Harbour

Bassin Vauban

Name: Bassin Vauban
Address: Le Havre, FR

2.8Le Havre, FranceCôte Fleurie and Alabaster Coast

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Type: Harbour

Enclosed dock in central Le Havre, next to the Bassin du Commerce, in Normandy at the mouth of the Seine estuary.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Access from the outer harbour through the lock system of Le Havre commercial port, then via the Bassin de la Citadelle and the Bassin Vauban gate. The gate opens roughly around high water. Call Le Havre Port Control on VHF 12 for entry into the port area and VHF 9 for the marina. Strong tidal streams of up to 3 knots run across the harbour entrance at springs.

Practical

Pontoon berths managed by Port Vauban Le Havre, with water and electricity at each berth. Showers, toilets and laundry in the harbour building. Diesel pump at the fuel berth in the adjacent Anse de Joinville marina. Full provisioning and the Les Docks Vauban shopping centre stand 200 m north of the basin.

Ashore

The city centre rebuilt by Auguste Perret after 1945 and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List lies within 500 m. The MuMa modern art museum, which holds the second-largest Impressionist collection in France, stands at the entrance of the harbour at 1 km. Plage du Havre, a 2 km shingle and sand beach, is 1.5 km west.

History

Le Havre was founded in 1517 by François I as a royal port at the mouth of the Seine. The city was flattened by Allied bombing in September 1944 and rebuilt by Auguste Perret in reinforced concrete between 1945 and 1964.