Best anchorages and harbours in France

Chantier Des Torpilleurs

Boatyard and pontoon on the Canal de Tancarville at Tancarville, Seine estuary, Normandie, at the foot of the Pont de Tancarville.

Étang De Diana

Brackish coastal lagoon on the east coast of Corsica, north of Aléria, connected to the Tyrrhenian Sea by a narrow channel.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Havre de Rothéneuf

Open roadstead east of Saint-Malo in Brittany, sand bottom, fully exposed with no natural shelter from any wind direction.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W

Île de Patiras

Estuary anchorage in New Aquitaine, 0.9 nm W of Port de la Belle Étoile, mud bottom, sheltered from the south.

• Sheltered S

Île aux Chevaux

Anchorage off a small islet in the Gulf of Morbihan, sand and rock bottom.

• Sheltered W, SW

L'Arbre-Sec

Prohibited anchoring zone on the river Yonne, in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, between Vermenton and Migennes.

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

Port de Plaisance d’Épinal

Canal port in the centre of Epinal, prefecture of the Vosges department, on the embranchement d'Epinal of the Canal des Vosges.

Kercabellec

Drying harbour on the Mesquer estuary, in the salt-marsh hinterland of Mesquer, Loire-Atlantique.

la Pointe aux chevaux

Anchorage on the western shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon between Claouey and Le Canon, on the Cap-Ferret peninsula, sand bottom, sheltered from N, W and NW winds.

• Sheltered N, W, NW

La poire

Anchorage on sand and weed south of Penmarc'h, at the western tip of the pays Bigouden in southern Finistère. Shelter from NW to NE winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Mimizan

River port on the Courant de Mimizan, between the Atlantic beach and the Etang d'Aureilhan, in the Landes forest of New Aquitaine.

Roches du repos

Rock anchorage off the Vendée coast, south of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, open to the Atlantic swell.

• Free
• Sheltered N, NE, E

Saint Briac sur Mer

Anchorage off Saint-Briac-sur-Mer on the Côte d'Émeraude, west of Saint-Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Club Nautique de Plouguerneau

Sailing club base on the Aber Wrac'h estuary at Plouguerneau, north Finistere.

Havre de Rothéneuf

Anchorage 3.2 nm NE of Saint-Malo, sand bottom, sheltered from E through NW winds.

• Sheltered E, SE, S, SW, W, NW

km 167.5

Canal halt at PK 167.5 on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin at Jarville-la-Malgrange, southern suburb of Nancy, 3 berths.

Pointe de Beg Douar

Anchorage off the Beg Douar headland in the baie de Locquirec, northern Brittany. Rock bottom, shelter from the N only.

• Paid
• Sheltered N

Port-des-Barques

Mooring on buoys off Port-des-Barques in the Charente estuary, Charente-Maritime, 4 berths on sand.

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

Traou Meur

Mud-bottom anchorage in the estuary of the Trieux, between Lezardrieux and Pontrieux in northern Brittany.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, S, SE

Valenti

Buoy mooring on the Côte Vermeille between Port-Vendres and Banyuls-sur-Mer, Pyrénées-Orientales, inside the Cerbère-Banyuls marine reserve.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Châtelaillon - Plage

Anchorage off Châtelaillon-Plage on the Pertuis d'Antioche, south of La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Halte Quai Sully

River halt on the Canal de Briare at Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses, in the Loiret, with 1.5 m maximum draught.

Anse de Desvenel

Sandy anchorage on the Cap Sizun coast in western Brittany, a few miles north of Audierne.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Cala Sciumara

Small cove on the south coast of Corsica east of Bonifacio, in the Bouches de Bonifacio marine reserve. Anchoring is prohibited.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Cavallo West

Anchorage on the western shore of Île Cavallo in the Lavezzi archipelago, Bouches de Bonifacio, sand bottom, sheltered from N, NE and E winds.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Gruissan Port à sec

Dry stack storage at Gruissan, in the Aude department of Occitanie, adjoining the Port de Gruissan marina. Around 250 spaces.

Lac d'Hourtin - Piqueyrot

Sand-bottom anchorage on the eastern shore of the lac d'Hourtin-Carcans, Gironde, the largest natural freshwater lake in France at around 6,200 hectares.

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

Ligny-en-Barrois

Canal halt on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin in the Meuse department, Grand Est, serving the small town of Ligny-en-Barrois.

Port Mélite

Small cove anchorage on the northern coast of Île de Groix, Morbihan, Brittany, 0.8 NM E of Port-Tudy.

• Free
• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Chantier Naval JPL

Boatyard on the Caen canal at Ouistreham, in Normandy, offering haul-out and refit services for pleasure craft.