deBélonn

Buoy mooring in the Belon river estuary in southern Finistère, rock and mud bottom.

• Sheltered N, S

Roc'h Ribin

Rocky shoal off the Côte de Granit Rose in north Brittany, marked as a prohibited mooring zone. Port-Blanc lies 0.9 nm south.

• Sheltered S, SE

Roch'Hir

Rock-bottom anchorage off the Trieux estuary in northern Brittany, about 2.4 NM north of Lézardrieux.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Rocher aux mouettes

Open anchorage off the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, sand bottom.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Saint-jaguel

Mud-bottom anchorage in the ria of the Arguenon, north coast of Brittany, near Saint-Cast and Le Guildo.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Saint-Jean-de-la-Rivière

Rock-bottom anchorage on the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula, Manche, Normandy, between Barneville-Carteret and Portbail.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Saint-Jory

Canal des Deux Mers bief near Saint-Jory, north of Toulouse in Occitanie. Mud bottom, anchoring prohibited on this reach.

Saint-Victor-sur-Loire

Anchorage on the Grangent reservoir on the upper Loire, near the village of Saint-Victor-sur-Loire south-west of Saint-Étienne in the Loire gorges.

• Sheltered N

Sainte Catherine - Nord

Anchorage of 27 moorings on sand off Locmiquélic, east bank of the Lorient roadstead, immediately north of the Sainte-Catherine marina.

• Paid
• Sheltered NE, E, SE, SW

Salles Curan

Mooring on the lac de Pareloup at Salles-Curan, in the Aveyron on the Lévézou plateau, the second-largest artificial lake in France with a surface of 1 260 hectares.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Sous la Tour

Anchorage at the entrance of the Légué estuary near Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, mud bottom, sheltered from NW through N and NE and from W.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Spoutourne

Spoutourne anchorage, on the Tartane side of the north shore of Baie du Galion, at the root of the Caravelle peninsula on the Atlantic coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

St Barthélémy EST

Anchorage on the east side of the Saint-Barthélemy reef in the rade d'Agay, Estérel massif, Var coast, on sand and weed.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

St Georges de Didonne

Buoy mooring off Saint-Georges-de-Didonne beach on the south bank of the Gironde estuary, sand and mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Torreilles-Plage

Open sand anchorage off the Roussillon coast between Port Barcarès and Sainte-Marie-la-Mer, Pyrénées-Orientales.

• Sheltered W

Torrent de l'escarron

Buoy mooring off the mouth of the Escarron stream on the lake shore, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, within 0.2 NM of Port de la Baie Saint Michel.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Torrent des Glaisoles

Anchorage on the eastern shore of Lac de Serre-Ponçon, in the Hautes-Alpes.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Tour de la Giraglia

Sand-bottom anchorage off the islet of Giraglia at the northern tip of Cap Corse, 1.2 NM north of Barcaggio.

• Sheltered E

Treompan

Open anchorage off the Tréompan beach on the north coast of Finistère, near Ploudalmézeau.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Utah

Open roadstead off Utah Beach on the east coast of the Cotentin peninsula, Normandy. Sand bottom.

Vadina

Mooring on the east coast of Corsica, mixed bottom of sand, rock, weed and mud, sheltered from NW through SE via W and S, exposed to the E and NE.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S, SE

Val de l'Orge

Anchorage at Val de l'Orge on the leeward coast of Basse-Terre, between Vieux-Habitants and Baillif, sand and weed bottom, sheltered from NE and E only.

• Sheltered NE, E