Port de plaisance de Bordeaux: Getting There, Harbour Info and Sailing Destinations

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The Port de plaisance de Bordeaux lies in the Bassins à flot, two harbour basins in the north of the city on the Garonne. Here you can read how to get to the harbour, where to park and shop, how the lock and the tides determine the start of your trip, what sailing weather to expect, which sailing destinations lie on the Gironde and what skippers should bear in mind when arriving.

Where is the Port de plaisance de Bordeaux?

The Port de plaisance de Bordeaux is in Bassin à flot n°2 on the left bank of the Garonne, in the Bacalan district, about three kilometres north of the city centre as the crow flies. The yachts lie at nine floating pontoons in the basin, which is connected to the river via Bassin à flot n°1 and two locks. Beside the basin stands the massive bunker of the former Second World War submarine base.

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To avoid confusion: the harbour Le Point du Jour, which is run by a club, is about two kilometres to the north-east directly on the Garonne, and the Port de plaisance Bègles is upstream in the south of the city. In the city centre there are also landing stages run by the Métropole at the Port de la Lune. For a taxi, say “Port de plaisance, Bassin à flot n°2”.

The Bassins à flot are wet docks: the lock gates hold the water in the basins while the tide rises and falls outside on the Garonne. That is why boats here always float in deep water, even at low water in the river. The harbour is the last seaport before the network of inland waterways and the Canal latéral de la Garonne.

Arriving for the start of your sailing trip at Port de plaisance de Bordeaux

The following sections accompany you from the airport to the pontoon.

From Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport to the harbour

Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport lies to the west of the city. With a week's worth of luggage, a taxi is the easiest way to get right to the harbour. Taxis wait outside Hall A, and a ride into the city centre costs around €35 during the day and around €45 at night (as of November 2026).

Since December 2025, tram line F has run from the airport via the centre to Saint-Jean station. It takes about 35 minutes to the Hôtel de Ville stop at Place Pey-Berland and about 45 minutes to the station. The stop is in front of the terminals near Hall B. As things stand (November 2026), the line runs every 10 minutes from Monday to Saturday and every 15 minutes on Sundays. There is also a daily shuttle bus, 30’Direct, which runs non-stop to Saint-Jean station and takes about 30 minutes.

By train and tram

Long-distance trains arrive at Bordeaux Saint-Jean station. Tram line B stops at the harbour; the nearest stops are Cité du Vin and Rue Achard. From there you walk to the pontoons in Bassin à flot n°2.

Tram line C to the Cracovie stop and the express bus line H also serve the district. The H runs in a loop along the boulevards and stops at the Cité du Vin.

Parking

The “Les bassins” car park is around 150 metres from the harbour.

Showers and sanitary facilities

The sanitary facilities with toilets, showers and washbasins are open around the clock, and you get in with your badge or a code. Showers are free for guests, as is the Wi-Fi. Access badges for the harbour are issued by the self-service machine. A limited number per stay are free, and you can get each additional badge for €15 at the Capitainerie.

Shopping for the trip

The nearest supermarket, an Aldi, is about 350 metres from the harbour on foot. For a big provisioning shop by car, there is a Lidl about 1.8 kilometres away and a Carrefour Market about 2.8 kilometres away.

Doctor, pharmacy and emergency services

The nearest pharmacy is about 1.5 kilometres from the harbour. The Hôpital Suburbain du Bouscat is about 4.5 kilometres away. In France, you can reach the emergency medical services, police and fire brigade free of charge on these numbers:

• 112: European emergency number, from landlines and mobiles
• 15: medical emergency (SAMU), 17: police, 18: fire brigade
• 196: sea rescue when calling from the coast. At sea you call on VHF channel 16.

What does Port de plaisance de Bordeaux offer?

Port de plaisance de Bordeaux has nine floating pontoons for up to 278 boats under 20 metres in length; draught is limited to 2.50 metres. The key facts at a glance:

Feature	Details
Location	Bassin à flot n°2, Bacalan district, left bank of the Garonne
Berths	up to 278 on nine floating pontoons
Boat size	under 20 m in length, draught up to 2.50 m
Access	Lock, no more than once a day around high water
Waiting pontoon	60 m on the Garonne, upstream of the lock entrance
Berthing fee per night	12 m monohull €30.20 (October to May), €48.10 (June to September) (as at November 2026)
Berthing fee per week	12 m monohull €158.80 (October to May), €255.00 (June to September) (as of November 2026)
Electricity and water	Electricity €0.26 per kWh, water €2.92 per m³ (as of November 2026)
VHF	Channel 12 (harbour authority), tidal information on channel 17
Harbour office	Mon–Wed 9:00–12:00 and 13:30–16:30, Thu–Fri 9:00–12:00 and 13:30–15:30
Phone	+33 6 27 34 48 05 und +33 6 64 49 92 84
Operator	Bordeaux Port Atlantique port authority

