Harbour

Le havre Les alluvions

Name: Le havre Les alluvions
Address: Tancarville, FR

Tancarville, FranceCôte Fleurie and Alabaster Coast

Type: Harbour

Small harbour on the right bank of the Seine estuary at Tancarville, in the shadow of the Tancarville suspension bridge, Normandy.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Access from the Seine shipping channel just upstream of the Tancarville bridge. Strong tidal currents in the main river, up to 4 knots on springs. The entrance lies at the downstream end of the Canal de Tancarville, which links the estuary to Le Havre. Watch for commercial traffic on the Seine and for wash from ships bound for Rouen.

Practical

Pontoon berths for visitors on a sheltered basin. Water and electricity on the pontoons. No fuel on site. Small village of Tancarville with a bakery and bar-tabac about 1 km from the harbour.

Ashore

The ruins of the Château de Tancarville overlook the harbour from the chalk cliff at 1 km, a feudal stronghold of the Montmorency family from the 11th century. The Canal de Tancarville towpath offers a flat walking route toward Le Havre for 25 km. Pont de Tancarville, opened in 1959, is visible from every berth.

History

Tancarville was the seat of the chamberlains of Normandy from the 11th century. The harbour owes its present layout to the digging of the Canal de Tancarville between 1880 and 1887, which gave inland barges a sheltered route to Le Havre and avoided the tidal bore of the lower Seine.

Story

Before the suspension bridge opened in 1959, crossing the Seine here meant taking the Tancarville to Quillebeuf chain ferry, which had operated since the 19th century.