Best anchorages and harbours in Languedoc-Roussillon

Etang du Ponant

Brackish coastal lagoon north of La Grande-Motte, about 270 hectares, connected to the sea by a narrow grau. Mud bottom with water available ashore.

• Sheltered N, S, SW, W, NW

La Grande Motte

Marina of 1547 berths on the Gulf of Lion in Occitanie, fronting the pyramid architecture of Jean Balladur.

Port de Carnon

Marina of 848 berths on the Languedoc coast, between the Étang de l'Or and the Mediterranean, in the commune of Mauguio.

Valras-Plage

Harbour of 350 berths at the mouth of the Orb, Hérault, on the Occitan coast.

Mèze

Harbour of 192 berths on the north shore of the Étang de Thau, Hérault.

Plage des Aresquiers

Open roadstead anchorage off the Plage des Aresquiers, between Frontignan and Vic-la-Gardiole on the Occitanie coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Banyuls-sur-Mer

Marina of 363 berths in the Banyuls bay, on the Côte Vermeille between the Pyrenees and the Spanish border, Occitanie.

Collioure

Catalan harbour on the Cote Vermeille, 30 km south of Perpignan, tucked between Cap Bear and the Pyrenees foothills.

Anse de Peyrefite

Small cove on the Vermilion Coast between Banyuls and Cerbère, with 8 visitor buoys laid inside the Cerbère-Banyuls marine nature reserve.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Îles Brescou

Buoy field south of the Île de Brescou, the only volcanic island of the French Mediterranean coast, off Cap d'Agde.

• Free
• Sheltered S

Chichoulet plage

Sand-bottom anchorage off Chichoulet beach in Vendres, on the Occitan coast between the mouth of the Aude and Valras-Plage.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

La Côte Radieuse

Open sand anchorage off the Roussillon coast, north of Canet-en-Roussillon, Pyrénées-Orientales.

• Sheltered W

Plage du Racou

Sand beach at the southern end of Argelès-sur-Mer, where the Côte Vermeille begins and the Albères foothills meet the sea.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Cap des Frères

Open anchorage off the low sandy coast of the Aude, between Port Leucate and Port-la-Nouvelle in Occitanie.

• Sheltered S, SW, W

Port de Gruissan

Large marina of 1620 berths in the étang de Gruissan lagoon, Aude, linked to the Mediterranean by a buoyed channel.

Punta De l'Ocell

Rocky anchorage on the Côte Vermeille, immediately south of Cerbère and just north of the Spanish border at Cap Cerbère.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Port-Neuf de Béziers

River port on the Canal du Midi at Béziers, Hérault, at the foot of the Fonseranes lock flight and 2.9 NM west of Villeneuve-lès-Béziers.

Canet-en-Roussillon

Large marina on the Roussillon coast, 1300 berths facing the Canigou massif, between the Têt estuary and Saint-Cyprien.

Sterne Voiles - Port à Sec

Dry stack storage facility at Sète on the Étang de Thau, Hérault, with 50 spaces and launch by hoist.

Sète

Deep-water port of 820 berths at the foot of the Mont Saint-Clair, linking the Mediterranean to the étang de Thau and the Canal du Rhône à Sète.

Frontignan

Commune port on the Canal du Rhône à Sète at Frontignan-la-Peyrade, between the Thau lagoon and the Mediterranean, Hérault.

Port-Vendres

Deep-water port of 270 berths on the Côte Vermeille, last French anchorage before the Spanish border.

Plage de la Franqui

Anchorage off the long sandy beach of La Franqui, on the Leucate shoreline in the Aude.

• Sheltered S, SW, W

Marseillan Plage

Seaside harbour of 200 berths on the Lido de Sète, between the étang de Thau and the Mediterranean in Occitanie.

Cales - Criques de Banyuls

Buoy field with 6 moorings in the coves north of Banyuls-sur-Mer, within the Réserve Naturelle Marine de Cerbère-Banyuls.

• Free
• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Le Grau du Roi

Fishing and pleasure harbour at the mouth of the Canal du Rhône à Sète, in Petite Camargue. Berthing in the town quays is limited, most visiting yachts head for the Port Camargue marina 1.3 nautical miles to the south-west.

Point de Dépose La Dune

Daytime anchorage off the Grand Travers dune belt, between La Grande-Motte and Carnon on the Languedoc coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Quai d'Alger "port de commerce"

Honour quay of Sète's commercial port, on the western side of the Môle Saint-Louis basin, in Occitanie. Not a plaisance berth, but the occasional visitor pontoon for tall ships and events.

Etang Pierre Blanche

Shallow lagoon anchorage west of Palavas-les-Flots in Languedoc, sand bottom, sheltered from NW, N and W winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Port de Cerbère

Marina of 190 berths on the Côte Vermeille in Occitanie, the last French port before the Spanish border at Cap Cerbère.