Cannes Yachting Festival 2026: The French Riviera Gets Ready for Six Days of Yachting, Luxury and Life at Sea

 

There are few places in the world better suited to a major yacht show than Cannes, and from 8 to 13 September 2026, the French Riviera will once again become the international meeting place for yacht owners, boating enthusiasts, industry professionals, designers and luxury-lifestyle lovers as the Cannes Yachting Festival returns to the city’s spectacular waterfront.

Spread across two iconic locations — Cannes’ Vieux Port and Port Canto — the 2026 edition promises an extraordinary showcase of the international boating industry, with more than 700 boats and yachts, hundreds of exhibitors and an impressive selection of new launches and innovations.

The Festival describes itself as an opportunity to tour, sea-trial and discover some of the world’s most exceptional yachts in the heart of the French Riviera. And that setting is difficult to beat: visitors move between the historic Vieux Port at the foot of Le Suquet and Port Canto at the eastern end of the Croisette, with the Mediterranean providing the backdrop throughout.

Two harbours, two very different experiences

The Vieux Port is the Festival’s home for motor yachts and marine innovation. Visitors can expect more than 350 boats ranging from approximately 12 to 45 metres, alongside major shipyards, marine equipment manufacturers and companies showcasing the latest developments in boating technology.

The atmosphere changes at Port Canto, where sailing takes centre stage. The harbour hosts the Sailing Area, Yacht Brokerage Area, Toys Area and Power Boat Marina, creating a particularly diverse experience for visitors interested in everything from sailing yachts and pre-owned superyachts to dayboats and water toys.

For sailing enthusiasts, 2026 is shaping up to be particularly interesting. The Festival says that around 120 monohulls and multihulls will be displayed in the Sailing Area, with more than 400 metres of quay dedicated to monohulls and more than 450 metres to multihulls. The 2026 programme also includes a selection of world premieres.

A major international showcase

The scale of the event is considerable. Festival figures list approximately 56,600 visitors, 680+ exhibitors and 710+ boats and yachts, underlining why Cannes has become such an important date on the international boating calendar.

Beyond simply looking at beautiful boats, visitors can explore new marine technology, equipment, design and sustainable innovations through the Festival’s Innovation Route. The programme includes awards recognising innovative vessels, sustainable products, navigation equipment and corporate social-responsibility initiatives.

And, of course, there is the possibility of actually stepping aboard some of the vessels. Many exhibitors allow visitors to tour boats, although individual access is controlled by exhibitors. Selected exhibitors also offer sea trials, generally by appointment and subject to their own conditions.

When is the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026?

The Festival runs for six days, from Tuesday 8 September through Sunday 13 September 2026.

The official visitor opening hours are:

• Tuesday 8 September: 10:00–19:00

• Wednesday 9 September: 10:00–19:00

• Thursday 10 September: 10:00–19:00

• Friday 11 September: 10:00–22:00

• Saturday 12 September: 10:00–19:00

• Sunday 13 September: 10:00–18:00

The Friday evening opening until 22:00 gives visitors an opportunity to experience the show after dark, when the atmosphere around the Cannes waterfront takes on an entirely different character.

Where is it held?

The Festival is divided between:

Vieux Port — Cannes
Located in the centre of Cannes, immediately below Le Suquet and alongside the Croisette.

Port Canto — Cannes
Located at the eastern end of the Croisette.

The two sites are both part of the same Festival, making it worthwhile to allow plenty of time to explore both. The Festival’s official interactive map is intended to help visitors locate exhibitors, boats, restaurants, VIP areas, entrances and shuttle stops.

What about tickets?

Tickets are sold through the official Cannes Yachting Festival ticketing platform. The Festival’s website directs visitors to its online ticketing system for purchases.

Important: the official ticketing platform is currently protected against automated access, so the individual 2026 public ticket price is not reliably exposed in the publicly crawlable pages. Rather than publish an unverified figure, visitors should check the live price displayed when purchasing through the official ticket portal.

The official website also offers VIP programmes, with enhanced hospitality and additional services for visitors looking for a more exclusive Festival experience.

Official tickets: Cannes Yachting Festival ticketing platform

Getting there from the Riviera

For international visitors, the obvious gateway is Nice Côte d’Azur International Airport, which is approximately 30 minutes from Cannes by Uber under normal traffic conditions. The Festival also highlights transport connections and accommodation options for visitors travelling to the show.

