BOAT-COMPARATOR Guide

The Largest Marinas: the 2026 Ranking by Number of Berths

From La Rochelle (5,100 berths) to Cap d'Agde (3,300), the ranking of the 15 largest marinas recorded in OpenStreetMap across 8 countries — and what the Mediterranean really weighs in it.

What is Europe's largest marina? Of the 3,349 marinas recorded in our directory (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, extracted July 2026), 293 have a recorded capacity. Here is the top 15 — with one honest caveat up front: the ranking covers those 293 marinas whose berth count is known, not the whole fleet of ports.

The top 15 by number of berths

Surprise: the giant is on the Atlantic

Contrary to the postcard image that puts the biggest marinas on the French Riviera, number one is Atlantic: Port des Minimes in La Rochelle with its 5,100 berths — more than half again the size of the ranking's first Mediterranean port, Cap d'Agde (3,300). These giant marinas are the heirs of France's large coastal tourism developments of the 1960s-1980s, when entire resort harbours were drawn on empty coastline — a planning legacy with no real equivalent elsewhere in Europe, which explains why France places 9 ports in this top 15.

What the Mediterranean weighs — and the Turkish surge

The Mediterranean still fills most of the list: Cap d'Agde, Saint-Raphaël, and above all a remarkable Turkish series — D-Marin Didim (1,176), Mersin (1,000), and two Istanbul marinas above 840 berths. Turkey is the only country to place 4 ports in the top 15, the mark of a recent marina industry built directly at XXL scale. Economic research confirms the dynamic: the marina industry, together with charter and cruising, has shown high, continuous growth rates in Europe for three decades (Luković, Nautical Tourism and Its Function in the Economic Development of Europe, IntechOpen, 2012, see the study on Google Scholar).

How to read a "berth count"

A berth is a mooring spot — but behind the word, realities differ. Depending on the port, declared capacities mix wet berths along the pontoons, buoy moorings and sometimes dry storage ("dry stack"), heavily developed in large modern marinas. Another nuance: total capacity says nothing about the berths kept for visiting boats, often counted in dozens even in a several-thousand-berth marina. A giant like Les Minimes or Cap d'Agde nonetheless remains the easiest stopover for finding a berth in summer — and the best place to find a boat to rent.

The limits of the count

Two caveats, owned openly. First, only 293 of 3,349 marinas have a berth count recorded in OpenStreetMap: a big marina missing from the ranking may simply be a poorly documented one. Second, declared capacity sometimes mixes wet berths, dry storage and moorings. The orders of magnitude still speak — a top 15 that starts at 800 berths, when the median capacity is 135, says everything about the gap between giant marinas and ordinary harbours.

And to go boating?

A big marina also means a big rental market: around Cap d'Agde, our hub marinas near Cap d'Agde lists the neighbouring harbours, and Boat-Comparator compares platform offers live for Cap d'Agde as for La Rochelle.

Source: data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracted July 2026 — 3,349 marinas recorded, capacity known for 293 of them.

Compare the platforms now →

Also worth reading

• How much does it cost to rent a boat in 2026? Real prices
• License-Free Boat Rental in France: Rules, Prices & Where to Book
• Renting with or without a skipper: how to choose