Best anchorages and harbours in Provence and Côte d'Azur

Small Potoon

Former single-berth pontoon on the Petit Rhône at Fourques, Gard, Occitanie, near the junction with the Canal du Rhône à Sète, now collapsed and out of use.

Port de Marignane

Small municipal harbour of 20 berths on the south shore of the Étang de Berre, at the mouth of the Cadière river in Marignane.

Plage de l'Argentière

Anchorage off Plage de l'Argentière on the southern coast of La Londe-les-Maures, Var. Sand and algae bottom inside a ZMEL where anchoring is regulated.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Port des moines

Small port on Île Saint-Honorat in the Lérins islands off Cannes, managed by the city of Cannes, used mainly by tenders and small craft up to 8 m to land and visit the monastery island.

Le Lion de Mer

Mooring buoys off the Lion de Mer rock, a 35 m porphyry islet west of Saint-Raphaël, Var.

• Sheltered SE

La Ciotat

Prohibited anchoring zone off La Ciotat on the Provence coast, between Marseille and Bandol. Sand bottom, sheltered from N, NW, W and SW.

• Sheltered N, SW, W, NW

Le Canadel

Buoy field of around 70 moorings off the beach of Le Canadel-sur-Mer, between Le Lavandou and Cavalaire, Var coast.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Port Albert Samson

Small marina on the north shore of the Étang de Berre at Marignane, Bouches-du-Rhône.

L'isoletta

Small anchorage off Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera, between Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Plage des Cigales

Sand anchorage in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez between Sainte-Maxime and Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera.

• Sheltered N, SW, W, NW

Port de la Gorguette

Small harbour of 25 berths on the shoreline between Sanary-sur-Mer and Bandol, in the Var.

Port Pothuau

Military port on the east side of the Hyères salt pans, commune of Hyères, Var, closed to visiting craft.

Bassin des Tellines

Restricted basin at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône at the mouth of the Grand Rhône, anchoring prohibited.

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

Port de Morgiou

Small fishing port at the head of the calanque de Morgiou, inside the Parc national des Calanques, east of Marseille.

Carro

Fishing and pleasure harbour of 180 berths on the Côte Bleue west of Marseille, sheltered behind a rocky headland in the commune of Martigues.

Casemate of Èze

Anchorage off the Èze-sur-Mer shoreline, Alpes-Maritimes, below the village of Èze perched at 427 m. Sand and posidonia bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Calanque des Salins

Prohibited anchorage zone on the east coast of Porquerolles, inside the Port-Cros National Park maritime perimeter.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Anse de la Grande Mer

Anchoring prohibited cove just south of Cassis, Bouches-du-Rhône, inside the Calanques National Park.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Park Heaven

Anchorage on the Canal du Rhône à Sète at Saint-Gilles, Gard, Occitanie.

Pointe Rouge

Marseille's southern marina, 1200 berths in the 8th arrondissement facing the Frioul archipelago, largely a home-port marina with little for visiting crews.

Brégançon

Anchorage off the Fort de Brégançon on the Bormes-les-Mimosas coast, Var, with sand, rock and posidonia on the bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Port du Sagnas

Two-berth pontoon on the northern shore of the Étang de Berre, at Saint-Chamas, Bouches-du-Rhône.

Baie du Lazaret

Mud-bottomed bay inside the rade of Toulon, between La Seyne-sur-Mer and the Saint-Mandrier peninsula.

• Sheltered N, S, SW, W, NW

La Digue EST

Open roadstead off the eastern sea wall of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in the Camargue, Gulf of Lion.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Le Lion de Mer East

Buoy mooring east of the Lion de Mer rock off Saint-Raphaël on the Esterel coast, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, where the buoys serve diving clubs and anchoring is not allowed.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Maire Sud ouest

Anchorage on the south-west side of Île Maïre, off the Goudes at the entrance to the Calanques National Park, south of Marseille.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Grau De La Dent

Small freshwater harbour on the Canal Saint-Louis, in the Rhône delta west of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, Camargue. It is private, owned by the Salins du Midi, and not open to visiting boats.

Plage des Salins

Anchorage off the Salins beach on the Hyères coast in Provence, sand and rock bottom.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Pointe Croisette

Marina of 272 berths on the Pointe Croisette in Cannes, at the eastern end of the Boulevard de la Croisette, Côte d'Azur.

Port des Goudes

Small fishing harbour at the southern tip of Marseille, at the gateway to the Calanques National Park.