Monaco Yacht Show 2026

For four days every September, Port Hercule becomes the most concentrated display of superyachts in the world. The Monaco Yacht Show — organised by Informa Markets since 1991 — fills the entire harbour with roughly 120 superyachts, every one of them above 25 metres and curated by show organisers from a global build pipeline. Around 560 exhibitors line the quays at Quai Antoine 1er, Quai des États-Unis and Darse Nord; an estimated 30,000 ultra-high-net-worth visitors — owners, brokers, builders, charter clients, and the industry's full supplier chain — work the principality across the four days.

The 2026 edition runs across Wednesday 23 – Saturday 26 September 2026. Unlike the Cannes Yachting Festival two weeks earlier, the Monaco Yacht Show is strictly curated: every yacht on display is invited by the organisers, every visitor pre-registered, and the cruising-yacht and motor-boat segments are excluded entirely. What remains is the superyacht segment in its purest form — the new builds making their global debut alongside the brokerage fleet's most prestigious charter and sale offerings. Boatcrowd's brokerage team attends every edition; the show is the single most important week of the year for first-hand evaluation of the global charter and sale fleet.

The page below is built around how a charter client should actually approach the week: whether to charter a yacht as your Monaco hospitality base — principality hotels are at capacity by April and run at 3–4× standard rates for the four days — or to use the show as the closing act of the September Riviera fortnight that begins with Cannes Yachting Festival. The two shows together define the European superyacht autumn, and a single yacht running both as a fourteen-day programme is the most efficient way to attend.

The first reason charter clients book a yacht around the Monaco Yacht Show is the principality's geometry: Monaco is two square kilometres with a fixed inventory of roughly 2,500 hotel rooms across the Société des Bains de Mer properties (Hôtel de Paris, Hermitage, Monte-Carlo Beach, Méridien Beach Plaza) and the wider Fairmont, Métropole, Columbus and Port Palace stock. By April every year that inventory is sold out for the show, with rates running at €1,500 to €4,000+ per night for standard rooms during the four show days. The next nearest accommodation is in Cap d'Ail, Beausoleil, Èze, or further west toward Villefranche — a 15-to-30 minute drive that becomes 60+ minutes through the principality's gridlocked show traffic.

A charter yacht of any reasonable size solves all of it in a single decision. The yacht becomes your Monaco hotel: accommodation, dining, lounge space, meeting and pre-dinner cocktail space — either moored along the show quays (premium berths, booked through the show), anchored in the Bay of Monaco off the Larvotto (free of charge, tender shuttle in), or based in Cap Ferrat / Villefranche / Antibes for a slightly longer tender or short cruise into the harbour each day. Most charter weeks during the show use one of these three patterns.

The second reason is the show itself. The Monaco Yacht Show is the most concentrated display of superyacht inventory anywhere in the world — tightly curated by Informa Markets, with every yacht above 25 metres and many representing the year's new global builds from Lürssen, Feadship, Heesen, Oceanco, Benetti, CRN, Sanlorenzo, Wally, Tankoa, Amels and the larger Italian yards. For owners considering a new build, brokers vetting next-summer charter fleet, and charter clients researching their own next move — the show condenses the global superyacht industry into four working days at one harbour. Boatcrowd's brokerage team attends MYS every year — charter recommendations from our side carry that fresh first-hand assessment behind them.

The third reason is the cruising itself. Late September is the closing window of the French and Italian Riviera year — water still at 22–23°C, daytime highs in the low-to-mid 20s, the August crowds long gone, and the Riviera restaurants and beach clubs in their final fortnight of the season. The Bay of Monaco, Cap Ferrat, Saint-Jean, Villefranche, Cap d'Antibes, Saint-Tropez, Portofino, and the Italian Riviera are all within easy cruising. Many charter clients build the trip as a fourteen-day September fortnight running Cannes Yachting Festival (early September), a week of cruising in the middle, and Monaco Yacht Show as the closer.

Booking timing for the Monaco Yacht Show splits into two separate decisions: the yacht itself, and where it will physically sit during the show. The yacht question follows the standard French Riviera shoulder-season pattern; the berth question is much tighter, because Port Hercule is the show.

Practical timeline for the 2026 show week:

• Twelve months out (September of the previous year): The window in which to commit to a Port Hercule show-week berth. Berths are allocated by the show organisers and the Société d'Exploitation des Ports de Monaco; demand exceeds supply every year, and visitor-yacht berths during the four show days are filled by the previous May. This is also the window for booking the headline new-launch yachts being shown publicly for the first time — these commit early through the brokerage.
• Six to nine months out (December–March): The window for booking a yacht of any size at the realistic alternatives — Port Vauban Antibes (25 nm west, the brokerage hub of the French Riviera), Cap Ferrat / Villefranche moorings, or Portosole Sanremo / Imperia on the Italian Riviera side. Boatcrowd typically commits the bulk of our Mediterranean charter inventory to this September window during the same period.
• Three to six months out (April–July): Standard shoulder-season pricing on French Riviera yachts is still available. The headline charter fleet is typically committed; mid-size yachts (30–50 m) remain bookable from regular inventory.
• Four to eight weeks out: Last-minute availability on smaller yachts (under 30 metres) is realistic, particularly from the Italian Riviera and Cap Ferrat side. Anchorage in the Bay of Monaco off the Larvotto is free of charge year-round, so the no-berth fallback option remains.

