Yachts · Cannes
Cannes Yachting Festival 2027: Dates, Access and Tips
Six days, two ports, and a town that changes pace. Here is what to know before you come, and the two or three decisions that change everything once you are there.
The essentials
Dates and ports
The 2027 Cannes Yachting Festival runs from Tuesday 7 to Sunday 12 September 2027. The show uses two sites linked by a shuttle boat: the Vieux Port, for motor boats and yachts and the shipyards’ latest launches, and Port Canto, at the eastern end of the Croisette, for sailing yachts, pre-owned boats for sale through brokers, toys and smaller motor boats.
Opening hours, tickets and the programme are published by the organiser. Check them before you come.
Two pieces of advice that sound obvious and that almost nobody follows: come on a weekday rather than on Saturday, and start with Port Canto. The Vieux Port is packed by mid-morning, while Canto stays comfortable until early afternoon.
Getting around
The real issue is the car
Parking disappears
During the show, the car parks in central Cannes and around the Palais des Festivals fill up early in the morning. Looking for a space costs precious time, and that time comes out of your day at the show.
The answer: be dropped off
A private chauffeur drops you at the entrance, leaves, and comes back when you call. It is the week of the year when hourly chauffeur hire for the day makes the most sense.
From Nice airport
About thirty minutes off-peak, longer in the late afternoon during the show. We track your flight and deliver either a car with a chauffeur or a car to drive yourself straight to the terminal.
The view nobody else has
Seeing the show from the water
The Yachting Festival is seen from the pontoons, but it is understood from the sea. A day out or a late-afternoon trip along the bay gives you a reading of the show that the quay cannot: rows of hulls, sea trials of new boats, and the September light, the best of the year in Cannes.
It is also a way to host. Many of our guests during show week charter a boat for the day, not to sail far, but to have a floating meeting point two hundred metres from the show, with lunch on board and an anchorage off the Lérins islands in mid-afternoon.
One useful point: during the six days of the show, boat availability in the bay of Cannes is among the tightest of the year. A day out during the show is booked in July, not the day before.
Where to stay
Where to sleep during the show
Hotels on the Croisette are full months ahead and charge high season rates. The option we see work best, as soon as there are more than four of you: a villa in Cannes or Mougins, with a chauffeur for the trips to the show.
For six or eight people, the numbers often favour the villa, and the comfort is in another league: a pool when you get back, a proper dinner table, and nobody going up to their room at ten.
FAQ
The Yachting Festival in practice
When is the 2027 Cannes Yachting Festival?
From Tuesday 7 to Sunday 12 September 2027, at the Vieux Port and Port Canto in Cannes.
Do I need a ticket?
Yes, the show charges for entry and tickets are sold online. Book them in advance. On site, the queue can take more than half an hour at the weekend.
Can I go on board the boats?
Most boats can be visited, some by appointment with the shipyard or the broker. If one model interests you in particular, get in touch before the show rather than hoping to step aboard on a Saturday afternoon.
How much time should I allow?
A full day to see both ports properly, half a day if you focus on one site. The shuttle boat between the Vieux Port and Port Canto is the quickest way from one to the other.
When should I book a car, a boat or a villa?
For show week: two months ahead for a car or a chauffeur, two to three months for a day boat, four to six for a villa. These are real lead times, not comfortable ones.
See also: day charter or a week on board, yacht charter in Cannes and all our services in Cannes.
Official sources: Cannes Yachting Festival — practical information (official site)
September 2027
Your Yachting Festival week
Chauffeur, day boat, villa: tell us your dates and we organise the rest.