Monaco
Port Hercule, the Grand Prix and the Yacht Show — the principality where the yachting year peaks.
The principality
Monaco is the Riviera at its most concentrated: a sovereign principality of less than two square kilometres, with Port Hercule at its heart. The harbour fills with superyachts for the Monaco Grand Prix in May and the Monaco Yacht Show in September — two of the defining events of the yachting year — and Monte-Carlo's casino, hotels and restaurants set the standard for glamour.
A run from Cannes to Monaco is one of the classic charter days: lunch aboard at anchor, an afternoon in Monte-Carlo, dinner back on the water. Berths in Port Hercule are limited and prized, especially in event weeks, and are best arranged well ahead through a broker.
Outside the great event weeks the principality is calmer, and a day trip from Cannes still delivers the full Monte-Carlo experience by sea. In May and September, book early: this is the single most contested stretch of water on the Côte d'Azur.