Port

Ars-en-Ré - Bassin de la Prée

4.7Ars-en-Ré, FranceCharente-Maritime

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Maximum length: 13 m
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 1 m

Tidal basin of the port of Ars-en-Re on the north shore of the Ile de Re, Charente-Maritime.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Access through the channel of Fier d'Ars, a large shallow bay drying over most of its surface at low water. Channel buoyed with lateral marks, best entered from HW -2 to HW. Sand and mud bottom. Keep to the marked line; the bay dries over several kilometres. 134 berths in the Bassin de la Pree, maximum draught 1 m. VHF 9.

Practical

Berths retained by a sill that closes around HW +/- 2h30. Water and electricity on the pontoons. Showers and toilets at the capitainerie. Fuel on the outer quay. Full shops, bakery, butcher, grocery and restaurants in the village, within 400 m of the basin.

Ashore

Village of Ars-en-Re, classed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France, with white houses and the 12th-century Saint-Etienne church. The bell tower, painted half black and half white, is a registered seamark visible from the Pertuis Breton. Fier d'Ars nature reserve around the bay, migratory bird site. Cycle paths of the Ile de Re pass through the village, Phare des Baleines lighthouse 8 km west by bike.

History

Ars was a salt and wine port from the Middle Ages onward. The salt marshes around the Fier d'Ars are still worked by around a hundred saunier producers of Ile de Re sel and fleur de sel, under IGP label since 2014.

Story

The black and white steeple of Saint-Etienne has served as a leading mark for entry into the Fier d'Ars since at least the 18th century and is marked as such on current SHOM charts.

Key facts

Type: Harbour
Coordinates: 46.20994, -1.51133 (46°12.60'N 1°30.68'W)
Town: Ars-en-Ré
Country: France
Maximum draught: 1 m
Maximum length: 13 m
VHF channel: 9
Phone: +33 5 46 29 25 10
Boaters' rating: 4.7/5
Updated: July 7, 2026

Getting there

Ars-en-Ré - Bassin de la Prée lies at 46°12.60'N 1°30.68'W, that is 46.20994, -1.51133 in decimal degrees. Call the harbour on VHF channel 9 before entering.

Directions +33 5 46 29 25 10VHF 9