Braye Harbour is the island's main port and the first thing most visitors see: the ferry and Manche Iles Express boat services arrive here, and the lifeboat station and working harbour are on the north side of the bay. The harbour area is lively during the sailing season, with yachts from England and France stopping over on Channel crossings.
Braye Beach, the sandy beach that runs east from the harbour, is the most accessible swimming beach on the island and popular with families. The water is cold by Channel Island standards but clean. The vast Alderney Breakwater — a Victorian engineering project of almost absurd ambition — extends northwest from the harbour entrance and can be walked (access is restricted at its far end). The views back to the island from the breakwater show Alderney's full width at a glance.