Port Hercule is Monaco's only deep-water harbour and the entirety of the show venue. Outside the four show days it operates as the principality's main marina; during show week the visitor-yacht berths are allocated to invited yachts and high-priority broker and exhibitor clients. For charter clients without a confirmed Port Hercule berth, the practical alternatives sit within 5–25 nautical miles.

Port Hercule — Monaco

The principality's only deep-water harbour and the entire footprint of the Monaco Yacht Show. Port Hercule handles superyachts to 150+ metres alongside Quai Antoine 1er, Quai des États-Unis and the inner mole at Darse Nord. Berthing inside Port Hercule during show week is allocated through the show organisers and is exhibitor-priority; for clients basing inside the harbour, the yacht is your hotel, your transport, and your reception venue, with the show happening on your doorstep.

Port de Fontvieille — Monaco

Monaco's second harbour, on the western side of the Rock, behind the Princely Palace. Smaller than Port Hercule and used mainly for residents and visiting yachts under 50 metres. During show week Fontvieille fills up too, but berths here are easier to secure than Port Hercule for clients basing in the principality across multiple days.

Bay of Monaco / Larvotto anchorage

The standard fallback for charter yachts during show week. Anchoring in the Bay of Monaco off the Larvotto Beach is free of charge, year-round; depths range from 15–40 metres with good holding ground. Tender shuttle into Port Hercule takes 10–15 minutes. Most charter yachts without a confirmed Port Hercule berth default to this pattern; the bay is calm and protected for the September weather window.

Cap Ferrat & Villefranche-sur-Mer — 6–10 nm west

The natural close-by alternative to Port Hercule. Villefranche Bay is one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean — superyachts to 150 metres anchor with ease, and the bay is famously sheltered. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has a small private harbour and good anchorage off the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. Both are 15–30 minutes by tender into Port Hercule and put the yacht in the most prestigious anchorage stretch on the Côte d'Azur.

Port Vauban — Antibes, 25 nm west

The largest yacht marina on the French Riviera and the brokerage hub of the Côte d'Azur. Port Vauban handles superyachts to 165 metres on its deep-water IYCA pontoon. About 90 minutes' cruise from Monaco, so impractical for daily tender shuttle — but ideal as a base for clients combining Monaco Yacht Show with the Cannes-Antibes-Saint-Tropez stretch across a longer charter, particularly during the September fortnight that begins with Cannes Yachting Festival two weeks earlier.

Portosole Sanremo & Imperia — 30–40 nm east

The natural Italian-side alternatives, sitting just across the border. Portosole Sanremo handles yachts to 90+ metres and runs as a serious superyacht marina; Imperia sits half an hour further east. Both are practical for clients running a longer programme that includes Portofino and the Italian Riviera either side of the show.

The natural way to think about a Monaco Yacht Show charter is as a French and Italian Riviera shoulder-season week with the most concentrated yacht-industry event of the year embedded in the middle. The show absorbs three or four days of attention; the rest of the week is cruising, the final lunches of the season at the Riviera's headline beach clubs, and the autumn restaurant scene at its calmest peak. The late-September weather window is consistently excellent — the Mistral has settled, the water remains at 22–23°C, and the August traffic has long gone.

• Cap Ferrat & Villefranche-sur-Mer. The single most prestigious 6-nautical-mile stretch of coast in the Mediterranean. Villefranche Bay is deep enough to anchor any superyacht; the Cap Ferrat peninsula offers the most decorated cluster of properties on the Côte d'Azur. Lunch ashore at La Voile d'Or or the Grand-Hôtel; swim in the bay below Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.
• Èze & the Corniche villages. The clifftop medieval village of Èze sits 200 metres above the coast, with the Jardin Exotique looking down on Cap Ferrat. A short tender to Saint-Jean and a 20-minute drive (or helicopter from Monaco's Heliport) puts a charter group in one of the Riviera's most spectacular afternoon stops.
• Cap d'Antibes & the Lérins Islands. About 20 nm west of Monaco — the classic Riviera lunch anchorages off Plage de la Garoupe, Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, and the Lérins Islands offshore from Cannes. A natural Sunday or Monday stop after the show closes.
• Saint-Tropez. A four-hour cruise west — practical as a one-night reposition during a longer charter. By the end of September the headline beach clubs (Club 55, La Réserve à la Plage) are still operating but at calmer levels than peak August.
• Italian Riviera — Portofino, San Fruttuoso & Camogli. About a five-hour cruise east of Monaco — overnight passage, anchor in Portofino Bay, lunch at Da Puny on the piazza, swim at San Fruttuoso's monastery cove. The natural extension for charter weeks of eight days or longer, particularly when combining with Cannes Yachting Festival.
• Sanremo, Bordighera & the Italian border coast. A 90-minute cruise east of Monaco. The closer Italian alternative for clients who don't want a full Portofino crossing; the casinos and the Promenade dell'Imperatrice in Sanremo are a different evening from Monaco's Carré d'Or.
• Corsica. An overnight crossing south — Calvi, Saint-Florent, and the western Corsican coast are within reach for longer charters. September water clarity at the Bonifacio cliffs and the Lavezzi Islands is among the best of the European season.

