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Yacht Charter — French Riviera
Sailing
Sailing
the Riviera.
Monaco, St-Tropez, Corsica. The world's most glamorous coast.
Plan Your Charter
Monaco, St-Tropez, Corsica. The world's most glamorous coast.
Plan Your CharterThe Côte d’Azur is the most storied coastline in the world, and from the deck of a yacht it reveals itself as the road-bound visitor never quite sees it. Monaco approached from the sea at dusk, the principality lit above its harbour; St-Tropez before the day-trippers arrive, the old port quiet and the light on the painted facades extraordinary; Corsica — wild, mountainous and French in a way that has nothing to do with the mainland — a day’s sail south. Our brokers know every anchorage, marina and mooring between Nice and Ajaccio and will build an itinerary precisely matched to your pace, your interests and the season.
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Côte d'Azur, France
Arriving at Monaco by sea is one of the great yacht entrances in the world. The principality rises above its harbour in tiers of extraordinary density — and from the water, you see all of it at once.
A day’s sail south of the Riviera, Corsica is wilder and more dramatically beautiful than anything on the mainland — granite mountains, maquis scrubland and turquoise water of Caribbean quality.
From the fish markets of Nice to the rosé vineyards of Provence, the Côte d’Azur is one of the world’s great food destinations. By yacht, every port is a new restaurant table.
The Cannes Film Festival, Monaco Grand Prix, Les Voiles de St-Tropez — the Riviera calendar is the most glamorous in the world and most events are best experienced from a yacht in the harbour.
The Riviera at its most beautiful — warm, clear and uncrowded. May is ideal for Corsica before the summer crowds arrive. The Cannes Film Festival in mid-May makes for an extraordinary backdrop to a charter.
Hot, glamorous and busy. St-Tropez and Monaco are at their most electric. Anchorages fill quickly — book the best marina berths and mooring buoys many months in advance for July and August.
The finest time to charter the Riviera. Sea temperatures peak, the crowds clear after the August peak and the light becomes extraordinary. Les Voiles de St-Tropez in late September is one of the great sailing events of the year.
Monaco is the natural starting point for any Riviera charter — the principality’s infrastructure, logistics and connections make it the most practical base on the coast, and arriving by sea past the superyacht quays of Port Hercule is an arrival of considerable impact. The eastern Riviera — Menton, Villefranche, Antibes, Nice — offers the most architecturally varied stretch of the French coast, from the Italian-inflected old town of Menton to the deep natural harbour at Villefranche, one of the finest anchorages on the Riviera. Antibes combines a well-equipped Port Vauban — the largest yacht marina in Europe — with an old town of genuine quality and a market that has supplied yachts for decades. Cap d’Antibes, the pine-wooded headland between Juan-les-Pins and Antibes, has the finest anchorage on the eastern Riviera.
Cannes is the social centre of the Riviera in May and the natural focus of the western Côte d’Azur at any time of year. The Croisette, the Palais des Festivals, the old town of Le Suquet above the Vieux Port — Cannes is a town of considerable style and the best provisioned on the coast. A mile offshore, the Îles de Lérins provide the perfect counterpoint: two islands of pine forest and medieval monasteries, Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat, separated from the mainland buzz by a short passage and offering anchorage of extraordinary tranquillity within sight of one of the most glamorous towns in France. The Monastery of Lérins on Saint-Honorat has been producing wine since the 5th century and its cave in the island’s port offers bottles not available on the mainland.
St-Tropez is the most famous anchorage on the Riviera and, in the right conditions, the finest. The old port on a summer morning — the church bell tower, the painted café facades, the fishing boats among the yachts — is exactly as Signac painted it in 1892, and arriving by tender from the anchorage in the bay gives a perspective on the town that road visitors entirely miss. The Gulf of St-Tropez is in fact one of the most sheltered and beautiful bodies of water on the coast — Grimaud, Sainte-Maxime, Port Grimaud and the less-visited beaches of the southern shore all reward exploration. Ramatuelle and the Plage de Pampelonne — the long beach where St-Tropez’s beach club culture was born — are a short passage around the headland and offer the full summer Riviera experience at its most concentrated.
Corsica is a day’s sail south of the Riviera and the natural extension of any charter that wants to move beyond the developed coast into something wilder. The island is French but feels entirely its own — granite mountains, dense maquis, a language and culture that resist mainland influence and water of a clarity and colour that rivals the Caribbean. The west coast — Calvi, Porto, Girolata, the Golfe de Valinco — offers the finest sailing and most spectacular scenery. The Golfe de Porto, surrounded by volcanic red porphyry cliffs, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most dramatic anchorages in the western Mediterranean. The east coast is less visited and more exposed; the southern tip, the Strait of Bonifacio, is one of the great passages of the Mediterranean — fast currents, dramatic cliffs and the old citadel town of Bonifacio perched impossibly above the sea.
The Riviera from the sea is the Riviera as it was always meant to be seen — unhurried, luminous and entirely yours.Yachting Europe — French Waters
EU-flagged vessels require no additional permits for French waters. Non-EU-flagged yachts must carry valid registration, insurance and crew documentation, and complete customs formalities at the first port of entry. France applies a cruising tax for non-EU vessels above 7 metres. Monaco, though a separate principality, operates with open borders for EU vessels; non-EU flagged yachts should verify the current entry requirements. Your Yachting Europe broker will ensure all documentation is in order well before departure.
The Riviera is dominated in summer by the Mistral — a strong, dry northwesterly that can reach 30 to 40 knots and occasionally more, typically after a period of settled weather. It is the defining wind of the western Mediterranean and requires careful itinerary planning; exposed anchorages must be vacated and the sailing adjusted accordingly. Between Mistral episodes, summer winds are generally light and conditions exceptionally pleasant. The Levant, a gentle easterly sea breeze, fills in most afternoons along the coast. Corsica adds complexity — the Strait of Bonifacio funnels wind and the island’s own topography creates local conditions that a competent skipper will navigate with confidence.
One week is tight for a Riviera-plus-Corsica charter unless you are comfortable with longer passages and prepared to spend less time in each stop. The crossing from Nice or Antibes to Calvi takes approximately 10 to 12 hours in good conditions. A better approach is to base a full week in Corsica — the west coast alone justifies seven days — or to split a two-week charter between the mainland Riviera and the island. Our brokers will help you design an itinerary that makes the most of both without rushing either.
Tell us your dates, group size and preferences. Tell us your dates, group size and preferred area. Our brokers know the Riviera and Corsica intimately and will match you with the right yacht for your brief.
The pinnacle of the Riviera experience — the Grand Prix, the Casino, Port Hercule and the most concentrated glamour in the Mediterranean, all best experienced from the water.
Explore Monaco
Amalfi, Sicily, Sardinia and the Aeolian Islands. Italy by yacht is Italy at its most vivid — clifftop villages, volcanic archipelagos and cuisine that changes with every port.
Explore Italy
The Balearics, the Costa Brava and the Andalusian coast — Spain offers more coastal variety than almost any other Mediterranean country, all within easy reach of the Riviera.
Explore Spain