The 12 most beautiful ports in France

Whether fishing, trade or pleasure, the ports offer a relaxing parenthesis. Do you like walking around the docks? Then discover our 12 most beautiful ports in France!

The ports, whether from France or elsewhere, always have a special place. For sailors, it is the beginning or end of the journey at sea. For the premises it is a major place of life, while for the tourists it is a place of choice to stroll, eat and rest.

Some cities are even built around them, which also take part in the reputation of the city, whether for their commercial power, their historical weight or their unparalleled beauty.

You like to go to the docks? Then set the course on the literals of the Hexagon and discover our 12 most beautiful ports in France!

1. Port-Grimaud

In France, it is customary to find its "Regional Venice". So often the comparison is more than doubtful, we must admit that with Port-Grimaud, it is justifiable to speak of "Little Venice Provencal".

Indeed, Port-Grimaud is much more than just a port. It is a real city on the water, with a horse architecture between Venice and Provence . Colorful houses, arcades, typical Mediterranean vegetation... The place is enchanting.

For those who dream of travelling by boat and throwing the ink at the foot of their accommodation, Port-Grimaud will be a little paradise.

2. Port of Calvi

Corse has, of course, many ports. All are indeed very beautiful and would have deserved a highlight. But the port of Calvi has something more.

It must be said that it concentrates the beauties that we find on the island: a citadel that dominates the docks, colorful houses, a water of an enchanting blue. All facing the mountain. What more?

3. Vieux-Port de Marseille

Here is one if it is not the best known of the ports of France. And it is not a coincidence, since the Old Port of Marseille is truly the heart of the phocean city. For proof, it is a few meters from the docks that the Hotel de Ville is located.

The Old Port is also a perfect starting point to visit Marseille, as the neighbourhood of Cart, the Canebière, Notre-Dame de la Garde and MuCEM are all around the port.

But before you leave, take a walk. There is nothing better than taking a coffee on the terrace or eating a Provencal dish, after mixing with the locals in the markets (fish and/or flowers), to discover the essence of the place.

4. Port of Paimpol

Let's continue our selection of the most beautiful ports in France in Brittany . Here too, the ports have a crazy charm, like in Paimpol, for example. You will find a real holiday setting, thanks to stone houses, coloured houses and multicolored boats.

It is also a quiet port, where you can sit, close your eyes and let the sun warm our face.

Finally, the port of Paimpol has a sacred history. Indeed, the harbour has existed since the beginning of the 18th century and was a high place of coastal fishing. The fishermen of the time were among the first Breton sailors to have fished to Newfoundland (but also in Newfoundland) Iceland ).

An initiative that will allow a smart browser, Jacques Cartier, discovering Canada .

5. The Old Basin of Honfleur

The Old Basin is a marina, nestled in the heart of the old town of Honfleur. When we land, we discover these splendid houses with slate roofs that plunge us into the Normandy of old.

Then, the look goes on to the Old Gréements , these epoch boats now listed in the list of Historical Monuments. They testify to the commercial and fluvial past of the city, offering us also a real leap in time.

But if Honfleur and his Old Basin hold a tense past, you will see that the places are always animated. The activity has not disappeared and demonstrations come to boost all this. This offers holidaymakers a very pleasant parenthesis.

6. Old Port La Rochelle

The Old Port of La Rochelle is considered by many as the most beautiful port of France. And we understand why, only for the entrance into the port, between the mythical towers (Saint-Nicolas and the Chain).

Once the towers are crossed, it is the old city that offers itself to you. The opportunity to see the Big Clock, then the walk, where tourists and locals come to take a sunbath. When the beautiful days are at the rendezvous, you can only be marvelled.

And then in the port it is impossible not to feel the weight of history. Indeed, La Rochelle and its Old Port were the scene of historical moments, such as the Hundred Years War. But also less reluctant moments, such as colonialism to New France. The port has also become a place of peace and pilgrimage for Francophones, Acadiens and Anglophones.

7. Port of Ciboure (Saint-Jean-de-Luz)

If it is one of the most beautiful ports in France, the port of Ciboure is especially one of the most authentic. Located at the mouth of the Nivelle, this port has a real picturesque cachet. The reason for a fantastic scenery that only the Basque Country can offer.

In fact, in front of the docks, there is an aisle of traditional Basque houses, which reproduce the architecture and colours typical of the eponymous farms. In the background, the Pyrenees bring height to this splendid setting.

And what to say from the ocean, which seems infinite when we observe it from the docks.

8. Port of Collioure

If Côte Vermeille counts many jewels, Collioure and its port are the jewels. If the harbour can be used for fishing and to park 106 boats, it is especially the most important place of visit and holiday.

After a visit to the alleys of the village, nothing is worth a visit to the seaside. It must be said that the most beautiful monuments of the city are on the waterfront, such as the Royal Castle, the lighthouse, the Notre-Dame des Anges de Collioure church or the Saint Vincent Chapel.

Note: to bring back an imperishable memory of the places, go to the panoramic cornice. Between the port, the old town and the clear waters, it is a real postcard setting that awaits you.

9. Port of Menton

In addition to being one of the most beautiful ports in France, the port of Menton has the particularity of being the last port of France before the Italy . 950 meters further, you're in the Botte!

But already at the port, you will feel like you’re at our transalpine neighbours. At the same time, if the port itself has a classical infrastructure, its decoration is very Italian. No wonder, since Menton has been French since 1861. That's why the colourful houses of the seaside and the arcades remind the Ligurian coast so much.

10. Port of Barfleur

The Port of Barfleur is the very definition of the picturesque. Located in one of the most beautiful French villages, it is an unmistakable stage of this commune, the smallest in the department of the Channel.

Walk on the seafront, from which you can admire the typical granite houses, the Cracko lighthouse and the Saint-Nicolas church.

Finally and above all, head to the nearest water to the Mora Memorial Plate. The latter represents the famous boat with which Guillaume the Conqueror began his crazy sword, which was built in Barfleur.

Barfleur is a small village, with a small port. But his role in history is significant.

11. The Mirror in the Birds of Martigues

The Mirror at the Birds is a former fishing port of Martigues, which actually constitutes the end of the St. Sebastian Canal.

With its fishermen’s houses, the Madeleine church and the stone docks, the port will enchant many artists such as Alexander Dumas or Eugène Delacroix, who will describe and paint the places.

12. La Pointe Courte de Sète

Our selection of the most beautiful ports in France concludes with a particular place. Indeed, the Short Point is not really talking a port. This is actually a former fishermen’s quarter of the city of Sète.

Thus, the neighborhood has a soul that is clean to it, shaped by the same fishermen, and that has perpetuated over time. It is a real break that is offered to you, in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city centre, the big port and the halls (to be missed either).