For anyone already staying on the Côte d’Azur, Cannes is particularly accessible by train, making the Festival a relatively easy day trip from Nice, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Monaco and many other Riviera destinations.

More than just boats

The Cannes Yachting Festival has increasingly become as much a lifestyle event as a traditional boat show.

Visitors can combine yacht viewing with restaurants, waterfront spaces, networking, shopping and the general Riviera atmosphere surrounding the Croisette. The Festival’s new Solarium at the Vieux Port, for example, offers a beach-style relaxation area with loungers and parasols, while live demonstrations are also scheduled nearby.

There is also an important practical element behind the glamour. The Festival has supported the SNSM, France’s national sea-rescue organisation, for several years, highlighting the importance of safety at sea alongside the industry’s focus on luxury and performance.

Follow the Cannes Yachting Festival

For announcements, new yacht reveals, exhibitor news, photographs, videos and updates during the event, the Festival maintains official accounts across the major social platforms:

• Instagram — Cannes Yachting Festival

• Facebook — Cannes Yachting Festival

• LinkedIn — Cannes Yachting Festival

• X — Cannes Yachting Festival

• YouTube — Cannes Yachting Festival

The Festival itself lists Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X and YouTube as its official social channels.

Cannes prepares to welcome the world of yachting

For six September days, Cannes becomes a floating showroom for some of the most exciting developments in the international boating industry. Whether your interest is a sleek motor yacht, a sailing catamaran, the latest marine technology, water toys, yacht brokerage or simply experiencing one of the Riviera’s major luxury events, the Cannes Yachting Festival offers plenty to explore.

And there is something particularly fitting about seeing the newest generation of yachts gathered along the Cannes waterfront. The Festival combines the serious business of an international marine industry event with the glamour, sunshine and unmistakable lifestyle of the French Riviera.

Cannes Yachting Festival 2026
8–13 September 2026
Vieux Port & Port Canto, Cannes
Friday late opening: until 22:00

Self-Defense, Confidence and Community: LGBTQIA+ Classes Return to Vieux-Nice

 

Nice and the surrounding Côte d’Azur are known for being safe places to live and visit, but it never hurts to learn a few skills to feel more confident and better prepared to protect yourself.

As the new school year begins, the Centre LGBTQIA+ Côte d’Azur is once again offering its self-defense classes in Nice—an initiative that has been helping people build confidence and feel safer for the past 10 years.

For the LGBTQIA+ community, self-defense can mean far more than learning a physical skill. In a world where homophobic and transphobic violence remains a reality, knowing how to respond in an uncomfortable or threatening situation can provide an important sense of confidence and reassurance.

The aim, however, isn’t to create a room full of combat champions. Quite the opposite.

These classes focus on simple, practical techniques designed to help participants react quickly when faced with a difficult situation, including ways to dodge, evade and use basic holds to create an opportunity to get away safely.

And you don’t need to be athletic—or have any previous experience—to take part.

Participants progress at their own pace, with an emphasis on respecting individual bodies, abilities and limitations. There is no competition, no intimidation and no pressure to perform.

Instead, the classes are designed around a friendly, inclusive and supportive environment where people can learn together and gradually develop greater confidence.

Leading the sessions is Melody Malatesta, a passionate coach and teacher who welcomes participants whatever their existing level of fitness or experience.

The classes resume on Saturday, September 26, at 10 a.m., and will then take place every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m.

Class details

Every Saturday, 10–11 a.m.
Salle Walter Malatesta
8 rue Saint-Vincent, Vieux-Nice
Open to everyone
No previous experience required

To register, contact Pierre-Yves at 06 89 36 33 75.

At its heart, the programme offers a simple but important message: self-defense isn’t about learning to fight—it is about learning that you have options.

For LGBTQIA+ people navigating public spaces where harassment, intimidation or violence can sometimes be a concern, that knowledge can be empowering in itself.

And after a decade of classes, the programme continues to demonstrate that creating safer communities isn’t only about responding to violence after it happens. It’s also about giving people the tools, confidence and solidarity to feel more secure in the first place.

Haut Bas Fragile: NEO art & culture lab x VogelART Present a New International Exhibition

 

Nice will welcome a compelling new chapter in its contemporary art scene this autumn with Haut bas fragile, a new exhibition presented by NEO art & culture lab x VogelART and curated by artist and curator Thomas Zitzwitz.

