Best anchorages and harbours in France

Ouistrahem

Tidal harbour at the mouth of the Canal de Caen à la mer in Calvados, Normandy, combining a marina basin, a ferry terminal and the lock giving access to Caen 15 kilometres inland.

Anse du Logéo

Large buoy field of around 290 moorings in the Golfe du Morbihan, on the south shore of the Presqu'île de Rhuys.

• Paid
• Sheltered W, SW, S

Bonporteau

Sand-bottomed cove on the Var coast between Cavalaire-sur-Mer and Cap Lardier, sheltered from N, NE and NW winds.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Halte de plaisance de Rouen

River halt for pleasure craft on the Seine at Rouen, on the left bank below the Pont Guillaume-le-Conquérant.

• Sheltered N, E, S, W

Marseillan Plage

Open roadstead off the beach of Marseillan Plage, on the Languedoc lido between the étang de Thau and the Mediterranean, sand bottom.

• Sheltered N, NW

Pierre Vassiliu

Anchorage on the étang de Thau off Mèze, mixed bottom of sand, mud and rock, exposed to easterly winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Quai Saaralbe

Two-berth canal quay at Sarralbe on the Canal des houilleres de la Sarre, 0,8 NM from the main Port de Sarralbe.

Rosmeur

Fishing harbour of Douarnenez on the north shore of the baie de Douarnenez, Finistère, Brittany.

Anse de Magaud

Small rocky cove on the western flank of the Cap Brun, east of Toulon, in Provence.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Haybes

Small river halt on the right bank of the Meuse in the Ardennes, 10 berths, opposite the Roc de Fépin rock face.

L'Ayguade du Levant

Small harbour of 33 berths on the north coast of the Île du Levant, Îles d'Hyères, facing the mainland in Provence.

Plage de L'Aiguade

Sand anchorage on the north coast of Porquerolles, just west of the village harbour, inside the Port-Cros National Park perimeter.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW

Rade de Cannes

Open roadstead off the Croisette at Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, between the seafront and the Îles de Lérins 1 NM south.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Saint-Colomban

Sand anchorage off the Saint-Colomban beach at Carnac-Plage, south Brittany. Water point ashore.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

A cala Pulgiaghja

Rocky anchorage on the west coast of southern Corsica, around 3 NM NW of Tizzano.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Pornichet

Marina of 1150 berths on the Baie de La Baule south of the Loire estuary, one of the largest marinas on the French Atlantic coast.

Port du Croûton

Municipal port of about 390 berths on the western shore of the Cap d'Antibes, at Juan-les-Pins, Alpes-Maritimes.

Stibiden

Anchorage on the east side of the Gulf of Morbihan, Brittany, between Île aux Moines and the Rhuys peninsula.

• Sheltered NW, W

Aber Wrac'h

Mooring field of ten buoys in the Aber Wrac'h ria, northern Finistère, mud bottom, opposite the village of L'Aber-Wrac'h.

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

Baie de Solana Nord

Anchorage on the western coast of Corsica, inside the Réserve Naturelle de Scandola, just north of Girolata.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Banc du Tourlinguet

Sandbank at the entrance of Arcachon Bay, Gironde, where anchoring is prohibited by maritime regulation.

• Sheltered NW, N

Capbreton

Marina of 960 berths at the mouth of the Boudigau channel in the Landes, the only sheltered port on the 100 km sand coast between the Adour and the Arcachon inlet.

Port De Beslé

River halt on the Vilaine, in the hamlet of Beslé-sur-Vilaine commune of Guémené-Penfao, between Redon and Guipry-Messac.

Centuri

Small harbour of 108 berths on the west coast of Cap Corse, 20 km north of Saint-Florent.

Le Guilvinec - Léchiagat

Fishing harbour on the Pays Bigouden coast, with a plaisance basin of around 290 berths on the Léchiagat side opposite the main trawler quays.

Fontenoy-le-Château

Inland halte on the Canal des Vosges, formerly Canal de l'Est branch sud, at the village of Fontenoy-le-Château in the southern Vosges.

Infinity Nautique

Shipyard and service pontoon at Le Parun in Baden, on the west shore of the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany. In business on the site since 1971, renamed Infinity Chantier Naval Le Borgne in 2014.

Port La Vinaigreie

Small river port on the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne near Joinville, Haute-Marne, with 4 berths and up to 2 m draught.

Asque

Small river halt on the right bank of the Dordogne at Asques, upstream of the Bec d'Ambès confluence with the Garonne, in Gironde.

Cacalu

Anchorage on the west coast of Corsica in the golfe de Valinco sector, sand and algae bottom.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE