Best anchorages and harbours in France

Yachting club Metz

River port on the Moselle at Metz, in the Grand Est region, 120 berths and max draught 2 m.

La Roche-Bernard

River anchorage on the Vilaine upstream of the Arzal dam, in front of the town of La Roche-Bernard.

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

Marina Parc

Pleasure-craft basin within the Marina Baie des Anges complex at Villeneuve-Loubet, western Côte d'Azur.

Plage de la Chapelle

Anchorage on sand west of Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, between the Frémur estuary and the Îles Ébihens in Ille-et-Vilaine.

• Sheltered W, NW

Porsmilin

Anchorage off Plage de Porsmilin in Locmaria-Plouzané, on the north shore of the Rade de Brest, western Finistère.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Port de Dole

Inland marina of 20 berths on the Canal du Rhône au Rhin at Dole, in the Jura department.

Conche des Baleines

Sand-bottomed bay on the northwest tip of the Île de Ré, around 40 moorings, sheltered from E, SE, S and SW winds.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

îles Maudez

Anchorage off the small island group north-west of Bréhat, in the northern Côtes-d'Armor, on sand and algae.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Îlot de la Gabinière sud

Buoy field on the south side of La Gabinière, the small islet off the southern tip of Port-Cros, inside the Parc national de Port-Cros.

• Free
• Sheltered N

Anse de Saint - Hernot

Sand anchorage on the east side of the Cap de la Chèvre, Presqu'île de Crozon, Finistère.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Anse de Saint - Norgard

Cove on the south shore of the Presqu'île de Crozon in the Baie de Douarnenez, sand bottom, sheltered from the north and west.

• Sheltered N, W, NW

Chavanay

Anchorage on the Rhône at Chavanay, in the Pilat foothills south of Lyon, mud bottom, shelter from SW through NW.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Mucchiu Biancu

Anchorage on the south coast of Corsica between Pianottoli-Caldarello and Tizzano, sand and rock bottom, sheltered from N sectors.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Plage sud ouest île Callot

Anchorage off the south-west beach of Callot island, at the entrance to the bay of Morlaix in northern Finistere.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Trez Bihan

Sandy cove on the south shore of the Crozon peninsula in Finistère, inside the Bay of Douarnenez.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Mèze

Anchorage in the northern part of the étang de Thau, 0.2 nm SE of the port of Mèze, sand bottom, sheltered from the NW mistral that blows down the lagoon.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Rivedoux Plage

Open anchorage off the east coast of the Ile de Re, just south of the Ile de Re bridge linking the island to La Rochelle.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Baie d'Elbo Sud

Anchorage on the south side of the Baie d'Elbo, inside the Scandola nature reserve on the west coast of Corsica.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Calanque de la Culate

Narrow rocky inlet on the Marseille coast between Les Goudes and Morgiou, inside the Calanques National Park.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Ponton Belem

Dedicated berth of 15 places on the Loire at Nantes, named after the three-masted barque Belem which calls there.

Punta di Saeta

Anchorage in the Gulf of Saint-Florent on the western side of Cap Corse, sand bottom, about 2.6 nautical miles north-east of Saint-Florent.

• Sheltered E, SE

Vilaine

River anchorage on the Vilaine above the Arzal dam, between Arzal-Camoël and La Roche-Bernard, southern Morbihan.

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

Amicale nautique des sauveteurs de Nievroz

Freshwater mooring on the Rhône at Niévroz, upstream of Lyon in the Ain département, operated by the local rescue club.

• Paid
• Sheltered N

Port Blanc

Anchorage on the Cote de Granit Rose at Penvenan, sheltered by a belt of pink granite islets including Île Saint-Gildas and Île du Château Neuf.

• Paid
• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Anse de Combrit

Anchorage in the Odet estuary off the Combrit shore, 1,5 NM NW of Bénodet in southern Finistère.

• Sheltered N, S, SW, W, NW

Kervili

Anchorage in the Aber-Wrac'h estuary, on the north coast of Finistère in Brittany.

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

La Coudoulière

Marina of 450 berths on the western shore of Six-Fours-les-Plages, opposite the Ile des Embiez and south of the Cap Sicie massif.

Port d Toul'Ru

Mooring field of 200 buoys off Mesquer in the Baie de Pont-Mahé, Pays de la Loire, between the Pointe de Merquel and the salt marshes of Guérande.

• Paid
• Sheltered W, SW, S

Port de l'Erdre

River port of 50 berths on the Erdre at Nantes, upstream of the Saint-Félix lock, in Pays de la Loire.

Sucé sur Erdre

River anchorage on the Erdre north of Nantes, in a widened reach of the river classed among the protected landscapes of the Loire-Atlantique.

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