Running from September 24 to October 11, 2026, the exhibition brings together an impressive group of international artists whose work explores some of the most elusive and universal conditions of contemporary life: fragility, vulnerability, transformation and resilience.

Following his previous exhibitions, Tender is the Night and Sympathetic Ink, Zitzwitz continues to examine contemporary artistic practices through exhibitions that deliberately resist easy categorisation. Rather than presenting a single narrative, Haut bas fragile creates a space where different artistic voices, mediums and perspectives can exist in tension with one another.

The title itself is borrowed from Jacques Rivette’s 1995 film Haut bas fragile, a work known for its playful, open-ended narrative and its fascination with what remains unresolved, suspended or unfinished. That sensibility becomes an important thread running through the exhibition.

High, low, fragile.

The three words suggest not only emotional states but also the contradictions of contemporary existence. They describe moments of vulnerability and strength, certainty and doubt, intimacy and exposure. In a world increasingly defined by instability and rapid transformation, fragility is no longer simply something to be overcome. It can also become a condition through which we understand ourselves, our relationships and the societies around us.

The exhibition therefore brings together works that question what happens when stability gives way to uncertainty, when something familiar is transformed, or when vulnerability becomes a source of resilience.

Across a diverse range of media and artistic approaches, Haut bas fragile creates a dialogue between lightness and gravity, intimacy and public space, stability and uncertainty. Rather than prescribing a particular interpretation, the exhibition invites visitors to move through these contrasts and construct their own understanding of what is fragile, unfinished or in transition.

That openness is particularly appropriate for an exhibition in Nice, a city whose artistic identity has long been shaped by encounters between different cultures, movements and generations.

A Curator with Deep Roots on the Côte d’Azur

For Thomas Zitzwitz, the exhibition also represents something of a homecoming.

An artist as well as an experienced curator, Zitzwitz has a longstanding personal connection to Nice and the Côte d’Azur. He grew up in Èze, just outside Nice, and attended school in the region.

That connection gives his work at NEO an additional dimension. His relationship with the Côte d’Azur is not simply that of an outside curator arriving to stage an exhibition in an attractive Mediterranean city. It is rooted in personal experience and a longstanding familiarity with the region and its creative environment.

His own experience as an artist also informs the way he approaches exhibitions. Rather than treating artworks as isolated objects, Zitzwitz brings together artists through encounters, relationships and an understanding of the creative processes behind their work.

The result is an exhibition conceived less as a conventional collection of individual works and more as a conversation between artistic positions.

An Exceptionally International Line-up

The exhibition features an extensive roster of artists from different generations and artistic backgrounds, including:

Adriane Wachholz, Alicja Kwade, André Wendland, Aneta Kajzer, Bertille Bak, Camille Henrot, Carsten Höller, Christian August, Cosimo Casoni, Frédéric Weigel, Gregor Hildebrandt, Ida Ekblad, Isa Melsheimer, Jean Bedez, Jenny Brosinski, Joan Jonas, Johannes Daniel, Kenny Schachter, Kristian Touborg, Lars Breuer, Lou Ros, Lucie Antoinette, Marie Bovo, Norbert Bisky, Pablo Tomek, Philip Grözinger, Sophie Calle, Thomas Zitzwitz, Ugo Rondinone, Xiyao Wang and Yorgos Stamkopoulos.

The breadth of the participating artists is one of the exhibition’s most intriguing elements. Their differing practices and perspectives create precisely the kind of friction that Haut bas fragile seeks to explore.

Rather than offering a uniform aesthetic, the exhibition promises a polyphonic experience, where visitors can encounter different interpretations of vulnerability, change and resilience.

Opening Night and Special Performance

The exhibition officially opens with its vernissage on Thursday, September 24, from 6pm to 9pm.

The programme will also include a special performance by Frédéric Weigel on Sunday, October 4 at 7pm, adding another dimension to an exhibition already concerned with movement, transformation and the relationship between the unfinished and the complete.

Haut bas fragile will remain open from September 24 through October 11, Wednesday to Sunday from 2pm.

For Nice, the exhibition represents another welcome reminder that the city’s contemporary art scene extends well beyond its established museums and institutions. With an international group of artists, a curator with genuine ties to the region and a concept rooted in some of the most relevant questions of contemporary life, Haut bas fragile promises to be an exhibition that rewards curiosity rather than passive observation.

