Port

Caen

4.7Caen, FranceNormandy

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Maximum length: 15 m
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 3.4 m

Wet basin in the centre of Caen at the head of the Canal de Caen à la Mer, 92 berths, max draught 3.4 m.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

From the sea, enter through the Ouistreham locks and follow the 14 km canal to Caen. Canal bridges at Bénouville (Pegasus Bridge), Hérouville and Calix open on fixed schedules published by Ports de Normandie. Call the harbour office on VHF 9. Speed limit 6 knots on the canal. Reckon 3 hours from Ouistreham lock to Bassin Saint-Pierre.

Practical

Visitor berths along the quay at the city-centre end of the basin. Water and electricity at each berth. Showers and WC at the harbour office. No fuel at the basin, nearest diesel at Ouistreham marina. All shops, restaurants and rail station within 500 m.

Ashore

Château de Caen built by William the Conqueror from 1060 overlooks the basin 400 m north of the berths. Mémorial de Caen museum on the Normandy landings and the Cold War at 3 km, reached by bus line 2. Abbaye-aux-Hommes, William's burial place, is 700 m west.

History

Caen was the capital of William the Conqueror, who founded the Abbaye-aux-Hommes and is buried there. The Bassin Saint-Pierre was dug in the 19th century as part of the Caen maritime canal, which turned the inland city into a seaport. The city centre was 75 percent destroyed in the summer of 1944 during the Battle of Normandy.