What's the difference between the IYCA quay and a regular Riviera berth?

The IYCA quay (Quai des Milliardaires) in Antibes is a long, deep quay specifically built for 60m+ yachts. Most berths are held on annual contracts by resident owners; charter access usually comes through yacht managers rather than the marina office.

How early do I need to book a French Riviera superyacht week for July or August?

Eight to twelve months for first choice on hull and berth. The boat itself can occasionally be found inside six months — the berth in Saint-Tropez or Monaco is the constraint, not the yacht.

Can a 50m+ yacht enter Saint-Tropez town?

The new outer quay extension takes hulls up to roughly 60m; beyond that, anchor in the gulf and tender in. Most weeks the office plans a mixture — one night alongside, the rest at anchor with tender chain.

Which is more practical for a first French Riviera week — Antibes or Saint-Tropez?

Saint-Tropez if the brief is beach club lunches and the southern lifestyle; Antibes if the brief is convenience to LFMN (15 minutes) and an eastward run toward Monaco. The office often boards in Saint-Tropez and disembarks in Antibes or Monaco to avoid a return leg.

Are there berth or anchorage rules for very large hulls in summer?

Yes — Posidonia seagrass restrictions apply across the French coast, especially in the Lerins and around Cap d'Antibes. The captain selects bottom and technique to comply; the office tracks current decrees because they update most years.

Superyacht Charter on the French Riviera — A 2026 Working Guide

The Côte d'Azur was built for this. From Saint-Tropez at the western end to Menton on the Italian border, the coastline carries four deep-water harbours, eight serviceable anchorages, two world-class refit yards (Monaco Marine La Ciotat and IMS Toulon, both an hour up), and the highest concentration of captain's-favourite restaurants in the Mediterranean. A 50m+ hull on the Riviera is moving between known quantities; the work is in matching the berth, the dinner table and the tender chain to the brief.

The Riviera, in order, west to east

Saint-Tropez and the Gulf

The west anchor of the run. Port Camille Rayon (Golfe-Juan, twenty minutes east) and the new Saint-Tropez quay handle 50m+; mid-summer the gulf anchorage off Pampelonne and the shallows by Cap Camarat sit twenty to forty yachts at a time. Lunches at Club 55, Loulou Ramatuelle, Indie Beach and the quieter Cap Pinet; dinners on board or at La Vague d'Or.

Cannes and the Lerins

Cannes Vieux Port takes up to roughly 50m on the outer quay; beyond that the boat is offshore in the bay between the Lerins islands and the Croisette. The Lerins themselves — Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat — are a two-minute tender ride from town and the office's standard lunch anchorage. The Cannes Film Festival in May and Cannes Lions in June change the math entirely (see our separateCannes Film Festival guide).

Antibes

Port Vauban's IYCA quay (Quai des Milliardaires) is the single most concentrated row of 60m+ yachts in the world. The quay is contracted, not chartered, but for guests staying aboard during a Côte d'Azur week, an Antibes night delivers Le Vieil Antibes for dinner, the Picasso museum if there's morning time, and the Cap d'Antibes anchorage (Anse de l'Argent Faux) for a beach day.

Beaulieu, Saint-Jean and Cap Ferrat

The Riviera's quiet quarter. Port de Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat handles up to about 35m alongside; bigger hulls anchor in the lee of Cap Ferrat or off Villefranche. Dinners at La Voile d'Or, Cap Estel, or aboard. The Cap Ferrat walk is the morning the office most often recommends as a guest break from the boat.

Monaco

Port Hercule is the eastern anchor. In a normal week it's a one- or two-night call; in the last week of May (the GP), it becomes the entire stay. See our separateMonaco GP weekend post for that calendar.

A working week — the office's default Côte d'Azur run

Sat — board Saint-Tropez (Camille Rayon embark), aft dinner at Pampelonne anchorage
Sun — lunch Club 55 or Loulou Ramatuelle, afternoon swim Pampelonne, sundown at Cap Camarat
Mon — slow eastbound to Cannes, anchor between the Lerins, lunch ashore Sainte-Marguerite
Tue — Cannes morning ashore, afternoon to Antibes anchorage, dinner at Le Vieil Antibes
Wed — eastbound to Cap Ferrat, lunch aboard at the swimming bay, afternoon ashore at La Paloma
Thu — Beaulieu and Villefranche, dinner at Cap Estel or aboard
Fri — Monaco arrival mid-morning, lunch at Le Vistamar or aboard, evening at the Casino square
Sat — Monaco departure or onward transfer to the Italian Riviera

Where the 50m+ hulls actually fit

The Riviera looks crowded on paper. In reality, four berths take the biggest hulls: Port Hercule, the IYCA quay at Port Vauban, the new Saint-Tropez extension, and Port Camille Rayon. Cannes Vieux Port and Beaulieu's Port de Plaisance are workable up to about 50m. Everything else — Villefranche, Cap-Ferrat, Eze, La Napoule — is anchorage and tender. The office books the berth the moment the charter contract signs; delaying that step is the single most common reason a week gets squeezed.

Weather and the seasonal window

May and early June: cooler water (19–22°C), reliable light, the Cannes Festival and Monaco GP crowds. Mid-June: Cannes Lions changes Cannes itself. July: settled summer, very busy. August: the most-photographed weeks; book berths and restaurants ten weeks ahead. Mid-September: the office's favourite window — warm water, quieter anchorages, last flexibility on berths.

Discretion notes

The IYCA quay is photographed daily by drone tour operators. Owners who want minimum visibility tend to overnight in the lee of Cap Ferrat or in Beaulieu and tender into Antibes for dinners only. The office runs a no-AIS-broadcast routine when the brief is quiet — the boat is reachable to the office, not to the public marine traffic feeds.