Best anchorages and harbours in France

Luc sur mer

Open roadstead off Luc-sur-Mer on the Calvados coast, between Courseulles and Ouistreham.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Magouër

Mooring field of 31 buoys on the west bank of the Étel river, opposite the village of Étel in Morbihan.

• Paid
• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Maison blanche

Anchorage in the rade de Brest, on the south shore between Pointe de l'Armorique and the entrance to the Élorn, in Finistère.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Mouillage de l'étang de Berre

Anchorage in the étang de Berre, Provence, mud bottom, sheltered from E, SW, S and SE winds.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Marquise

Sand anchorage off l'Ayguade d'Hyeres in the Var, east of the Giens peninsula on the Provencal coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Martigues

Anchorage in the étang de Berre basin off Martigues, at the north end of the Canal de Caronte.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Menton

Anchorage off the town of Menton on the Côte d'Azur, Alpes-Maritimes, close to the Italian border, sand bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Montertelot

River mooring on the Nantes-Brest canal in Morbihan, between the locks of Montertelot and Le Roc-Saint-André.

• Sheltered SW

Mornac-sur-Seudre

Drying anchorage in the Seudre estuary, opposite the oyster village of Mornac-sur-Seudre, Charente-Maritime.

• Free
• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW

Mouillage de Billon

Rocky-bottom anchorage on the Lac du Bourget in Savoie, sheltered from W through S winds, exposed to the easterly Vaudaire.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Mouillage de Bois de Ham

Anchorage on the Lac du Der-Chantecoq in the Marne, the largest artificial lake in France at 4 800 hectares.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Mouillage de Gauseirans

Open roadstead off the beaches of Anglet on the Basque coast, sand bottom, exposed to the Atlantic swell.

• Sheltered E

Mouillage de Kermagen

Three-buoy anchorage in the Trieux estuary between Lézardrieux and the Île-de-Bréhat, northern Brittany.

• Paid
• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Mouillage de Larrigade

Sand-bottom anchorage on the Landes coast in New Aquitaine, sheltered from S, SW, W and NW.

• Sheltered S, SW, W, NW

Mouillage de Le Bourg

Outer anchorage north of Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Île de Ré, sand bottom, exposed to the westerly sector.

• Sheltered W, SW

Mouillage de Le Puits

Sand-bottom anchorage in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, sheltered from NE and E winds.

• Sheltered NE, E

Mouillage de Saint-Germain-sur-Ay-Plage

Anchorage off the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, south of Barneville-Carteret and north of Port-Bail-sur-Mer.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Mouillage du Fort Bloqué

Buoyed anchorage off Fort Bloqué, between Guidel-Plages and Ploemeur on the Morbihan coast west of Lorient.

• Sheltered NE, E

mouillage du rohu

Anchorage off Pointe du Rohu on the western shore of the Golfe du Morbihan, Brittany. Sand bottom.

Mousker

Anchorage in the ria de Crac'h, southern Morbihan, between the oyster beds and the channel leading up to La Trinité-sur-Mer.

Nautic Club Miramas

Anchorage off the Nautic Club de Miramas on the western shore of the Étang de Berre, south of Saint-Chamas.

• Sheltered NE, E

Parc Fromentine

Sand-bottom anchorage in the Goulet de Fromentine, off the Vendée coast, near the bridge to Île de Noirmoutier.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Pen Vir

Anchorage off the Trieux estuary in the Côtes-d'Armor, west of the Île de Bréhat archipelago in northern Brittany.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Penn énez

Buoyed mooring area off Penn Enez, in the estuary of the Aber Wrac'h, north Finistère.

• Sheltered SW, S

Pirou Plage

Open anchorage off Pirou beach on the west coast of the Cotentin, Manche, on sand, sheltered from NE, E and SE.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

place van

Anchorage on the Lac de Vassivière plateau in Haute-Vienne and Creuse, sand bottom, open water on a man-made reservoir.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Plage Américaine

Sand anchorage on the west shore of Lac de Cazaux et de Sanguinet, the second largest natural lake in mainland France, in the Landes de Gascogne.

• Sheltered W, SW

Plage aux Dames

Anchorage on the western shore of Lac du Bourget in Savoie, 1.4 NM east of Le Bourget-du-Lac village.

• Sheltered E, SE, S, SW

Plage de Bellecin

Anchorage on the eastern shore of Lac de Vouglans, a 35 km reservoir in the Jura.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Plage de Bonporteau

Anchorage south-west of Cavalaire-sur-Mer in the baie de Cavalaire, mixed sand and rock bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, SW, W, NW