In the end, perhaps that is precisely what fragility demands: not certainty, but attention.

And in a city as layered, contradictory and perpetually evolving as Nice, an exhibition devoted to the fragile and unfinished feels particularly at home.

Journées Européennes du Patrimoine 2026: Discovering the Hidden History of the French Riviera

 

Every September, France opens the doors to its past.

For one weekend, historic buildings, museums, private residences, churches, archaeological sites, archives, scientific institutions and cultural treasures across the country invite the public inside — often free of charge and sometimes into places that are normally closed to visitors.

The Journées européennes du patrimoine — European Heritage Days — return on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20, 2026, and on the French Riviera they offer an extraordinary opportunity to discover a side of the Côte d’Azur that can easily disappear beneath its reputation for beaches, luxury hotels, yachts and glamorous resorts.

Official 2026 Journées européennes du patrimoine programme — French Ministry of Culture

More than just a Weekend of Free Museums

The Heritage Days are important because they change the relationship between people and the places around them.

Rather than simply looking at historic buildings from the outside, visitors are encouraged to enter them, learn their stories, meet the people responsible for preserving them and discover the often-overlooked cultural, architectural, scientific and social history behind them.

That is particularly important in a region such as the Côte d’Azur.

The Riviera is frequently presented as a glamorous playground of millionaires, celebrities and tourists. But underneath that image is an extraordinary history stretching from prehistoric settlements and Roman civilization through medieval fortifications, religious architecture, aristocratic villas, Belle Époque tourism, the arrival of the railway, modern art, photography and the development of international tourism.

The Heritage Days provide a chance to discover that deeper story.

September 19–20, 2026: A particularly Special Edition

The 2026 edition has two major themes: “Patrimoine de la photographie” — Photographic Heritage — and “Patrimoine en péril” — Heritage at Risk.

The photography theme is particularly appropriate for the French Riviera.

Photography has played an enormous role in creating the international image of the Côte d’Azur. Long before Instagram, photographs of Nice, Cannes, Menton, Monaco and the Riviera’s spectacular landscapes helped sell the region to visitors around the world.

In 2026, the Heritage Days invite visitors to look not only at the monuments themselves but also at the way photography has documented, preserved and shaped our understanding of them.

Nice is embracing that theme particularly strongly, with a programme featuring more than 100 activities spread across 58 locations.

Nice: Start Here

If you only have one weekend, Nice is arguably the best place to begin.

The city’s Heritage Days programme includes guided tours, exhibitions, conferences, workshops, performances, concerts and exceptional openings. Many events are free, although some require advance registration.

One of the highlights is the “Nice argentique” photographic tour, which explores the photographers who immortalized Nice as part of the bicentenary of photography.

There are also opportunities to visit the normally inaccessible reserves of Palais Lascaris, explore the underground Crypte, discover the historic Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, and visit the city’s archaeological and religious heritage.

The Observatory is particularly impressive. Visitors can access the historic Grande Coupole and buildings associated with Charles Garnier and Gustave Eiffel, as well as the recently restored historic library.

Another fascinating option is the Musée d’Archéologie de Nice / Cimiez, where visitors can explore Nice’s Roman past and learn about the ancient settlement of Cemenelum.

There are also opportunities to discover the city’s Baroque religious heritage, including the Chapelle de la Miséricorde and other historic chapels in Vieux-Nice.

And for anyone interested in photography, the Musée de la Photographie Charles Nègre is an obvious stop during a year dedicated to photographic heritage.

Ville de Nice — Journées européennes du patrimoine 2026 programme

The Côte d’Azur Beyond Nice

The Heritage Days aren’t limited to Nice.

The official Côte d’Azur programme contains a huge variety of events across the region, including 80 guided visits, 20 exhibitions, 15 conferences and debates, 48 discovery activities and numerous concerts, performances and other special events.

Côte d’Azur France — European Heritage Days 2026 programme

That means visitors can construct an entire weekend around a particular aspect of Riviera history.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche offers a very different experience from Nice.

Its history is deeply connected to its strategic Mediterranean harbour, military fortifications and maritime importance.

The Citadelle Saint-Elme, historic old town and harbour provide an opportunity to understand the Riviera not as a luxury destination but as a strategically important Mediterranean coastline.

Èze Village

For medieval heritage, few places are more spectacular than Èze.

Perched dramatically above the Mediterranean, the village provides a glimpse into the fortified medieval landscape that existed long before the Riviera became an international resort.

