Best anchorages and harbours in Atlantic coast

Entree Port De Jard Sur Mer

Anchorage off the entrance to Jard-sur-Mer harbour, southern Vendée coast, sand bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Boucau near Bayonne

Estuary area at the mouth of the Adour between Boucau and Anglet, near Bayonne. Anchoring is prohibited in the navigable channel used by commercial traffic.

• Sheltered NE, W, E, SE

Ile Verte

Anchorage in the Gironde estuary off the Île Verte, a wooded island on the right bank between Blaye and Bourg, about 35 NM upstream from Royan.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SW, W

Pointe de Hautebelle

Anchorage on the north shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon, between Claouey and Andernos-les-Bains, mud bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Île du Pilier Nord

Anchorage on the north side of Île du Pilier, a small rocky island off Noirmoutier, 2.7 NM west of L'Herbaudière.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Port Des Callonges

Small tidal harbour on the right bank of the Gironde estuary, in the Saintonge marshes north of the Medoc.

Maubuisson

Anchorage on the east shore of Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans, the largest natural freshwater lake in France, in the Médoc.

• Free
• Sheltered S, SW, W, NW

Port de Goulée

Tidal creek port on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, commune of Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac, northern Médoc.

Île de Patiras

Estuary anchorage in New Aquitaine, 0.9 nm W of Port de la Belle Étoile, mud bottom, sheltered from the south.

• Sheltered S

la Pointe aux chevaux

Anchorage on the western shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon between Claouey and Le Canon, on the Cap-Ferret peninsula, sand bottom, sheltered from N, W and NW winds.

• Sheltered N, W, NW

Mimizan

River port on the Courant de Mimizan, between the Atlantic beach and the Etang d'Aureilhan, in the Landes forest of New Aquitaine.

Roches du repos

Rock anchorage off the Vendée coast, south of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, open to the Atlantic swell.

• Free
• Sheltered N, NE, E

Port-des-Barques

Mooring on buoys off Port-des-Barques in the Charente estuary, Charente-Maritime, 4 berths on sand.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E, SW, S, SE

Châtelaillon - Plage

Anchorage off Châtelaillon-Plage on the Pertuis d'Antioche, south of La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Lac d'Hourtin - Piqueyrot

Sand-bottom anchorage on the eastern shore of the lac d'Hourtin-Carcans, Gironde, the largest natural freshwater lake in France at around 6,200 hectares.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, SE, S, SW, W, NW

Pointe de Manson

Buoy mooring with 2 berths off the Pointe de Manson on Île d'Oléron, sand bottom, sheltered from W through SW, open to the E across the Pertuis de Maumusson.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Fouras - La Fumée

Anchorage off the Pointe de la Fumée at Fouras, Charente estuary, facing the Île d'Aix and the approaches to Rochefort.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Port De Goisil

Drying tidal harbour on the north shore of the Ile de Re, between Loix and Saint-Martin-de-Re, in the Fier d'Ars.

Comberge

Small drying harbour on the south coast of the Pays de la Loire, between Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef and Pornic, a short hop from the Île du Pilier anchorages.

Vert Bois

Anchorage on the west coast of the Île d'Oléron, off the Vert Bois beach and the Saint-Trojan forest, Charente-Maritime.

• Sheltered NE, E

Arcachon

Marina of 2 600 berths at the south edge of the Arcachon basin in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the largest pleasure port on the French Atlantic coast.

Pointe du Tedey

Anchorage on the western shore of Lac de Lacanau in the Médoc, about 1.6 nm west of Lacanau-Ville.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Talais

Tidal creek port on the Gironde estuary at Talais, on the Medoc bank north of Saint-Vivien-de-Medoc.

Anse de la Coué

Small anchorage on the south side of the Fouras peninsula, Charente-Maritime, tucked beside Fouras Port Sud.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E

Plage Sud

Open roadstead off Mimizan-Plage on the Landes coast, south of the Arcachon basin, sand bottom.

Ponton de Lahonce

River pontoon on the Adour at Urcuit, upstream of Bayonne in the Basque Country.

Anse de la Chambrette

Anchorage on the Médoc bank of the Gironde estuary, just south of the Pointe de Grave, with a sand bottom.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Saint-Vivien-de-Médoc

Tidal port on the Chenal de Saint-Vivien, left bank of the Gironde estuary, 14 km south of Pointe de Grave.

Domaine de Vallier

Buoy mooring on the Dordogne river in the Gironde estuary area, sand bottom, used as a tidal stop on the way up to Libourne or Bordeaux.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Marans

Inland marina at the head of the Sèvre Niortaise canal in the Marais Poitevin, 24 km from the sea, maximum draught 1.4 m.