Colourful fishing ports, fashionable marinas or fortified corsair towns: the French coast lines up some of the most photogenic ports in Europe.
This selection runs from the half-timbered houses of the Vieux Bassin in Honfleur to the ramparts of Bonifacio overlooking the Mediterranean, via the traditional fishing ports of Brittany and the seaside resorts of the Côte d'Azur.
Each with its own architectural identity, between maritime heritage and seaside tourism.
A historic port on the Seine estuary, with its Vieux Bassin lined with tall half-timbered houses, a source of inspiration for the Impressionist painters.
View full page →
A Breton fishing port known for its Ville Close, a fortified town built on a rocky islet linked to the land by two bridges in the heart of the port.
View full page →
Prefecture of Charente-Maritime and a great historic Atlantic port, famous for its medieval towers guarding the entrance to the Old Port.
View full page →
A former fishing village become a worldwide symbol of Mediterranean glamour, dominated by its citadel.
View full page →
Mediterranean port built on the slopes of Mont Saint-Clair, criss-crossed by canals that earn it the nickname "Venice of Languedoc", birthplace of Georges Brassens.
View full page →
A former Roman-Viking port, Barfleur had nine thousand inhabitants in the time of Norman power and remained the leading port of the Cotentin in the Middle Ages.
View full page →
A little Catalan port of colourful houses nestled in a cove of the Vermilion Coast, immortalised by Matisse and the Fauvist painters in the early twentieth century.
View full page →
A fortified town perched on an impressive limestone cliff at the southern tip of Corsica, whose citadel overlooks a deep natural harbour.
View full page →
Built in concentric circles around the remains of a medieval castle, the village of Gruissan nestles between lagoons and the Mediterranean, also famous for its chalets on stilts.
View full page →
Made world-famous by its Film Festival, Cannes unrolls its palm-lined Croisette between the Palais des Festivals and a bay protected by the Lérins islands.
View full page →