Best anchorages and harbours in France

Chartrettes

River port on the upper Seine between Melun and Samois, in Seine-et-Marne, opposite the forest of Fontainebleau.

La Falaise

Mooring field of 35 buoys off Locmariaquer, at the entrance of the Golfe du Morbihan.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Marseille - CNTL

Cercle Nautique et Touristique du Lacydon, 750 berths on the south side of Marseille Vieux-Port, next to the Pharo.

Penn ar Roc’h

Exposed rocky anchorage on the Finistère coast of Brittany, sheltered only from NW and W.

• Sheltered NW, W

Pointe du Banditu

Anchorage on the west coast of Corsica near Tizzano, south of the Golfe de Valinco, on a sand bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

Quai François Palumbo - Marine et compagnie

Service quay on the Hérault river at Agde, used by the Marine et Compagnie yard, opposite the old town basalt ramparts.

Anse du Bois Foucaut

Anchorage on the south-west shore of Lac d'Orient, Aube, close to the marina of Mesnil-Saint-Père. Weed bottom.

• Sheltered E, SE, S, SW, W

Cap des Medes

Prohibited anchorage at the north-east tip of Porquerolles, inside the Port-Cros National Park core zone.

• Sheltered E, SE

Ecluse De Neuville

Lock mooring on the Mayenne river in Pays de la Loire, mud bottom, sheltered on all sectors by the riverbanks.

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

Pointe La Rabiou

Rocky headland anchorage on the east side of the Saint-Tropez peninsula, between Les Salins and the Cap de Saint-Tropez.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Portz Chudell

Small cove on the south coast of the Île de Groix, off the Morbihan coast of Brittany. Rock and weed bottom, open to the south.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Baie de l'Acciolu

Sandy bay on the Désert des Agriates coast of northern Corsica, west of Saint-Florent.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Cala di Faru

Rocky cove at the northern entrance of the Gulf of Valinco, just NW of Porto Pollo, on the west coast of Corsica.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, S, SW

Paimpol

Anchorage off the town of Paimpol in the Anse de Paimpol, north coast of Brittany, Côtes-d'Armor.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W, NW

Phar'o Port Marseillan

Marina of 500 berths at Marseillan, on the southern shore of the étang de Thau in Occitanie.

Plage Saint-Nicolas

Anchorage off the Île Saint-Nicolas in the Archipel des Glénan, south Finistère, sand bottom protected from east and south-east.

• Sheltered E, S, SE

Aber Benoît

Five visitor buoys in the Aber Benoît, the northern ria of the Pays des Abers on the north-west coast of Finistère.

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

Cap Sicié

Headland south of La Seyne-sur-Mer topped by the chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Mai at 352 metres, rocky anchorage on the lee north side only.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Ile du Petit Ribaud

Mooring buoys off the Ribaud islet, in the strait between the Giens peninsula and Porquerolles, within the Port-Cros national park perimeter.

• Sheltered N, W, E, S

Île Dumet

Anchorage off Ile Dumet, a 7-hectare island 3 NM off the Mesquer coast in southern Brittany.

• Sheltered NE, E

plage de binic

Sand anchorage off the town beach of Binic on the Côtes-d'Armor, in the bay north of Saint-Brieuc.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S, SE

Quai de Bondy

River quay on the right bank of the Saône in Vieux Lyon, at the foot of the Fourvière hill, opposite the Presqu'île.

Basse du Vengeur

Rocky anchorage off the north coast of Sainte-Marguerite island, in the Lérins archipelago off Cannes.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

Jard-sur-Mer

Tidal marina in southern Vendée, 716 berths, maximum draught 1.3 m, on the coast between Les Sables-d'Olonne and La Tranche-sur-Mer.

Le Mans

River port on the Sarthe in the city of Le Mans, at the foot of the Cité Plantagenêt. About thirty berths on seven pontoons for boats up to 23 m.

Plage du Jonquet

Anchorage off a sand beach on the south flank of the Cap Sicié peninsula, between Six-Fours-les-Plages and La Seyne-sur-Mer in the Var.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Plage du Liamone

Open sand anchorage at the mouth of the Liamone river on the west coast of Corsica, 2.9 nm SE of Sagone and 6.5 nm SE of Cargèse.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Pointe des Carrières

Anchorage on the north coast of Porquerolles island, sand and posidonia bottom, sheltered from NW, N, NE and E.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Baie de Sanary

Rocky anchorage in the bay off Sanary-sur-Mer, Var coast, sheltered from northerly winds and open to the south.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Cordemais

River port of around 60 berths on the north bank of the Loire estuary, 20 km upstream of Saint-Nazaire.