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Photo: Tobi 87 · CC BY-SA 3.0
France · Côte d'Azur
French Riviera & Monaco
Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Antibes and the Principality — the coast that invented yachting.
Overview
The stretch of coast between Saint-Tropez and Menton is where modern yachting was effectively invented, and it still sets the terms. Deep water close inshore, marinas built for large yachts, and a shoreline where a morning at anchor off the Îles de Lérins can be followed by dinner in Monte-Carlo. It is busy in July and August — the Riviera does not pretend otherwise — but the anchorages between Cap Ferrat and Cap d'Antibes stay quiet if you know when to move, and the hinterland of Provence is half an hour behind the beach.
Where to dine
A table by the water
La Colombe d'Or
Saint-Paul-de-VenceA 1920s inn whose walls hold Picasso, Léger and Matisse — paid in paintings, not francs.
Le Louis XV — Alain Ducasse
MonacoThree Michelin stars in the Hôtel de Paris. Riviera produce treated with total seriousness.
La Guérite
Île Sainte-Marguerite, CannesOn an island off Cannes, tender access only — long Mediterranean lunches that rarely end early.
Club 55
Pampelonne, Saint-TropezThe original Pampelonne beach club, opened 1955. Booking is not optional in August.
The old port of Antibes
AntibesThe unshowy side of the Riviera — market stalls on Cours Masséna and simple fish restaurants behind them.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Îles de Lérins
Two islands twenty minutes off Cannes — pine, monastery vineyards and the calmest anchorage on this coast.
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Cap Ferrat
Nine gardens on a headland between two bays, built by a Rothschild who could not choose a style.
Èze
A medieval village welded to a rock 400m above the sea, with an exotic garden at the summit.
Port Hercule, Monaco
The Principality from the water — and the only sensible way to be there during the Grand Prix or the Yacht Show.
Calanques de l'Estérel
Red porphyry cliffs falling into clear water between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes — sea access only.
Plan your voyage
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