Best anchorages and harbours in France

Neuville-sur-Saône

River stop on the right bank of the Saône at Neuville-sur-Saône, about 15 km north of Lyon in the Rhône department.

Offendorf

Rhine-side river port at Offendorf in Alsace, on the left bank of the Rhine between Strasbourg and Lauterbourg.

Oudon

Small river harbour on the north bank of the Loire at Oudon, between Ancenis and Nantes in the Pays de la Loire.

Palignes

Canal halt on the Canal du Centre at Palinges, Saône-et-Loire, in southern Burgundy.

Parc Fromentine

Sand-bottom anchorage in the Goulet de Fromentine, off the Vendée coast, near the bridge to Île de Noirmoutier.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Pareloup

Lake marina of 6 berths on the Lac de Pareloup, on the Lévézou plateau in Aveyron.

Parentis-en-Born

Small lake port of 4 berths on the south-east shore of the Biscarrosse et Parentis lake, in the Landes.

Pen Vir

Anchorage off the Trieux estuary in the Côtes-d'Armor, west of the Île de Bréhat archipelago in northern Brittany.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Penn énez

Buoyed mooring area off Penn Enez, in the estuary of the Aber Wrac'h, north Finistère.

• Sheltered SW, S

Perroz

Small port on the north bank of the Aber Wrac'h estuary, Plouguerneau, Finistère Nord. Six berths and a fuel point.

Petit port

Small harbour on the north-west shore of Lac d'Annecy, close to the Pâquier and the old town.

Peyriac de Mer

Single-berth village quay on the étang de Bages-Sigean, commune of Peyriac-de-Mer, Aude.

Pirou Plage

Open anchorage off Pirou beach on the west coast of the Cotentin, Manche, on sand, sheltered from NE, E and SE.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

place van

Anchorage on the Lac de Vassivière plateau in Haute-Vienne and Creuse, sand bottom, open water on a man-made reservoir.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Plage Américaine

Sand anchorage on the west shore of Lac de Cazaux et de Sanguinet, the second largest natural lake in mainland France, in the Landes de Gascogne.

• Sheltered W, SW

Plage aux Dames

Anchorage on the western shore of Lac du Bourget in Savoie, 1.4 NM east of Le Bourget-du-Lac village.

• Sheltered E, SE, S, SW

Plage de Bellecin

Anchorage on the eastern shore of Lac de Vouglans, a 35 km reservoir in the Jura.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Plage de Bonporteau

Anchorage south-west of Cavalaire-sur-Mer in the baie de Cavalaire, mixed sand and rock bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, SW, W, NW

Plage de Cassy

Buoy field off Cassy beach on the north shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon, commune of Lanton, 200 m from the village.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Plage de Keremma

Open anchorage off the Keremma dunes on the north Finistère coast, sand bottom, sheltered from S to SW winds but fully exposed to the north swell.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Plage de Kerfissien

Buoyed mooring off the beach of Kerfissien on the north coast of Finistere, between Cleder and Plouescat.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Plage de L'Anse du Fourneau

Anchorage off the north coast of the Île de Ré, between the villages of Ars-en-Ré and Loix, in Charente-Maritime.

• Sheltered W, SW

Plage de l'arnèche

Anchorage in the Gironde estuary off Meschers-sur-Gironde, mud bottom, sheltered from N to E.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Plage de l'Avant port

Anchorage off the north side of Binic on the bay of Saint-Brieuc, Cotes-d'Armor.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Plage de la pointe

Buoy mooring on the Rance river in Ille-et-Vilaine, off the village of Saint-Suliac upstream from the Rance tidal barrage.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Plage de la Vielle Nouvelle

Sand anchorage off the long beach south of Gruissan, between the Étang de l'Ayrolle and the Mediterranean, in Occitania.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Plage de Port Pinard

Mud-bottom anchorage on the French shore of Lake Geneva, 0.5 NM E of Port de Ripaille and 0.8 NM NW of Port d'Amphion-Publier, Haute-Savoie.

• Sheltered SE, W

Plage de Saint-Jacques

Day anchorage off the Plage de Saint-Jacques in Sarzeau, on the south coast of the Rhuys peninsula in Morbihan.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Plage de Tibidy

Anchorage off Tibidy beach in the anse de Poulmic, rade de Brest, facing the Île Tibidy.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Plage de Trehervé

Anchorage off a mud-bottomed beach on the Rhuys peninsula, near the entrance of the rivière de Pénerf, in Morbihan.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W