Best anchorages and harbours in France

Débié

Anchorage on the south side of Pomègues, one of the Frioul islands off Marseille.

• Sheltered N, W, NW

Fiume Bughju

Rocky-bottom anchorage at the mouth of the Fiume Bughju stream in the Golfe de Saint-Florent, northern Corsica.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Halte Nautique Sillery

Canal halt on the Canal de l'Aisne à la Marne, in the village of Sillery, about 9 km south-east of Reims in Champagne.

La Côte Radieuse

Open sand anchorage off the Roussillon coast, north of Canet-en-Roussillon, Pyrénées-Orientales.

• Sheltered W

Mortella Tower South

Anchorage on sand and rock at the foot of the ruined Tour de la Mortella, 2.7 NM NW of Saint-Florent on the Agriates coast.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Petit Port Aix Les Bains

Small harbour on the eastern shore of Lac du Bourget at Aix-les-Bains, alongside the larger Grand Port marina.

Plage des pirates

Anchorage off a small sand beach on the Rhuys peninsula, south Brittany, near Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Plage du Boeuf

Sand anchorage off a short beach on the south side of the Saint-Mandrier peninsula, west of the naval installations of Cap Cépet.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Plage du Racou

Sand beach at the southern end of Argelès-sur-Mer, where the Côte Vermeille begins and the Albères foothills meet the sea.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Port de Deauville

Lock-gated basin of 400 berths at the mouth of the Touques estuary, between Deauville and Trouville in Normandy.

Punta di U Puntiglione

Small anchorage on the south side of the Cargèse peninsula, west coast of Corsica, with a mixed sand and rock bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Rade du Guet

Anchorage with 6 moorings in the bay of Douarnenez, just north of the port of Tréboul, south-western Brittany.

• Free
• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W

Route du Sel

Anchorage along the western shore of the Giens tombolo between Hyères and the Giens peninsula, sand and weed bottom sheltered from N to E.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Anse de Saint-Nicolas

Sand anchorage on the south shore of the Crozon peninsula in the Bay of Douarnenez, Brittany.

• Sheltered N, SW, W, NW

Cap des Frères

Open anchorage off the low sandy coast of the Aude, between Port Leucate and Port-la-Nouvelle in Occitanie.

• Sheltered S, SW, W

Château Thierry

Small river port of 6 berths on the Marne at Gland, near Château-Thierry in the Aisne department.

Falaises de Vaches Noires

Open roadstead off the cliffs between Villers-sur-Mer and Houlgate, on the Calvados coast of Normandy. Fair-weather anchorage only.

• Sheltered S, SE

Giunchetu

Sand-bottomed anchorage on the Balagne coast of Corsica, about 1.5 NM south-west of Île-Rousse.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Grève de Penn al Lann

Anchorage in the rade de Brest, off the southern shore between Rostiviec and Moulin-Mer, in Finistere.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

La Marechal

Small river port on the right bank of the Gironde estuary, in the Saint-Ciers-sur-Gironde area of northern Médoc.

Le Baou Rouge

Anchorage under the red cliffs of the Calanques massif east of Marseille, inside the Parc national des Calanques.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Marine De Davia

Anchorage in the Marine de Davia cove, on the Balagne coast between Algajola and L'Ile-Rousse in Corsica.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Plage de la Fossette

Small cove on the Corniche des Maures between Le Lavandou and Cavalière, with a mixed sand and posidonia seagrass bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Pointe du Rix

Rocky point on the north-east coast of the island of Les Embiez, facing the Brusc lagoon.

• Sheltered NE

Pointe du Trésor

Anchorage along the rocky shore of the Pointe du Trésor, west of Cavalaire-sur-Mer on the Corniche des Maures.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Port Aux Moines

Drying harbour of 117 berths on the south coast of the Rhuys peninsula at Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys, Morbihan.

Port de l'Argol

Mooring field of around 135 buoys at Port de l'Argol, on the Crozon peninsula in the rade de Brest, Brittany.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, E, SW, S, SE

Rade de la Badine - La Capte

Open roadstead off La Capte beach on the Giens isthmus, east of Hyères, Provence.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Sablanceau

Sand beach anchorage on the southeast shore of Île de Ré, just north of the Pont de l'Île de Ré, facing the Pertuis Breton.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Saint Laurent du Var

Marina of 1089 berths at the mouth of the Var river, 2 NM west of Nice airport, one of the largest marinas on the French Riviera.