Cannes Yachting Festival

The Cannes Yachting Festival, Europe's largest in-water boat show, presents more than 700 boats and 600 exhibitors every year between the Old Port and Port Canto, about two weeks before Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

For six days in early September, the Old Port and Port Canto in Cannes host a display afloat and on land ranging from small RIBs a few metres long to fifty-metre yachts, making the event Europe's largest in-water boat show and one of the most anticipated events in the international yachting calendar, just before the autumn boat show season opens in Genoa and then Fort Lauderdale.

The show stands out for displaying boats directly in the water rather than on land stands, letting visitors and potential buyers go on board and really appreciate the boats on display, a format that largely explains the event's success and growing attendance edition after edition since it was created in the 1970s.

With more than 600 exhibitors and tens of thousands of professional and private visitors from all over the world, the show generates particularly intense activity throughout central Cannes, with significant pressure on access to the two exhibition harbours and on parking in the city centre throughout the show, the Croisette and its surroundings seeing heavy traffic comparable in some respects to that of the Cannes Film Festival, although over a smaller area around the two harbours.

The event takes place about two weeks before Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, creating a remarkable succession of sailing events on the Riviera at the end of summer, when many international visitors organise a combined stay in the two towns, from the Cannes show to the Saint-Tropez regattas, with the Monaco Yacht Show in between.

The Cannes Yachting Festival's visitors are both professional, with shipyards, equipment suppliers and brokers presenting their new models and closing sales, and private, with existing boat owners coming to discover the latest innovations on the market or simply to enjoy the unique nautical atmosphere created by this exceptional concentration of boats in the heart of Cannes.

The Old Port, at the foot of the old town and Le Suquet, traditionally hosts the largest boats in the show, while Port Canto, at the other end of the Croisette near the Roseraie gardens, presents a range more focused on mid-sized pleasure boats and motor yachts, a geographical split that largely explains the repeated journeys between the two sites for visitors who want a complete overview of the show.

The event traditionally comes with a programme of conferences and round tables on the challenges facing the boating sector, from electric and hybrid propulsion for pleasure boats to the protection of the Mediterranean marine environment, illustrating how a sector historically associated with pure luxury is increasingly focused on environmental concerns in professional discussions.

Every year the festival also offers an area dedicated to water sports and board sports, as well as activities for families, which broadens its audience well beyond boat buyers and owners to a wider Cannes and Riviera public who come simply to enjoy the atmosphere and discover the world of yachting during a visit.

The event's economic importance for Cannes is considerable, generating significant benefits for hotels, restaurants and shops throughout the city centre at a pivotal time at the end of the summer season, which explains the constant investment by the city and local businesses in sustaining and developing the event over the decades since it was created.

Attendance at the show varies noticeably with the day of the week, generally peaking on the weekend after the opening, when the general public joins the professional visitors of the first days, which increases the pressure on access and parking precisely when crowds are already at their highest because of the overlap between the two kinds of visitors.

LimoAirportGroup supports this dynamic with transport options designed for journeys between Cannes and Saint-Tropez during this pivotal end-of-summer period, as well as dedicated transfers to the festival's two exhibition harbours, taking into account the specific nature of this event, where business appointments on board the boats on display often require several journeys in the same day between the Old Port and Port Canto, several kilometres apart along the Croisette.

For international visitors combining the Cannes Yachting Festival with other commitments on the Riviera, the proximity of Nice airport makes it easy to organise return trips or extend the stay to Monaco or the hinterland, as a chauffeur familiar with the region can put together the best route whatever combination of destinations and times you want for the whole stay.