Journal·French Riviera
The French Riviera by sea
From the glamour of Monaco to the beach clubs of Saint-Tropez, the Côte d’Azur is the heart of Mediterranean yachting, and it is best seen from the water.
Few coastlines are as well known as the Côte d’Azur, and yet from the land much of it stays out of sight. From the deck of a yacht, the Riviera shows its other side: pine-fringed headlands, turquoise anchorages and coves most easily reached by sea. Days move gently between iconic harbours and quiet bays, with lunch at a legendary beach restaurant, a swim off Cap Ferrat and sunset in the Bay of Cannes.
Monaco and the eastern Riviera
Port Hercule, the world-famous harbour beneath Monte-Carlo, is surrounded by superyachts and is the stage of both the Grand Prix and the Yacht Show. For a calmer moment, the anchorage off Larvotto keeps Monaco in view, with the Monte-Carlo Beach Club a short tender ride away.
Heading west, Plage Mala at Cap d’Ail is a secluded cove beneath the cliffs, with beach restaurants reached by tender. Beyond it, the medieval clifftop village of Èze is at its most striking seen from the sea, and Beaulieu-sur-Mer keeps its elegant Belle Époque waterfront.
Cap Ferrat and Villefranche
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is one of the Riviera’s most prestigious peninsulas. Paloma Beach, an exclusive beach club, is reached by sea, and the quiet coves around the cape, overlooked by the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, are made for swimming and snorkelling. Next door, Villefranche-sur-Mer has one of the deepest, most sheltered bays on the coast, with a colourful old town and its citadel above the water.
Lunch at a legendary beach restaurant, a swim off Cap Ferrat, sunset in the Bay of Cannes: on the Riviera, the day writes itself.
Antibes, Cannes and the islands
Port Vauban in Antibes is one of the Mediterranean’s great superyacht harbours, beside the ramparts of the old town. Around the cape, Garoupe Bay has clear water beneath the legendary Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, with beach restaurants along La Garoupe.
In the Bay of Cannes, we anchor off La Croisette as the red Esterel hills glow behind at sunset. Just offshore, the Îles de Lérins, Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat, offer crystal-clear water between the islands and lunch among the monks’ vineyards. Further west, the red porphyry cliffs of the Esterel at Théoule-sur-Mer hide quiet calanques for swimming away from the crowds.
Saint-Tropez
Pampelonne Bay is the Riviera’s summer social hub, home to iconic beach clubs such as Club 55 and Nikki Beach. And there is always the Old Port of Saint-Tropez, its café terraces made for watching the harbour, and for being seen.
Arriving in style
M/Y AINO, our 90ft Sunseeker Ocean, is at home on this coast, with an on-deck jacuzzi, two Porsche Design Seabobs and a crew of four led by a captain with more than 20 years at the helm. In time she will be joined again by our Porsche Design Donzi 28 Fearless, one of only a handful ever made: a high-speed run along the coast to lunch at a Cap Ferrat beach club or dinner in Saint-Tropez, straight to the jetty.
However you like to spend the day, the route is yours to shape. Tell us the bays you have in mind, or let us suggest them.
