French Riviera & the Côte d'Azur
Monaco, St-Tropez, Cannes, Cap Ferrat — one after another. The Med's marquee glamour coast, and the fleet's biggest stage.
The Riviera is the benchmark every other Mediterranean coast is measured against — Monaco's Casino Square and Port Hercule, St-Tropez's Pampelonne beach clubs, the Cannes red carpet, and the hidden villas of Cap Ferrat. It is dense: harbours, headlands and legendary addresses sit a short cruise apart, so a week here reads like a highlight reel.
“You can have breakfast in Villefranche and be alongside in Monaco for cocktails — nowhere else compresses the glamour like this.”
In the frame
Eight views: the harbour, the bay, the perched village, the fleet.
Signature anchorages
Where the fleet actually stops.
- Villefranche-sur-MerThe Western Med's deepest natural harbour — 18m to 95m across the bay, sheltered from all but a strong southerly. Five centuries of fleets have anchored here; the Citadelle and pastel waterfront, five minutes by tender from Cap Ferrat.
- Cap Ferrat — Paloma & Passable baysCalm water under the pines below the Grand-Hôtel and the Villa Ephrussi. The most discreet money on the coast.
- Îles de Lérins, off CannesFifteen minutes from the Croisette, Cannes' seafront promenade — a shallow, turquoise channel between Sainte-Marguerite (Fort Royal, the Man in the Iron Mask) and the monks' island of Saint-Honorat.
- Pampelonne Beach, St-TropezExposed to the onshore breeze, but this is the anchorage for the scene, not the shelter — Club 55 and Nikki Beach front directly onto it.
- Golfe-Juan / Baie des AngesSheltered from easterlies, between Cannes and Antibes — a quieter overnight close to the Lérins Islands.
- Beaulieu-sur-Mer — Baie des FourmisSmall and calm in the lee of Cap Ferrat, with the Belle Époque town right on the water.
Superyacht marinas
The berths behind the season's biggest names.
- Port Hercule, Monaco to 130–135mMonaco's only deep-water port, ~700 berths; the amphitheatre for the Grand Prix and the Monaco Yacht Show.
- Port Vauban / IYCA, Antibes to 165mEurope's largest yacht harbour; the IYCA basin was purpose-built in 1986 for the big fleet — ~19 dedicated superyacht berths.
- Port Camille Rayon, Golfe-Juan to 90m841 berths in a sheltered bay between Cannes and Antibes, close to the Lérins Islands.
- Port de Saint-Tropez to ~90m734 berths across two basins; the outer Môle d'Estienne d'Orves takes the biggest yachts, though most anchor off Pampelonne instead.
The scene
Beach clubs, the calendar, and the names that built the legend.
Club 55, Pampelonne
Opened 1955 as the crew canteen for Bardot's “And God Created Woman” — now the coast's most storied lunch. Guests over the years: Bardot, Elton John, Kate Moss, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bono, Beyoncé & Jay-Z.
Grand Prix, Festival, Yacht Show
Monaco Grand Prix (5–7 June 2026); Cannes Film Festival (12–23 May 2026); Monaco Yacht Show, Port Hercule (23–26 September 2026) — the three weeks that define the season.
Grace Kelly's Monaco
The 1956 “Wedding of the Century” at Monaco Cathedral still frames the principality's glamour; the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc's guestbook runs from F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1920s set to Cary Grant and Madonna.
Table & stay ashore
Three tables, two addresses.
Le Louis XV, Monaco
Alain Ducasse's dining room at the Hôtel de Paris — the first hotel restaurant ever to win three stars, on a challenge from Prince Rainier III in 1987.
Mirazur, Menton
Mauro Colagreco cooking from his own biodynamic gardens above the town — voted World's Best Restaurant.
La Vague d'Or, St-Tropez
Arnaud Donckele's terrace over the sea at the Résidence de la Pinède, open April–October.
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc
Antibes, since 1889 — the Lost Generation's summer address, and still the coast's grandest arrival by tender.
Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat
A Four Seasons hotel since 2015, cupola by Gustave Eiffel, opened 1908 — Michelin Guide 3 Keys.
The week, sketched
St-Tropez
Anchor off Pampelonne beach for lunch at a legendary beach club, then an evening in St-Tropez's old port.
Îles de Lérins
Cruise to the wooded Lérins islands off Cannes for a quiet swim away from the Croisette.
Villefranche & Cap Ferrat
Anchor in the deep bay of Villefranche and tender to Cap Ferrat's coastal path and villas.
Monaco
A day in Monaco for the harbour, Casino Square and, in season, the Grand Prix or Yacht Show buzz.
Èze & Beaulieu
A short tender or hop to the perched village of Èze and the gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.
Antibes & Golfe-Juan
Port Vauban's old ramparts and a quiet night ashore in the sheltered bay next door.
Cannes
The Croisette and the Palais des Festivals before heading on.
The quiet corner
The eastern cluster alone — Monaco, Villefranche and Cap Ferrat sit close enough together that the trip barely leaves the lee of one headland.
Monaco
Berth at Port Hercule for the harbour and Casino Square; the Grand Prix or Yacht Show crowd if the dates align.
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Anchor in the Western Med's deepest natural harbour, sheltered from all but a strong southerly, beneath the Citadelle.
Cap Ferrat — Paloma & Passable bays
Five minutes by tender from Villefranche; the coastal path and the gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.
Beaulieu-sur-Mer & Èze
A short hop to the calm of the Baie des Fourmis, then up to the perched medieval village of Èze.
Return to Monaco
A last morning in the harbour before disembarking.
The three-star coast
The full run west to east, timed around the coast's three Michelin three-star tables.
St-Tropez
Anchor off Pampelonne for lunch at a legendary beach club, evening in the old port.
Golfe-Juan & the Îles de Lérins
A quieter overnight between Cannes and Antibes, close enough to tender across to Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat.
Cannes
The Croisette and the Palais des Festivals, in season the Film Festival buzz.
Antibes
Berth at Port Vauban, Europe's largest yacht harbour; the old ramparts, dinner at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc.
Villefranche & Cap Ferrat
The coast's deepest natural harbour, and the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat's cupola for dinner.
Monaco
Port Hercule and Casino Square — table allowing, Le Louis XV at the Hôtel de Paris.
Èze & Beaulieu
The perched village on the way up, the Belle Époque waterfront on the way down.
Menton
The furthest point east, for Mauro Colagreco's biodynamic-garden cooking at Mirazur.
Pair with
The year, measured
Monthly means at the heart of this water — daily maxima averaged, wind as mean daily peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air, day °C | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 14 |
| Sea °C | 15 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 16 |
| Wind, peak kt | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo · 2019–2023 means · sea temperature 2022–2023
The yachts that run these waters
Profiles from the record — introductions via the harbour desk.
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