Best anchorages and harbours in France

Deshaies Sud

Anchorage 0.7 nm south of Deshaies harbour, on the south side of the bay, sand and rock bottom, sheltered from NE through SE.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Kerbihan

Buoy mooring field off Kerbihan, on the west bank of the Rivière de Crac'h just below La Trinité-sur-Mer, where anchoring is banned to protect archaeological remains and the buoys are for authorized users only.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Punta d Omigna

Open anchorage on rock off Punta d'Omigna, the headland closing the Gulf of Sagone to the north, 1.8 miles from Cargèse on the west coast of Corsica.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SE

Vias

Stretch of coast off Vias in Hérault where anchoring is prohibited, between Portiragnes and the mouth of the Hérault at Le Grau d'Agde.

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

warte-kai ponte de vaux

Lock waiting quay at the Saône entrance to the Pont-de-Vaux canal in Ain, which links the town to the Saône via a 3 km lateral canal.

Archipel des Embiez

Small archipelago off Six-Fours-les-Plages in the Var, owned by the Paul Ricard foundation, with anchorages on the western and southern shores of the main island.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Banc des Portes

Sand bank anchorage inside the Fier d'Ars, the tidal lagoon on the north-west corner of Île de Ré, sheltered from NW through S.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Brigneau

Drying ria on the south coast of Finistère, commune of Moëlan-sur-Mer, between Merrien and the Bélon river.

Île Molène

Anchorage off Île Molène in the Molène archipelago, west of Le Conquet in the Iroise Sea.

• Paid
• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Marine de Bussagghia

Sand anchorage in the Golfe de Porto on the west coast of Corsica, just north of Porto-Ota, inside the UNESCO-listed Golfe de Porto zone that includes the Calanques de Piana and the Scandola reserve.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, S, SE

Phare de Cordouan

Anchorage off the Cordouan lighthouse, at the mouth of the Gironde estuary in New Aquitaine. Sand bottom, shelter from NW only.

• Sheltered NW

Porraja

Sand-bottomed cove on the west side of the Gulf of Valinco in Corsica, immediately west of Propriano.

• Sheltered E, SE, S

Punta Capicciola sud

Prohibited anchoring zone south of Punta Capicciola on the south-east coast of Corsica, between Porto-Vecchio and the reserve of Cerbicale.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Baie Talmont

Anchorage in the Gironde estuary off Talmont-sur-Gironde, Charente-Maritime, under the cliffs that carry the Romanesque church of Sainte-Radegonde.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

L’Épine

Anchorage off the village of L'Épine on the west coast of Île de Noirmoutier, Pays de la Loire.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Pen er Menn

Anchorage of around 102 moorings off Arradon on the north shore of the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE

Pointe des Chevaliers

Anchorage on the western side of the presqu'île de Giens, Var, facing the rade d'Hyères.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Roche Cardin

Anchorage on sand off Roche Cardin in the Chausey archipelago area west of Granville, sheltered only from SW winds.

• Sheltered SW

Zone mouillage du Traict

Buoy field in the Traict du Croisic tidal lagoon, just north of Le Croisic harbour, on the southern Loire-Atlantique coast.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SW, S, SE

Anse Caraïbe

Cove with a beach on the Pointe-Noire coast, leeward side of Basse-Terre, sand, rock and weed bottom, sheltered from NE through SE.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Benodet

Anchorage and mooring field in the estuary of the Odet between Bénodet and Sainte-Marine, sand bottom, 180 moorings.

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

Bourg sur Gironde

River port of 45 berths on the right bank of the Dordogne, about 1 nm upstream of the Bec d'Ambès where the Dordogne and Garonne meet to form the Gironde estuary.

Golfe de Santa Giulia nord

Buoy field of 30 moorings in the northern part of the Golfe de Santa Giulia, south of Porto-Vecchio on the east coast of Corsica.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW

Ile Sainte-Marguerite East

Anchorage on the east side of Île Sainte-Marguerite in the Lérins archipelago off Cannes, sand and posidonia bottom, sheltered from N, open to S and SE.

• Sheltered N, SW, S, SE

Pempoul

Mud-bottom anchorage off Pempoul beach at Saint-Pol-de-Leon, on the bay of Morlaix in northern Brittany.

• Sheltered N, NE, SW, W, NW

Plage de Pampelonne

Open anchorage off a 4.5 km sandy beach on the south-east side of the Saint-Tropez peninsula, between Cap du Pinet and Cap Camarat.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Pointe de Coudepont

Mud-bottom anchorage off the northern tip of Île d'Aix, in the Pertuis d'Antioche between La Rochelle and the Charente estuary.

• Free
• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Porh En Hal

Small rocky cove on the north coast of Île de Groix, off Lorient in southern Brittany.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Port diben

Fishing and leisure harbour on the commune of Plougasnou, on the east side of the bay of Morlaix in northern Finistère, facing the Île Noire and the Château du Taureau.

Port du Collet

Tidal harbour at the northern edge of Baie de Bourgneuf, on the Loire-Atlantique coast facing Noirmoutier.