Best anchorages and harbours in France

Carcassonne

Inland port on the Canal du Midi at Carcassonne, alongside the SNCF station in the lower town, below the medieval Cite.

Santa Lucia

Marina of 1500 berths east of Saint-Raphaël on the Esterel coast, Var.

Anse de Stole

Sandy anchorage off Lomener, on the Morbihan coast between Lorient and Plœmeur in southern Brittany.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Anse du Creux Saint-Georges

Small sand cove on the north side of the Saint-Mandrier peninsula, inside the Petite Rade de Toulon.

• Free
• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W

Baie de Palombaggia

Open anchorage off the Palombaggia beach, south of Porto-Vecchio in south-east Corsica. Sand and rock bottom, protected from the north-west sector.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Penn vale

Sand-bottom anchorage on the north coast of Brittany in the Côtes-d'Armor, in the waters off Penvénan and the Port-Blanc archipelago.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Saint Jouin-Bruneval

Open anchorage off the chalk cliffs of Saint-Jouin-Bruneval in Seine-Maritime, sand bottom, just south of the Antifer oil terminal.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Aneret

Anchorage on the southern side of the Chausey archipelago, 8.3 NM west of Granville in the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW

Anse Pommelin

Anchorage on the west side of the Trieux estuary in the Côtes-d'Armor, sand and mud bottom, sheltered from west and south, open to the east.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Golfe de Monacchi

Anchorage on the west coast of Corsica between Cargèse and Sagone, sand bottom, sheltered from N through SE.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Île de Jarre

Uninhabited island south-east of Marseille, inside the Calanques national park, with a sand anchorage on its northern side protected from southerly winds.

• Sheltered SE, S

Les Trois Tourtes

Anchorage on the Odet river in Finistère, mud bottom, sheltered from all sectors except S.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, SW, W, NW

Mâcon

River marina on the right bank of the Saône at Mâcon, in southern Burgundy, opposite the quai Lamartine.

Marina de Deauville

Outer marina of 800 berths on the western bank of the Touques estuary, between Deauville and the sea.

Plage de Kergalec

Anchorage off plage de Kergalec in the rade de Brest, Brittany, mud bottom, sheltered from NW, N, NE, W and E winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Plage du Béniguet

Sandy anchorage off the north-west coast of Île de Houat, in the Mor Bras between Quiberon and Belle-Île.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Port Bourgenay

Purpose-built marina of 640 berths on the Vendee coast, south of Les Sables-d'Olonne, at the edge of Talmont-Saint-Hilaire.

Port Fluvial D'évran

Small halt of 4 berths on the Canal d'Ille-et-Rance at Évran, between Dinan and Rennes in Côtes-d'Armor.

San't Ambrogio

Bay on the Balagne coast east of Algajola, next to Port Eugène Ceccaldi and the resort of Sant'Ambrogio.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW

Andancette

Small river halt on the left bank of the Rhône, opposite Andance, between Vienne and Valence.

Bonifacio

Natural fjord harbour at the southern tip of Corsica, cut 1.5 km into limestone cliffs opposite the Strait of Bonifacio.

Halte De Never La Jonction

River halt of 60 berths at Nevers, at the junction between the Canal latéral à la Loire and the short branch canal leading down to the river Loire.

Halte nautique de Blaye

Pontoon halt on the right bank of the Gironde estuary at the foot of the Citadelle de Blaye, a Vauban fortification inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

hesse- le boat base

Le Boat rental base on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin at Hesse, in Moselle, a few kilometres west of Sarrebourg.

Les Evens

Open anchorage on sand off the Côte d'Amour between Pornichet and La Baule, Loire-Atlantique.

Plage de la Madrague

Anchorage off the western shore of the Giens peninsula, near Hyères, on a sand and weed bottom.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Plage des Éléphants

Sandy anchorage off the Issambres coast between Saint-Aygulf and Sainte-Maxime, in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Port-Cros

Small harbour on Port-Cros island, within the Port-Cros national park, off Hyères in the Var.

Punta De l'Ocell

Rocky anchorage on the Côte Vermeille, immediately south of Cerbère and just north of the Spanish border at Cap Cerbère.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Puntalle

Sand anchorage 2.5 NM NW of Saint-Florent on the southern edge of the Agriates, tucked behind a low rocky point that blocks swell from the main sector of winds.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE