Best anchorages and harbours in France

Vaudemange

Five-berth halt on the Canal de l'Aisne à la Marne near the junction with the Canal latéral à la Marne, in the Champagne vineyards south-east of Reims.

Halte Osilly

Small canal halt at Oisilly on the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne, in Côte-d'Or.

Lacanau

Lakeside harbour on the Étang de Lacanau in the Médoc, freshwater basin not connected to the sea.

Le Grand Fauchon

Anchorage in the Pertuis d'Antioche off Fouras, north of Île d'Aix, mud bottom, sheltered from N, NW and W winds.

• Sheltered N, W, NW

Plage du Cavaou

Anchorage off Plage du Cavaou at the mouth of the Golfe de Fos, sand and mud bottom, sheltered from winds from NW to SW.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Plage du Grand Traict

Open anchorage off the sandy beach of Grand Traict on the Guérande peninsula, between Pornichet and Le Croisic, on the southern Loire-Atlantique coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Pumping Station

River anchorage on the Rhône between Andance and Saint-Vallier, on muddy bottom.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

Alte Kies laderampe

Single alongside berth at a former gravel loading ramp on the Moselle, near Novéant-sur-Moselle.

Plage du Groa

Rocky anchorage off the west side of the Île de Bréhat archipelago, in the Côtes-d'Armor.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Port Legrand - Nautic 2024

Small private river port on the Seine at Sèvres, west of Paris, upstream of the Île de Billancourt.

Roquemaure town wall

Town quay on the right bank of the Rhone at Roquemaure, Gard, opposite the vineyards of Chateauneuf-du-Pape in Occitania.

Penvins

Small drying harbour on the pointe de Penvins, on the south coast of the Rhuys peninsula in Morbihan, Brittany.

Port Privé Du Val St Martin

Private river port on the Seine at Les Andelys, Eure, on the left bank facing the cliff of Château Gaillard.

Pont L'évêque

Canal halt at Sempigny near Noyon, on the Canal latéral à l'Oise, with 10 berths and up to 1,7 m draught.

Saint Guénolé - Penmarc'h

Fishing harbour on the Pays Bigouden coast of Finistère, at the western tip of the Penmarc'h peninsula, south Brittany.

St Seurin d'Uzet

Tidal drying harbour on the right bank of the Gironde estuary, 15 km downstream of Mortagne-sur-Gironde, in Charente-Maritime.

Bassin de St Nazaire

Locked commercial basin at the mouth of the Loire in Saint-Nazaire, used as a transit stop by yachts entering the river on their way upstream to Nantes.

Junction mooring

Short canal mooring at the junction south of Richardmenil lock on the Canal des Vosges.

Anse du Levant

Anchorage off the Mourillon beaches at Toulon, facing the Petite Rade and the naval base.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW, S

d’Anthy sur Léman

Anchorage on the southern shore of Lake Geneva, in Haute-Savoie, between Thonon-les-Bains and Sciez.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Ponton halte fluival

Pontoon halt on the Saône in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, between Neuville-sur-Saône 0.6 NM to the north and Port d'Albigny 0.6 NM to the south.

Sauvage

Lake anchorage on the Étang de Biscarrosse et de Parentis, in the Landes forest, New Aquitaine.

• Sheltered N, SW, W, NW

Poihes

Canal du Midi halte in the village of Poilhes, in the Hérault between Béziers and Capestang, on the long pound that runs level from Fonseranes to the Malpas tunnel.

Plage de Porticcio

Buoy field off the beach of Porticcio, on the south shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio, Corsica.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Banastère

Mud-bottom anchorage in the bay of Banastère, on the south-west shore of the Rhuys peninsula in the Gulf of Morbihan approaches.

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

Le Cerbicale

Anchorage off the Îles Cerbicale, a rocky archipelago 2 NM east of Porto-Vecchio on the south-east coast of Corsica.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Port de Digoin

River port of 50 berths at Digoin, Saône-et-Loire, at the meeting point of the Canal latéral à la Loire, the Canal du Centre and the pont-canal over the river Loire.

Port du Havre - Antifer

Deep-water oil terminal of Port du Havre on the Pays de Caux coast, north of Étretat. Not a leisure harbour.

kai km191

Canal quay at PK 191 on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin, 3 berths, near Einville-au-Jard in Meurthe-et-Moselle.

Port De Trévignon

Fishing and yachting harbour at the tip of the Trévignon peninsula, on the southern coast of Finistère in Brittany, commune of Trégunc.