Walking through Èze during the Heritage Days is a reminder that the Côte d’Azur’s history is considerably older than its Belle Époque image.

La Turbie

For ancient history, head higher up the coast to La Turbie and the extraordinary Trophée des Alpes.

The Roman monument is one of the most impressive surviving reminders that this coastline was already an important crossroads of civilization nearly two thousand years ago.

It also offers one of the best historical perspectives on the relationship between the Riviera’s landscape and its strategic importance.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence

 

Saint-Paul-de-Vence tells another important Riviera story.

There is the medieval village, its ramparts and religious heritage — but there is also the extraordinary cultural history of the 20th century.

The village became associated with artists including Picasso, Chagall, Matisse and other major figures of modern art.

It therefore demonstrates how the Riviera’s heritage didn’t stop with the Middle Ages. It continued to evolve into one of Europe’s most important artistic landscapes.

Antibes

Antibes brings together ancient history, fortifications, maritime heritage and the artistic legacy of Picasso.

Its old town and ramparts provide a fascinating contrast with the modern image of the Côte d’Azur as a playground for yachts and luxury tourism.

Cannes

 

Cannes deserves particular attention because its modern identity can sometimes obscure its older history.

Before the Film Festival, red carpets and international celebrities, Cannes was a small Mediterranean settlement that was transformed during the 19th century into an international resort.

Le Suquet, the old harbour, historic churches and former villas tell the story of the Cannes that existed before Hollywood discovered it.

Menton

Menton provides yet another perspective.

Its location beside Italy has created a distinctive cultural identity combining French, Italian and Mediterranean influences.

Its old town, gardens, religious architecture and Belle Époque heritage reveal how international tourism transformed the eastern Riviera.

Why the Heritage Days matter

The importance of the European Heritage Days goes far beyond getting free admission to a museum.

They are fundamentally about preservation and transmission.

France possesses an extraordinary amount of architectural and cultural heritage, but heritage cannot survive simply because a building is old.

Someone has to maintain it.

Someone has to pay for it.

Someone has to document it.

And, perhaps most importantly, someone has to care about it.

That is why the 2026 theme of heritage at risk is so important. Historic buildings, archives, photographs, landscapes, traditions and objects can all disappear through neglect, environmental pressures, redevelopment, lack of funding or simply because their stories are forgotten.

The Heritage Days help make that heritage visible.

And the French Riviera has an Important Story to Tell

The Côte d’Azur is not simply a beautiful place.

It is a place where European history, Mediterranean culture, architecture, art, tourism and modernity collided.

Nice’s UNESCO World Heritage designation recognizes the city’s importance as the “Winter Resort Town of the Riviera.”

That heritage tells the story of how international visitors — particularly British, Russian and other European travellers — helped transform Nice and the surrounding coastline into an international destination.

The railway, grand hotels, villas, gardens, casinos, promenades and cultural institutions were all part of that transformation.

And photography helped turn the transformation into an international fantasy.

The Riviera was photographed, painted, written about and marketed to the world.

In other words, the Côte d’Azur didn’t simply become famous because it was beautiful. It became famous because generations of people created, documented and promoted an idea of what the Riviera represented.

That is precisely why the 2026 photographic theme is so appropriate.

Make a Weekend of it

For visitors and residents alike, the Heritage Days are an opportunity to experience the Côte d’Azur differently.

Rather than spending the weekend simply moving between beaches, restaurants and the usual tourist attractions, consider spending Saturday exploring Nice’s photographic, Belle Époque and architectural heritage, followed on Sunday by a journey along the eastern or western Riviera.

A particularly rewarding route could be: Nice → Villefranche-sur-Mer → Èze → La Turbie

or, heading west: Nice → Antibes → Saint-Paul-de-Vence → Cannes

Either way, you’ll discover something that is easy to forget when living in or visiting this extraordinarily beautiful region: the Côte d’Azur is not just a destination. It is a living historical landscape.

And for one weekend every September, much more of that history opens its doors.

Essential links

Official French Ministry of Culture — Journées européennes du patrimoine

Ville de Nice — 2026 Heritage Days programme

Côte d’Azur France — 2026 Heritage Days programme

Dates: Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20, 2026. Many activities are free, but popular guided visits and restricted-access locations may require advance reservations. Nice specifically notes that reservations open from September 1.