Best anchorages and harbours in France

Plage des Saumonards

Anchorage off the east coast of Île d'Oléron, behind the Forêt des Saumonards, facing Fort Boyard, Charente-Maritime.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

Ponton fluival st. laurent

River pontoon on the left bank of the Saône at Saint-Laurent-sur-Saône, opposite Mâcon.

Port Pin Rolland

Marina of 350 berths on the north shore of the Saint-Mandrier peninsula, inside the western part of the Petite Rade de Toulon.

Rieux

River port of 25 berths on the Vilaine, downstream of Redon in Morbihan.

Anse du Cabestan

Small cove on the west side of the Baie d'Audierne in southern Finistère, Brittany, sand bottom, open to the south-west.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Cogolin

Sand anchorage at the head of the Golfe de Saint-Tropez, off the mouth of the Giscle river between Port-Grimaud and the Marines de Cogolin.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W

Courseulles-sur-Mer

Tidal marina at the mouth of the Seulles river on the Calvados coast, 750 berths, max draught 1.8 m.

Le Conquet

Tidal harbour at the western tip of Finistère, facing the Chenal du Four and the islands of Ouessant and Molène.

Paimboeuf

River port on the left bank of the Loire estuary, about 15 nautical miles downstream of Nantes and 10 miles upstream of Saint-Nazaire.

Plage du Gros Jonc

Open roadstead off the south-west coast of the Île de Ré in Charente-Maritime, facing the Pertuis d'Antioche.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Anse de Bonnieu

Small cove on the Côte Bleue west of Martigues, between Port des Laurons and Carro, Bouches-du-Rhône.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, S, SW

Anse de Toulin

Sandy anchorage off the Côte d'Amour, just south of Le Pouliguen harbour entrance in the bay of La Baule.

• Sheltered N, SW, W, NW

Port de Loix

Tidal port in the salt marshes of Loix, Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, 50 berths.

Théâtre de la mer

Anchorage off the Théâtre Jean Vilar open-air amphitheatre on the eastern seafront of Sète, Hérault.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Anse de Trébézy

Anchorage on the north shore of the Loire estuary, west of Saint-Nazaire, mud bottom, sheltered from NW, N and W winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Avant-port de Sainte-Maxime

Prohibited anchoring zone in the outer harbour of Sainte-Maxime, Gulf of Saint-Tropez, sand bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Golfe de Chiuni

Anchorage on the west coast of Corsica, 1.8 nm NW of Cargèse, on a seabed of posidonia meadow.

• Sheltered NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Le Port Levi

Small drying harbour on the north coast of the Cotentin peninsula, in the village of Fermanville, about 6 nautical miles east of Cherbourg.

Plage De Figuerolle, Saint Mitre

Anchorage off Figuerolles beach on the north shore of the Étang de Berre, near Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts, Bouches-du-Rhône.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Plage de Frontignan

Sand anchorage off Frontignan-Plage on the Golfe du Lion coast, Occitanie, sheltered from NW through NE.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Port Navalo

Small harbour of 235 berths at the northern tip of the Rhuys peninsula, on the west side of the entrance to the Gulf of Morbihan.

Anse de Ker Châlon

Sand anchorage on the north-east coast of the Île d'Yeu, 0.4 NM south-east of Port Joinville, close to the town and the Plage de Ker Châlon.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W

Camping D'Aglio

Sandy anchorage in the Golfe du Valinco off the Aglio beach, 1.6 nm NW of Propriano on the west coast of Corsica.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Port Taverna

Marina of 405 berths on the east coast of Corsica, in the commune of Santa-Maria-Poggio, about 20 nautical miles south of Bastia.

Anse de la Maronaise

Small cove on the Marseille coast near Les Goudes, at the western edge of the Calanques National Park, sand bottom.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, S

Baie de Bandol

Anchorage in the bay of Bandol in the Var, between the mainland and the Île de Bendor 300 m offshore.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Fret South

Anchorage off Le Fret on the east side of the Crozon peninsula, in the Rade de Brest, Finistère. Sand, rock and mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, W, E, SW, S, SE

Istres- Les Heures Claires

Marina of 210 berths on the western shore of the Étang de Berre, south of Istres town.

L'Île-Rousse

Buoy field off the town of L'Île-Rousse in Balagne, northern Corsica, over a Posidonia meadow, open to the north.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Larmor Baden

Small tidal harbour on the north shore of the Gulf of Morbihan, west of Vannes, facing the Île aux Moines.