Best anchorages and harbours in France

Halte de Bourg-et-Comin

Canal halt on the Canal lateral a l'Aisne at Bourg-et-Comin, Hauts-de-France, at the junction with the Canal de l'Oise a l'Aisne.

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

Halte De Châtelet Sur Loing

River halt at Châlette-sur-Loing, immediately north of Montargis, at the junction between the Canal du Loing, the Canal de Briare and the former Canal d'Orléans.

Halte De Diou

River stop on the Canal latéral à la Loire at Diou, in the Allier department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Halte De Lere

Canal halt on the Canal latéral à la Loire at Léré, Cher, between Belleville-sur-Loire and Beaulieu-sur-Loire.

Halte De Montargie

Small river halt on the Canal de Briare at Montargis, about 0.7 nautical miles north of the Saint-Roch marina.

Halte De Soupapes Sur Loing

River halt called Port aux Pierres on the Canal du Loing at Souppes-sur-Loing in Seine-et-Marne, open all year.

Halte Fluviale D'Entrammes

River stop of 22 berths on the canalised Mayenne at Entrammes, south of Laval in Pays de la Loire.

Halte fluviale de Joigny-sur-Meuse

Village river halt on the Meuse in the Ardennes, 6 berths, between Nouzonville and Bogny-sur-Meuse.

Halte HEIDWILLER

Canal halt on the Canal du Rhône au Rhin, southern Alsace, in the village of Heidwiller between Mulhouse and Dannemarie.

Halte La Chapelle

Ten-berth canal halt on the Canal latéral à la Loire at La Chapelle-Montlinard, Cher, opposite La Charité-sur-Loire.

Halte nautique De Montbouy

Small canal halt with 4 berths at Montbouy, on the Canal de Briare in the Loiret.

Halte Nautique de Boé

Canal halt on the Canal latéral à la Garonne at Boé, Lot-et-Garonne, in the southern suburbs of Agen.

Halte Nautique Humes

Small inland halte on the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne at Humes-Jorquenay, upstream of Langres, in the Haute-Marne department.

Halte Nautique Soulanges

River halt at Soulanges on the Canal latéral à la Marne, between Vitry-le-François and Châlons-en-Champagne.

Halte Pique-Nique Piepape

Simple canal picnic halt on the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne at Piépape, near the village of Villegusien-le-Lac in Haute-Marne.

Hameau du Sud

Roadstead off the east coast of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, south of Quinéville and within the bay protected by Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Havre de la Vanlée

Drying tidal estuary on the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula, between Bréville-sur-Mer and Bricqueville-sur-Mer, north of Granville.

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

Hennebont

River port on the Blavet at Hennebont, 4.5 nm upstream from Lorient in south Brittany.

Honfleur

Historic harbour at the mouth of the Seine in Normandy, on the south bank of the estuary opposite Le Havre, with yachts locked into the Vieux Bassin and the Bassin de l'Est.

Honfleur - Bassin De L'Est

Tidal wet basin on the south bank of the Seine estuary in Honfleur, Normandy. Overflow basin for visiting yachts when the Vieux-Bassin is full.

Île aux Oiseaux ouest

Mud anchorage on the west side of the Île aux Oiseaux, a low tidal island at the centre of the bassin d'Arcachon, known for its two stilt-mounted cabins, the cabanes tchanquées.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

île d’Er

Anchorage on sand and rock off the north coast of Brittany, between Port-Blanc and the approaches to Tréguier.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, S, SE

Île de Bechit

Anchorage near Île de Béchit in the Gulf of Morbihan, southern Brittany, inside the closed inland sea that holds Île d'Arz and Île aux Moines.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Île de la Dérivation

River mooring on the Oise at L'Isle-Adam, north-west of Paris, weed bottom, sheltered by the river banks.

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

Île de la Grenouillette

Anchorage on the Charente river upstream of Rochefort, mud bottom, sheltered from NE, E and SE winds.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Île du Pilier

Sand anchorage off the Île du Pilier, a granite islet 2.7 NM northwest of L'Herbaudière on Noirmoutier, Vendée.

• Sheltered SW, S

Île Illiec

Sand-bottom anchorage off Port-Blanc on the Côtes-d'Armor pink granite coast, roughly 1 nm NE of the harbour.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Île Lemenez

Anchorage off the small island of Lémenez in the Bay of Paimpol, between Loguivy-de-la-Mer and the Bréhat archipelago.

• Sheltered NE

In Front Of Slope Before Bridge

River mooring on the Saône at Saint-Jean-de-Losne in Côte-d'Or, in front of the slipway before the road bridge, at the junction of the Canal de Bourgogne and the Canal du Rhône au Rhin.

Inter-Croisières

River base on the Charente at Sireuil, 15 km downstream of Angoulême, New Aquitaine. Licence-free cruiser rentals.