Best anchorages and harbours in France

Plage de Péru

Sand beach anchorage just north of Cargèse, 0.9 nm from the port.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Port aux Cerises

River marina on the Seine at Draveil, in Essonne, 25 km upstream from central Paris within the Port aux Cerises regional leisure area.

Port de Gallician

Inland harbour of 38 berths on the Canal du Rhône à Sète, in the Camargue, commune of Vauvert.

Port Maguide

Lakeside marina of 500 berths on the north shore of Lac de Biscarrosse et de Parentis, in the Landes.

Port Privé Marco Polo

Private marina of 239 berths on the canals of Port Grimaud, on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez in Provence.

Punta di Corbu

Anchorage on the Agriates desert coast in northern Corsica, sand bottom, protected from NE through S.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Quai public de Muids

Public river quay on the left bank of the Seine at Muids, in the Eure department, between Les Andelys and Pont-de-l'Arche.

Rivedoux Plage

Anchorage off Rivedoux-Plage on the east coast of Île de Ré, at the foot of the Pont de l'Île de Ré, with a sand and mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, W, E, SW, S, SE

Saint Tropez

Marina of 734 berths on the south side of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, eastern Var coast.

Sant' Amanza

Wide bay on the south-east coast of Corsica, about 2,8 NM NE of Bonifacio, open to the south-east and indenting roughly 2 NM inland.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S, SE

Anse de Peyrefite

Small cove on the Vermilion Coast between Banyuls and Cerbère, with 8 visitor buoys laid inside the Cerbère-Banyuls marine nature reserve.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Baie de la chapelle

Anchorage on the east coast of Île-d'Arz in the Gulf of Morbihan, 5 berths on sand and weed bottom.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Lorient - La Base

Marina set inside the former Keroman submarine base in the Lorient roadstead, Morbihan.

Palagaccio

Anchorage on the east coast of Cap Corse, just north of Bastia.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Plage de Loto

Shallow sand anchorage on the Agriates coast 3.7 NM NW of Saint-Florent, opposite a 700 m white-sand beach inside a Conservatoire du Littoral estate.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

Saint-Denis-d'Oléron

Marina of 730 berths at the northern tip of the Île d'Oléron, the largest marina on the island.

Eygoires - Lac de Serre-Poncon

Anchorage on the lac de Serre-Ponçon in Hautes-Alpes, an artificial Alpine reservoir of around 2,800 hectares and France's second largest dam lake.

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

Île Dumet

Rocky islet 3 NM off Piriac-sur-Mer in the bay of Vilaine, Loire-Atlantique. Forain anchorage on the south side.

• Sheltered NW, N

Pointe de l'Armorique

Anchorage off the headland that separates the anse du Moulin Blanc from the Elorn estuary, on the south shore of the rade de Brest.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Saint Jean de Monts

Open roadstead off the long sandy beach of Saint-Jean-de-Monts, Vendée coast south of the Baie de Bourgneuf.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E

Baie de Nichiareto

Sand-bottom anchorage in the Revellata peninsula area, west of Calvi, Haute-Corse. Protection from NE, E, S and SE winds.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Cargèse

Harbour of 235 berths on the west coast of Corsica, between the Golfe de Sagone and the Golfe de Porto.

Îles Brescou

Buoy field south of the Île de Brescou, the only volcanic island of the French Mediterranean coast, off Cap d'Agde.

• Free
• Sheltered S

La Corderie

Main anchorage of Île-de-Bréhat, on the west side of the island between Bréhat and Île Logodec, Côtes-d'Armor.

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

La Seyne sur Mer

Marina of 300 berths in the inner part of the bay of Toulon, on the western shore known as the Petite Rade.

Plage de Trévignon

Sand anchorage off the beach immediately W of the Pointe de Trévignon, on the south Finistère coast of the commune of Trégunc.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Portsall

Drying harbour and sand anchorage on the north coast of Finistère, Brittany, between the Aber Benoît and Le Conquet.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SW, S, SE

Saint Pierre des Embiez

Marina of 750 berths on Île des Embiez off Six-Fours-les-Plages, maximum draught 3 m, owned by the Ricard family since 1958.

San-Giuliano

Sandy roadstead off the long beach of San-Giuliano, on the eastern coast of Corsica between Bastia and Solenzara.

• Sheltered W

Sucé Sur Erdre

Small river marina on the Erdre, 15 km north of Nantes in the Pays de la Loire. Nine berths, max draught 1 m.