Equipment

Electricity (up to 16 amps) and water are available on the pontoons. You top up credit for both at the harbour's self-service machine, paying by bank card. You also collect your access badges there. The machine is accessible around the clock, and you can also top up at the harbour office. You activate the pedestal on the pontoon with your badge and can see your consumption in real time. For larger jobs on the boat, there are private lifting facilities of up to 200 tonnes, and you will find a chandler near the basins. Multihulls pay a higher berthing fee than monohulls of the same length.

What sailing weather can you expect from Bordeaux?

From seaward, the wind on this Atlantic coast mostly blows from the west to north-west. On the Garonne and in the upper part of the Gironde you sail sheltered between the banks, while out beyond the mouth there is an Atlantic swell.

Storms come in from the Atlantic, mainly in autumn and winter. Depending on the tidal coefficient, they push the water in the Gironde estuary above its normal level. Also typical of the coast is the Galerne: beneath a rapidly advancing wall of dark cloud, a violent north-westerly sets in within minutes. It is hard to predict and occurs all year round, most often in the warm season.

On the river, the tide matters more than the wind. Even at Bordeaux the Garonne and Gironde are still tidal waters, so you plan your legs downriver and upriver around the tidal stream. Météo-France issues warnings for coastal waters as soon as winds of Beaufort force 7 or more are observed or expected.

Which sailing trip destinations can you reach from Bordeaux?

From the Port de plaisance de Bordeaux you first sail down the Garonne. At the Bec d’Ambès the Dordogne joins in, and from there the wide estuary is called the Gironde. You can reach the harbours on the Gironde in day legs, and the destinations on the open Atlantic coast in longer passages at sea. The distances are rounded figures over water on the usual course from the harbour; for precise planning, the nautical chart applies.

• Pauillac: about 24 nm down the Gironde on the Médoc bank, a harbour with around 150 berths.
• Port-Médoc: about 49 nm, on the south bank just before the mouth, with around 800 berths.
• Royan: about 53 nm, on the north bank of the mouth, a harbour with around 1,000 berths.
• La Rochelle: about 96 nm, out of the Gironde and north along the coast.
• Arcachon: about 130 nm, out of the Gironde and south along the coast into the Bassin d’Arcachon.

Pauillac is an obvious first destination if half of your departure day has already gone on lock times and shopping. With the ebb you will be down the Gironde quickly, but for the return to Bordeaux you need the flood. Seagoing ships also use the Gironde; the channel is around 150 metres wide, and around 300 metres at the mouth. To reach La Rochelle, the route leads out of the Gironde and north along the coast. More on this destination in the Profile of the harbours in La Rochelle.

What can you do on a harbour day in Bordeaux?

You can reach the city centre from the harbour by tram line B, and the sights around the Bassins à flot on foot.

• Submarine base: The concrete bunker at Bassin à flot n°2 was built between 1941 and 1943 for German U-boats, and Italian ones were also stationed there at times. It is one of five such bases on the Atlantic coast, and a road inside connects its eleven chambers. Today it is a cultural venue: in four basins, each 110 metres long, the digital art centre Bassins des Lumières presents projections on great artists from the history of art.
• Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas: The lift bridge between the Bacalan and Bastide districts is regarded as the highest lift bridge in Europe. Its central section is 117 metres long and is raised about 60 times a year. The colour of the pylons shows the water level: blue stands for high water, green for low water.
• Port de la Lune: The old town on the bank of the Garonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is where the city's landing stages are, and at the Quai Richelieu a traditional sailing ship such as the three-masted barque Belem occasionally moors up.
• Cité du Vin: The museum on the Quai de Bacalan tells the cultural history of wine from antiquity to the present day in a 3,000-square-metre exhibition. At the end of the tour, you go up to the Belvédère with its view over the city. Allow two to three hours for the visit. Tram B stops at the Cité du Vin stop.

For skippers: berthing and sea weather at the Port de plaisance de Bordeaux

For entering and leaving, for passing through the lock and for lying in the basin, you need prior permission from the harbour. Channel 16 is the distress and calling channel. On the Gironde and Garonne, every boat with a VHF radio keeps a continuous listening watch on channel 12, the harbour authority's channel, while under way and while waiting at anchor. The obligation to report your arrival time and passages at Verdon and Pauillac applies only from 20 metres in length. Real-time tidal information is broadcast on channel 17.

