Best anchorages and harbours in France

Porz Donan

Sand anchorage off Porz Lazo on the Plouezec coast, east side of the Paimpol bay in northern Brittany.

• Sheltered S, SW, W

Anse de Dinan

Large bay on the west coast of the Presqu'île de Crozon in Finistère, sand bottom, sheltered from the north through south-east.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Anse de la Maleconche

Sandy anchorage on the north-east coast of Île d'Oléron, 1.2 nm east of Le Douhet harbour.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Baie de Mont Saint Michel

Vast sand bay between Cancale and Granville, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list for the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel. Tidal range reaches 14 metres at equinoctial springs, among the largest in Europe.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

bindy

Sand-bottom anchorage in the Rade de Brest, on the north shore of the Anse de Daoulas, Brittany.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Calanque des figuières

Rock-bottomed inlet on the Côte Bleue west of Marseille, between Carry-le-Rouet and Le Rove, next to the Société Nautique des Figuières.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Halte de plaisance de Meulan-en-Yvelines

River halt on the Seine at Meulan-en-Yvelines, downstream of Paris, in the Yvelines department.

Port La Fabrique

River port on the Canal du Midi at Moux-et-Plaissac, between Carcassonne and Homps in the Aude.

Saint Mandrier

Marina of 790 berths on the southern shore of the bay of Toulon, on the Saint-Mandrier peninsula in the Var.

Anse du Gau

Small cove on the west side of Cap Bénat, between Bormes-les-Mimosas and the private harbour of Cap Bénat, in the Var.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, SW, W, NW

Grande Sanguinaire

Rocky anchorage off Mezzu Mare, the largest of the Sanguinaires islands at the mouth of the Gulf of Ajaccio, western Corsica.

• Sheltered E, SE, S

Horizon Marine

Private marina at Châteauneuf-les-Martigues on the Étang de Berre, Bouches-du-Rhône, with 70 berths.

La Source

Anchorage on the southern coast of the Presqu'île de Crozon, Finistère, Brittany, inside the bay of Douarnenez near Morgat.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Mouillage de Tarente

Anchorage in the baie des Lecques on the Provençal coast, between La Madrague and Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, S

Pointe du Grand Village

Open roadstead on the east coast of Belle-Île-en-Mer, off the village of Locmaria, south Brittany.

• Sheltered NW, N

Ricard

Anchorage off the Île Ricard, in the baie de Morlaix between Roscoff and the Pointe de Primel, in northern Brittany.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Arradon

Marina of 330 berths on the north shore of the Gulf of Morbihan, between Vannes and the Ile aux Moines ferry landing.

Base Nautique Ruhlman

Club base on the Bassin d'Austerlitz in Strasbourg, on the Ill and the Rhine-Rhône canal network.

Calanque de l'Establon

Small calanque on the Côte Bleue west of Marseille, between Niolon and the port of Corbières, inside the parc marin de la Côte Bleue.

• Sheltered N, W, NW

Île Beyne

River anchorage on the Saône north of Lyon, mud bottom, near the former lock of Port Bernalin.

• Sheltered E, SE, W, NW

île de Guiriden

Anchorage off the Île de Guiriden in the Glénan archipelago, south Finistère, Brittany. The islet is a long white sand bar that uncovers at low water.

• Sheltered SW, W

La Mauvaise

Anchorage off the Normandy coast north of Granville, sand bottom, sheltered from NW, N, NE and W winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Le port à sec du Cap

Dry stack boat storage at Cap d'Agde, Hérault, Occitanie, adjacent to the Port Ambonne basin.

Mordreuc

Mud anchorage on the east bank of the Rance maritime, below the hamlet of Mordreuc in Pleudihen-sur-Rance, Côtes-d'Armor.

• Sheltered W, SW

Plage de Porz-Garo

Anchorage off the Porz-Garo beach on the Côte de Granit Rose, Brittany. Seabed of algae-covered rock, shelter from NE, E, S and SE.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Pointe du Chatelet

Anchorage off the northwest tip of the Ile d'Yeu, near the Grand Phare and the wild Cote Sauvage.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Port Canal de Montauban

Town halte at the start of the Canal de Montech branch in Montauban, on the Tarn-et-Garonne waterway network.

Cap Taillat

Anchorage off the sand tombolo of Cap Taillat, on the Var coast between Cavalaire and Ramatuelle. Sand bottom, sheltered from S, SW, W and NW.

• Sheltered S, SW, W, NW

Chantier Naval de Provence

Boatyard at Port-de-Bouc, on the Golfe de Fos, at the western end of the Étang de Berre channel.

Dieppe

Commercial and leisure port of 570 berths at the mouth of the Arques, on the chalk cliffs of the Pays de Caux in Normandy.