Best anchorages and harbours in France

Domois Bay

South-facing cove on the ocean side of Belle-Île-en-Mer, between Port-Coton and Pointe du Skeul.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SE

Mouillage des herbiers

Anchorage in the baie de Morlaix off the northern Finistère coast, sand and mud bottom.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Sanary-sur-Mer

Harbour of 550 berths on the Var coast, between Bandol and Toulon, sheltered behind a curved breakwater.

Anse de Bréhec

Drying cove on the Côtes-d'Armor coast of Brittany, at the foot of the Plouha cliffs between Paimpol and Saint-Quay-Portrieux.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Anse du Conguel

Sandy anchorage on the southern tip of the Quiberon peninsula in southern Brittany.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Cala di Lignaghia

Sand anchorage on the west coast of Corsica, inside the Réserve naturelle de Scandola and close to the Golfe de Girolata.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Doëlan

Narrow ria on the south Brittany coast between Lorient and Concarneau, with 25 visitor buoys laid by the commune of Clohars-Carnoët.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Marseillan Ville

Harbour of 350 berths on the SW shore of the étang de Thau, in the village of Marseillan in Occitanie.

Plage de la Bauma

Anchorage on the east side of the Presqu'île de Giens in the Var, mixed sand and weed bottom, sheltered from NW through S.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Port de Condrieu - Les Roches

River marina on the Rhône at Condrieu, between Vienne and Saint-Étienne, 40 km south of Lyon.

Saint-Suliac

Tidal mooring on the Rance estuary opposite the village of Saint-Suliac, between Saint-Malo and Dinan, Brittany. Two visitor berths, mud bottom.

• Paid
• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Tournon sur Rhone

River port on the right bank of the Rhône at Tournon-sur-Rhône, Ardèche, facing Tain-l'Hermitage on the opposite bank.

Baie de la Gorguette

Anchorage on the Provençal coast between Bandol and Sanary-sur-Mer in the Var, off the Plage de la Gorguette.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, NW

Baie des Trépassés

Wide sand bay between the Pointe du Raz and the Pointe du Van at the western tip of Finistère, open to the west.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, S

Bandol

Major marina of 1 600 berths in the bay of Bandol, between the Ile de Bendor and the town of Sanary-sur-Mer, on the Var coast.

Étel

Tidal harbour of around 400 berths on the Ria d'Étel, south Morbihan, entered across a shifting sand bar.

Groix

Small annex berthing on the île de Groix off the Morbihan coast, alongside the main harbour of Port-Tudy.

Le Blavet Stomac

River anchorage on the Blavet, 1.8 NM S of Hennebont and upstream of Lorient, in Brittany.

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

Le Petit Rhône

Anchorage off the mouth of the Petit Rhône on the Camargue coast, mud bottom, 0.8 nm NW of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

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

Plage de Taverna

Open anchorage on a sand bottom just south of Bastia old town, east coast of Corsica.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Port du Tinduff

Mooring area in the Anse du Tinduff on the southern shore of the Rade de Brest, commune of Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Port Tino Rossi

Marina of 300 berths at the foot of the Ajaccio citadel, on the south side of the Ajaccio old town.

Quai Canal de la Marne au Rhin

Canal quay on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin Ouest at Void-Vacon, in the Meuse department between Ligny-en-Barrois and Toul.

Redon

Inland marina on the Vilaine, 160 berths, at the junction with the Nantes-Brest canal in southern Brittany.

Calanque de la Tripe

Small calanque on the south side of Cap Bénat in the Var, between Bormes-les-Mimosas and the Île du Levant. Bottom of sand and posidonia.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, NW

Calanque de Morgiou

Calanque east of Sormiou with a small fishing port in the Calanques national park. Anchoring is prohibited in the calanque itself to protect posidonia meadows.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW

Canal de Pont de Vaux

Inland canal linking the Saône to the town of Pont-de-Vaux in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

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

Contesse De Guerlande

Anchorage off the Côtes-d'Armor coast north-west of Saint-Quay-Portrieux, in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Plage de Traves

Sandy anchorage off the Agriates desert coast, west side of Cap Corse, between Saint-Florent and the Plage du Loto.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Plage du Ster

Sand-bottom anchorage on the south coast of the Pays Bigouden, sheltered from NW through NE, exposed to the Atlantic swell from the S.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE