France · Western Mediterranean
Ajaccio, Corsica
Ajaccio makes a manageable Corsican city day: the commercial harbour meets the centre, and the principal historic sights form a compact walking circuit.…
MixedLarge ships
France cruise ports
France has cruise calls on three separate coasts with little in common. The Mediterranean ports run from Marseilles and Toulon to small Riviera harbours and the Corsican towns, and a number of those calls are made at anchor with passengers brought ashore by tender. The Channel and Atlantic ports, among them Le Havre, Cherbourg and Saint-Malo, are frequently used as gateways to places well inland, so the journey each way deserves as much attention as the destination itself. Several guides cover river berths at Rouen, Bordeaux and Nantes instead of a coastal quay. Begin with the arrival section of your port to establish where passengers actually get ashore and how far that is from the place you want to see.
Choose your port
- France · Western Mediterranean
Antibes
Antibes offers a compact art-and-old-town visit beside Port Vauban. A morning around the market and Musée Picasso can be followed by a waterfront walk,…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Bandol
Bandol suits a day of harbour walking, a beach break and a meal rather than a long transfer along the coast. The centre faces the marina, with shops on…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Bastia, Corsica
Bastia rewards a day spent following the waterfront south from the commercial port to the old harbour, then climbing into the citadel. These are…
MixedLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Bonifacio, Corsica
Bonifacio offers two distinct ways to spend a call: remain beside the long inlet and marina, or climb to the citadel on the limestone headland. The lower…
MixedSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Bordeaux
Bordeaux's historic centre is an appealing place to spend a call, but the name on the itinerary does not tell you how close your ship will be. The…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Brest
Brest is a working maritime city where the best short visit depends on the berth and the transfer ashore. The castle and naval museum provide a…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Caen
Caen is an inland port of call reached through the canal from Ouistreham. A visit can focus on the ducal castle and central streets, or on the Mémorial…
DockSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Calvi, Corsica
Calvi is well suited to an unhurried Corsican stop: a marina, a beach and a fortified upper town give you contrasting choices without an inland transfer.…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Cannes
Cannes offers two contrasting walking routes from the old harbour: uphill into Le Suquet, or east towards the Palais des Festivals and La Croisette.…
TenderLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Cassis
Cassis combines a central fishing harbour with access to the limestone coast of the Calanques National Park. A short visit can stay entirely within the…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Cherbourg
Cherbourg offers a practical maritime-history day close to the ship, with La Cité de la Mer beside the cruise terminal and the city centre within walking…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Concarneau
Concarneau makes a rewarding short call for its close connection between a working fishing port and the Ville Close, a fortified town on an islet in the…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Douarnenez
Douarnenez is a port town whose most useful sightseeing thread is the sardine industry: the harbours, former fishing neighbourhoods and maritime…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Dunkirk
Dunkirk, signposted locally as Dunkerque, offers two strong themes for a short call: the evacuation of Allied troops in 1940 and the city's much longer…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Honfleur
Honfleur rewards a local day ashore: the Vieux Bassin, timber-built Sainte-Catherine church and collections of Normandy painting fit together without a…
DockSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Îles d’Hyères
The Îles d'Hyères, also called the Îles d'Or, form an island group off the Var coast. For a cruise passenger, the essential distinction is which island…
See route notesSee route notesRoute / overview - France · Western Mediterranean
L’Île-Rousse, Corsica
L'Île-Rousse makes a manageable Corsican shore day when you concentrate on the town, its waterfront and the rocky Pietra headland. Place Paoli provides a…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
La Ciotat
La Ciotat offers a compact harbour visit with two useful extensions: the town's cinema heritage and the gardens and rocky scenery at Le Mugel. For a few…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
La Pallice (La Rochelle)
La Rochelle's old harbour and shopping streets make an appealing compact visit, but an ocean-cruise arrival starts in a different place. Ships use La…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Le Havre (Paris & Normandy)
Cruise port for Paris & Normandy
Le Havre is a worthwhile destination in its own right, particularly for modern architecture and painting. Its rebuilt centre is a UNESCO World Heritage…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Le Lavandou
Le Lavandou suits a relaxed seaside call: a harbour walk, time on the town beach and a meal near the waterfront can fill a few hours without a long…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Le Palais, Belle-Île-en-Mer
Le Palais is the main port town of Belle-Île-en-Mer and a useful place to spend a short call without touring the whole island. Its harbour and…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Le Verdon-sur-Mer
Le Verdon-sur-Mer is a deep-water gateway to the Médoc and the Gironde estuary. A cruise advertised as Bordeaux may berth here at the northern tip of the…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Lorient
Lorient's harbour is the starting point for a day about ships, sailing and the city's maritime history. The main choices lie in different places: central…
DockSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Marseille (Provence)
Cruise port for Provence
Marseille offers a useful choice for a few hours ashore: stay around the Vieux-Port, Le Panier and the waterfront museums, or make a separate trip uphill…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Menton
Menton's old town rises above a working harbour and the Sablettes waterfront. For a few hours ashore, the most practical combination is a stroll beside…
MixedSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Nantes
Nantes is an inland city reached by seagoing cruise ships along the Loire estuary. Its appeal lies in the combination of a historic centre, a castle…
DockSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Nice
A call at Nice's Port Lympia puts the harbour district, the old town and the eastern end of the seafront within the same urban setting. A day ashore can…
DockSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Porquerolles
Porquerolles is an island outing built around a harbour village, beaches and paths through protected countryside. It suits a cruise passenger who wants…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Port-Vendres
Port-Vendres offers a useful choice for a short call: stay beside a working Catalan harbour, visit neighbouring Collioure, or head to the coast at…
MixedSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Porto-Vecchio, Corsica
Porto-Vecchio divides a shore visit between the waterfront and the fortified upper town. The marina provides a place to pause beside the boats; uphill,…
MixedSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Propriano, Corsica
Propriano is a convenient place for an unhurried Corsican shore day. Its commercial port sits beside the town, with the marina, cafés and public…
MixedSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Rouen and Paris
Rouen rewards passengers who stay in Normandy's historic capital. The cathedral, astronomical clock and half-timbered streets make a coherent city visit,…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Saint-Florent, Corsica
Saint-Florent makes a manageable walking stop on Corsica's northern coast. The marina sits below a Genoese citadel, with cafés and village streets…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Saint-Jean-de-Luz offers a compact introduction to the French Basque coast: a working fishing port, a sandy bay and streets leading to a church…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo's walled centre, known as Intra-Muros, is the natural focus of a short cruise call. Rampart walks look across the beaches and offshore…
MixedSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire makes an unusual cruise stop because ships and shipbuilding are central to the visit itself. Around the former submarine base, attractions…
DockLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Saint-Raphaël
Saint-Raphaël combines a central beach and waterfront with an older quarter containing an archaeological museum and medieval church. The red Estérel…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is small enough for a rewarding visit on foot. Begin around the harbour, then choose between the Annonciade's paintings, the citadel's…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Sanary-sur-Mer
Sanary-sur-Mer suits a day spent close to the water: a harbour walk, the town's diving museum and a climb to a chapel overlooking the coast. Frédéric…
TenderSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Sète
Sète offers a useful combination for a short cruise call: canals through the centre, a working fishing port, seafood and the slopes of Mont Saint-Clair…
MixedSmall ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Toulon
Toulon's waterfront faces a major naval harbour, while the old town begins just behind the quays. A visit can combine the Musée national de la Marine,…
MixedLarge ships - France · Western Mediterranean
Villefranche-sur-Mer and Nice
Cruise port for Nice
Villefranche-sur-Mer gives cruise passengers two distinct choices: stay beside the bay for the old town, citadel and Cocteau chapel, or travel into Nice…
TenderSmall ships
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