Harbour

Le Havre

3.5Le Havre, FranceCôte Fleurie and Alabaster Coast

Maximum length: 30 m
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 3 m

Marina of 1300 berths at the mouth of the Seine estuary, on the Normandy coast, the largest yacht harbour on the French Channel coast.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach via the main buoyed shipping channel shared with commercial vessels, then branch to the Anse de Joinville marina basin. Max draught 3 m. Strong tidal streams across the estuary mouth. Watch commercial traffic. VHF 9 for the marina, listen on VHF 12 for port control.

Practical

1300 berths with visitor pontoons in the Anse de Joinville. Fuel station with diesel and petrol. Water, electricity, showers, toilets, waste pump-out and travel lift. Chandlery and sailmakers on site. City-centre shops and tram stop within 800 m.

Ashore

UNESCO-listed city centre rebuilt by Auguste Perret after 1945, including the Saint-Joseph church with its 107 m lantern tower. MuMa museum with the second largest French Impressionist collection after Paris, 500 m from the marina. Plage du Havre pebble beach adjoining the port.

History

Founded in 1517 by order of King François I as Le Havre-de-Grâce to replace the silted harbours of Harfleur and Honfleur. The city centre was destroyed by Allied bombing in September 1944 and rebuilt in reinforced concrete by Auguste Perret, earning UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005.

Story

Claude Monet painted Impression, soleil levant in 1872 from a window above the Havre outer harbour. The canvas gave its name to the Impressionist movement.