Best anchorages and harbours in France

Portland

Small harbour on the north shore of the rade d'Hyères, east of the Salins d'Hyères, in Provence.

Rade de Saint-Martin

Roadstead off Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Île de Ré in Charente-Maritime. Anchoring prohibited in the marked zones of the harbour approach.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Anse des Fossettes

Cove on the south-eastern side of the Cap Ferrat peninsula, between Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Beaulieu-sur-Mer in the Alpes-Maritimes.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Baie de Centuri

Open bay on the west coast of Cap Corse, at the northern tip of Corsica. Mixed sand, rock and seagrass bottom, sheltered from E, SW, S and SE.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Baie de Loia

Anchorage in the Bay of Txingudi on the Franco-Spanish border, opposite Hendaye, with a mixed rock and sand bottom.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW

Cap d'Ail

Deepwater marina of 260 berths on the Riviera, immediately west of the Principality of Monaco.

Île-de-Sein

Anchorage off Île de Sein, west of the Pointe du Raz in Finistère, on sand, sheltered from S and SW winds.

• Sheltered S, SW

îlot Tiboulen

Small rocky islet at the NW tip of the Frioul archipelago off Marseille, inside the Calanques national park.

• Sheltered S

Krellou

Open anchorage on the north Finistère coast, between Locquirec and Pointe de Primel, sand bottom.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Pietra

Rocky anchorage off the west coast of Corsica, 6.5 NM north-west of Ajaccio and Port Charles Ornano.

• Sheltered N

Piriac-sur-Mer

Marina on the presqu'île guérandaise north of La Turballe, 830 berths behind a breakwater, in a village labelled Petite Cité de Caractère.

Plage de Boulouris

Anchorage off the beach at Boulouris, on the Esterel coast between Saint-Raphaël and Agay.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Plage des Sables Rouges

Anchorage off the SE coast of the Île de Groix, Morbihan, facing a beach where the sand contains garnets that give it its red colour.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Plage du Layet

Sand anchorage off Plage du Layet at Cavalière, on the Var coast between Le Lavandou and Cap Nègre.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Port de plaisance de Talange

Inland marina of about 60 berths on the canalised Moselle in Lorraine, between Metz and Thionville.

Port Yorc'h

Small sand-bottomed cove on the east coast of Belle-Île-en-Mer, about 1.8 nm south-east of Le Palais.

• Free
• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W

Tal er Hah

Sand anchorage on the south-east coast of Île de Houat, a short hop from Port de Saint-Gildas.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW

Anse du phare

Sand anchorage on the south coast of Finistère between Concarneau and Trévignon, with good shelter from the easterly sector.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Baie de Sainte-Anne

Anchorage off the pink granite coast of Ploumanac'h, sand bottom, 0.6 nm NW of the harbour entrance.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, E, SW, S, SE

Calanque Seynerolles

Small rocky inlet on the eastern flank of La Ciotat bay, just south of the Port Vieux.

• Sheltered S, SW, W

Ersa

Anchorage off the commune of Ersa at the northern tip of Cap Corse, opposite the Île de la Giraglia.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Fort Sainte-Marguerite

Buoy field of 28 moorings on the north side of Île Sainte-Marguerite, the larger of the Îles de Lérins, facing Cannes across the Baie de Cannes.

• Free
• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Île Saint-Riom (Nord)

Anchorage off the north side of Île Saint-Riom in the Bay of Paimpol, Côtes-d'Armor, northern Brittany.

• Sheltered E, SE

Port - Tudy

Main harbour of Île de Groix, on the north coast of the island off Lorient in south Brittany. About 350 berths across an outer basin and a lock-gated inner basin.

Porto Pollo

Marina of 211 berths in the Gulf of Valinco, south-west coast of Corsica, sheltered by the rocky point of Porto Pollo.

Saint Cyprien

One of the largest marinas on the French Mediterranean coast, 1885 berths on the Roussillon lido between Canet and Argelès.

St Goustan

Visitor moorings on the river Auray at the foot of the old Saint-Goustan quarter, mud bottom, fully sheltered from all winds.

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

Anse de Lesconil

Sand anchorage off the pays Bigouden coast in south Finistère, in the approaches to the fishing port of Lesconil.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Carnac - plage

Anchorage off the Grande Plage of Carnac in Quiberon Bay, south Brittany. Sand bottom over a wide gently shelving beach.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Île du Grand Ribaud

Anchorage on algae and posidonia seabed off the Île du Grand Ribaud, at the south-west tip of the Giens peninsula near Hyères.

• Sheltered NW, N, W