The principality's restaurant scene runs at peak intensity during the show. The rooms below are the ones that consistently anchor charter clients' show-week dining schedule — from Ducasse at the Hôtel de Paris to the headline restaurants of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer empire and the Cap-Ferrat clifftop classics just west. Reservations at the headline names should be made at the time of charter booking.

During show week the principality's headline hotel and casino bars run as the unofficial meeting venues of the global yacht industry — broker breakfasts, mid-show cocktails, post-event nightcaps. Reservations help; the standing institutions below are the ones that consistently anchor the schedule.

The Monaco Yacht Show drives a tightly concentrated party calendar across the four show days: builder yacht-deck cocktails by day, hosted dinners through the early evening, and the principality's standing late venues from midnight onwards. The list below covers the institutions; the brand-sponsored evenings (Lürssen, Feadship, Oceanco, Heesen, Benetti and the larger broker houses each run hosted programmes) rotate year to year.

• Jimmy'z Monte-Carlo. The defining Monaco nightclub, on the Avenue Princesse Grace at the Sporting Monte-Carlo. Open since 1971, Jimmy'z is the principality's most exclusive late venue — table reservations during show week book months in advance through the Société des Bains de Mer.
• Buddha-Bar Monte-Carlo · after midnight. The early-evening lounge transitions through midnight into the late hours — the natural Monaco alternative when Jimmy'z is full. Less formal than the Sporting, equally late.
• The Casino de Monte-Carlo. The Belle Époque casino itself remains the principality's headline night-time destination — full evening dress for the salons privés, smart casual for the main floor. Dress codes are enforced; passports required for entry.
• Builder & broker industry parties. Like Cannes Yachting Festival, the defining nightlife of MYS is the closed-list industry programme run by builders and the larger broker houses — Lürssen's annual reception, Feadship and Oceanco's hosted evenings, the broker houses' on-yacht cocktail rounds. These are invitation-only; Boatcrowd's clients are typically attached to multiple builder evenings across the week through our brokerage access.
• The Sporting Monte-Carlo. The Société des Bains de Mer's summer hospitality complex on the Avenue Princesse Grace runs hosted late dinners and the annual Bal de la Rose-style events through into late October. The Sporting's terraces are the natural sundowner stop on the evening of the show's busiest day.

The Monaco Yacht Show is a trade-and-curated-visitor event, not a peak hospitality event in the Monaco GP or Cannes Film Festival sense — it does not generate a charter-rate multiplier in the way those two events do. Late-September Riviera charter rates are standard shoulder-season pricing, typically 30–50% below July and August peak. What the show does drive is demand for Port Hercule show-week berths (very premium) and Monaco hotels (very premium); the yacht itself prices the same as any other late-September French Riviera charter.

Standard French Riviera charters include the yacht, full professional crew (captain, mate, chef, full stewardess and deck team), comprehensive insurance, and use of all on-board equipment and tenders. Most charters include the marina berth at the embarkation port; the show-week Port Hercule berth, if available, is typically the responsibility of the client to secure and is charged separately on top of the standard charter rate.

Additional costs are APA (typically 30–35% of the charter rate, covering fuel, food, beverages, and dockage), French VAT (20% on French-flagged charters in French waters — charters embarking in Monaco and operating in French waters typically follow this rate), and a recommended crew gratuity of 10–15% paid at the end of the charter. Show-week Port Hercule berthing, when available, carries a premium of several thousand euros per night over standard Monaco marina rates. Tender shuttle into the show from anchored or Antibes-based yachts is included as standard.

Cannes Yachting Festival (early September) and Monaco Yacht Show (late September) sit two weeks apart and create a natural fourteen-day yacht-industry programme. Booking a yacht for the full fortnight typically delivers a better effective rate than two separate one-week charters, with the additional flexibility of cruising between the events along Saint-Tropez, the Lérins Islands, Cap d'Antibes, Villefranche, Cap Ferrat, and the Italian Riviera. Most builders, brokers, and charter houses run their internal teams across both shows on a single yacht for exactly this reason.