Best anchorages and harbours in France

Halte fluviale du Chesne

Fluvial halt of 4 berths on the Canal des Ardennes, at Le Chesne, on the plateau between the Aisne and the Meuse.

Marseillan Marine

Anchorage on the Étang de Thau off Marseillan, weed bottom, sheltered from SW, W and NW winds.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Mouillage de La Cafetière

Mooring on the south-west shore of Lac du Bourget, 0.4 nm N of Charpignat and 0.7 nm N of Le Bourget-du-Lac, Savoie.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Port de Niolon

Small harbour of 60 berths in the calanque of Niolon, on the Côte Bleue west of Marseille, inside the Parc Marin de la Côte Bleue.

Pointe de Manson

Buoy mooring with 2 berths off the Pointe de Manson on Île d'Oléron, sand bottom, sheltered from W through SW, open to the E across the Pertuis de Maumusson.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Pointe du Blair

Anchorage on the west side of the Golfe du Morbihan, off Locmariaquer, with room for about 70 boats on sand and weed.

• Paid
• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Raka

Sand anchorage on the east side of the Giens peninsula near Hyères, between La Capte to the north and Port Auguier to the south.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Sant'Amanza

Deep bay on the southeast coast of Corsica, 2.9 nm east of Bonifacio, open to the east.

Fouras - La Fumée

Anchorage off the Pointe de la Fumée at Fouras, Charente estuary, facing the Île d'Aix and the approaches to Rochefort.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Halte Fluvial de Fouchécourt

Small river stop on the Petite Saone at Fouchecourt, Haute-Saone, in the upper navigable reach of the river.

Ponton Camping les harlequins

Private pontoon of the Les Arlequins campsite on the Saône at Saint-Jean-de-Losne, 5 berths, close to the town quay.

Rade de Portrieux

Open roadstead off Saint-Quay-Portrieux on the Côtes-d'Armor coast of Brittany, in the bay of Saint-Brieuc.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Toulhars

Small harbour at Larmor-Plage on the west side of the Lorient roadstead, Morbihan, south Brittany.

Andance

River halt on the right bank of the Rhône at Andance, opposite Andancette in the Ardèche, north of Valence.

Canal de Saint-Antoine

Mooring buoys in the canal de Saint-Antoine at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, mud bottom, sheltered from the W.

• Sheltered W

Marine de Sisco

Anchorage off the Marine de Sisco on the east coast of Cap Corse, between Bastia and Macinaggio.

• Sheltered S, SW, W, NW

Port De Goisil

Drying tidal harbour on the north shore of the Ile de Re, between Loix and Saint-Martin-de-Re, in the Fier d'Ars.

Réserve de Tré padule

Rocky anchorage on the south-east coast of Corsica near the Réserve naturelle de Tre Padule de Suartone, between Sant'Amanza and Bonifacio.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Comberge

Small drying harbour on the south coast of the Pays de la Loire, between Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef and Pornic, a short hop from the Île du Pilier anchorages.

Damgan plage

Visitor buoys off the plage de Damgan in the Morbihan, south Brittany, on mud holding.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Plage municipale de Sciez

Lake anchorage on the Petit Lac of Lake Geneva, off the Château de Coudrée at Sciez, Haute-Savoie.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

Pulvinier

Rock-strewn anchorage on the Côte de Granit Rose just off Ploumanac'h, between the pink granite boulders of Trégastel and Perros-Guirec.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Vert Bois

Anchorage on the west coast of the Île d'Oléron, off the Vert Bois beach and the Saint-Trojan forest, Charente-Maritime.

• Sheltered NE, E

Anse des Salettes

Cove on the south side of the Giens peninsula in Le Pradet, Var, on the north shore of the rade d'Hyères.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Plage du Vau Chaperon

Sand anchorage in the bay of Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, between Binic and Saint-Quay-Portrieux on the north Brittany coast.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

port plaisance de parroy

Six-berth canal halt at Parroy on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin eastern branch, close to the Étang de Parroy.

Anse du sec

Small cove on the east side of La Ciotat, at the foot of the Bec de l'Aigle cliffs in the Parc national des Calanques.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, W

Arcachon

Marina of 2 600 berths at the south edge of the Arcachon basin in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the largest pleasure port on the French Atlantic coast.

dettviller ost

Point on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin east of Dettwiller village in Bas-Rhin, Alsace. Mooring is prohibited on this reach, bottom is mud.

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

Port De Cran

River port on the Vilaine in Saint-Dolay, Morbihan, on the estuarine section upstream of the Arzal dam.