Registration and lock

You can book a visitor berth for a stay of under twelve months online via the harbour's reservation portal or through the harbour office, by telephone on +33 6 27 34 48 05 or by e-mail to contactplaisance@bordeaux-port.fr. When booking, you pay half up front and the rest after arrival. You must always register for passage through the lock, on +33 6 64 49 92 84 or +33 6 27 34 48 05. Outside office hours, you can reach the harbour authority's central traffic control on +33 5 56 31 58 64.

The lock opens once every 24 hours at high water. The port authority publishes the planned opening times week by week on its page on the Port de plaisance. The schedule is non-binding, and openings may be cancelled for technical, operational or weather reasons, or when a vessel with special dimensions needs the lock. As things stand (November 2026), because of a technical problem at the locks, all openings are cancelled on several days of the week. Until the next opening, you can lie for up to 24 hours at the 60-metre waiting pontoon on the Garonne, upstream of the lock entrance. Lying there is free of charge for one tide, after which the harbour tariff applies.

After the lock, wait in Bassin à flot n°1 in the lane in front of the Pertuis bridge until it opens for entry into Bassin à flot n°2. There, first moor at the reception pontoon, then either collect your badge from the machine or check in at the harbour office. After that, move to the berth the harbour has assigned you. You will find the pontoon plan on the notice board by the harbour office.

Harbour rules

• Without permission from the harbour you must neither enter nor leave, and you must not take a berth in the basin.
• When locking and in the basin, you follow the instructions of the harbour staff and the port authority.
• Sailing boats may only move in the harbour under engine or under tow, and departing boats have priority over arriving ones.
• A speed limit of 2 knots applies in Bassin à flot n°2.
• The boat may only stay connected to shore power while someone is on board.
• At night and in reduced visibility, only boats with working VHF radio and radar may use the approach channels of the Gironde.
• The harbour accepts boats under 20 metres in length and with a maximum draught of 2.50 metres. For larger boats, send a separate enquiry by e-mail.

Approach

Coming from the sea, you enter via the Gironde channel, which is continuously dredged. Seagoing ships travel here with pilots, and radar stations at La Palmyre and Verdon monitor the traffic. Before Bordeaux you pass under the Pont d’Aquitaine suspension bridge, whose roadway lies around 53 metres above the river. On the left bank is the lock entrance to the Bassins à flot, and swing bridges cross the locks and the link between the two basins. If you want to continue into the Port de la Lune with your mast up, you can only do so when the bridge is lifted, and the city of Bordeaux publishes the lift times. Passage under the fixed bridge spans is prohibited, as is passage while the bridge is being raised or lowered. When it is open, boats under 20 metres keep clear of the fairway so that the large ships the bridge was lifted for can pass through.

Tide times for the Gironde are published by the French hydrographic service SHOM, with Pointe de Grave at Verdon as the reference port. Plan your passage upriver so that you reach the lock on the flood tide about an hour before high water. If you arrive later, you will not be locked through until the next opening.

Which marine weather forecast applies to the Port de plaisance de Bordeaux?

The marine weather forecast from Météo-France is the authoritative one. The Gironde lies in the coastal area “De l’anse de l’Aiguillon à la frontière espagnole”, and the coastal forecast applies up to 20 nautical miles offshore.

The CROSS Étel rescue coordination centre broadcasts the forecasts on VHF. The stations closest to the Gironde estuary are Royan and Hourtin. Both transmit on channel 79, three times a day each. All broadcast times are listed in the Marine weather guide from Météo-France.

Sailing trips from Bordeaux on Törnfinder

You can find an overview of offers on all French coasts at Sailing in France, all current offers in the trip overview.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to the Port de plaisance de Bordeaux?

Take tram line B to the Cité du Vin or Rue Achard stop, then walk to Bassin à flot n°2. From Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, a taxi is the easiest option with luggage. Without a taxi, take tram line F, which gets you into the centre in around 35 minutes.

Where do I park at the start of a sailing trip in Bordeaux?

In the “Les bassins” car park, about 150 metres from the harbour.

Are there showers at the Port de plaisance de Bordeaux?

Yes, and they are free for guests, as is the Wi-Fi. Access badges are issued by the harbour's self-service machine.

When can a sailing trip leave Bordeaux?

Only when the lock opens, which it does at most once a day around high water. The harbour authority publishes the planned times every week, and openings may be cancelled.

How far is it from Bordeaux to the Gironde estuary?

Around 50 nautical miles by water, and about 53 nautical miles to Royan on the north bank of the estuary.