French Riviera

Eat · Île Sainte-Marguerite, off Cannes

La Guérite

Yes, it is worth it. A Greek-Mediterranean lunch on an island that turns into a party by four o'clock, reached only by boat. Anchor in the channel between the two Lérins islands and tender to their pontoon.

Tip. Book for 1pm. Leave by 5pm if you have children on board; stay if you do not.

Eat · Pampelonne beach, Ramatuelle

Club 55

The original Saint-Tropez beach club, open since 1955, and still the one lunch on Pampelonne we would not skip. The basket of raw vegetables with aioli, the whole grilled fish and a table under the tamarisks. Tender straight onto the beach.

Tip. Weekday lunch is a different restaurant from Saturday lunch. Ask the crew to book the moment your dates are fixed.

Eat · Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

Paloma Beach

A small beach restaurant tucked into the east side of Cap Ferrat with the calmest water on the coast in front of it. Anchor in the bay, swim ashore if you like, and eat grilled fish looking back at the yacht.

Eat · Villefranche-sur-Mer harbour front

La Mère Germaine

A harbour-front table in the prettiest bay on the coast, since 1938. Bouillabaisse for lunch, and the yacht at anchor 200 metres away in the deepest natural harbour on the Riviera.

Eat · Pampelonne beach, Ramatuelle

Shellona

The Greek beach club on Pampelonne, and the one that hosts the big summer concerts on the sand. When the line-up is right we build a whole day around it: anchor off, swim, lunch, stay until the music stops.

Eat · Hôtel de Paris, Monaco

Le Louis XV

Alain Ducasse's three-star dining room on Casino Square. The one dinner ashore we would dress for. Berth in Port Hercule and walk up the hill.

Swim and anchor · Between Nice and Cap Ferrat

Villefranche bay

Our overnight anchorage of choice on the eastern Riviera. Deep, sheltered from almost everything, a painted village on the shore and Nice airport fifteen minutes away for guests arriving late. Cruise ships use the same water by day, so arrive after four.

Swim and anchor · Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat, off Cannes

Between the Lérins islands

The channel between the two islands is the Riviera's swimming pool: shallow, turquoise and two miles from La Croisette. Full by midday in July; ours by nine.

Tip. Saint-Honorat is a working monastery with a vineyard. Tender over, buy a bottle from the monks, and walk the island's shore path.

Swim and anchor · Porquerolles, Îles d'Or

Plage Notre-Dame

A pine-backed beach on a national park island with no cars and no hotels on the water. The far end of the Riviera and the reason to give a trip ten nights instead of seven.

Swim and anchor · South of Pampelonne, towards Cavalaire

Cap Taillat and the wild coast

Twenty minutes from the beach clubs and it looks like Corsica. A sand spit joins Cap Taillat to the mainland; anchor either side depending on the wind and have the whole afternoon to yourselves.

Activities ashore · Cours Masséna and Château Grimaldi, Antibes

Antibes market, then the Picasso

The covered Provençal market runs every morning until 1pm, a five-minute walk from the superyacht quay at Port Vauban. Buy the cheese and the socca, then the Picasso museum next door in the castle he painted in.

Activities ashore · Saint-Tropez, Tuesday and Saturday mornings

Place des Lices market

The market under the plane trees is Saint-Tropez before the boutiques woke up. Go early from the Vieux Port, coffee at Sénéquier on the way back, then out to the beach.

Activities ashore · Above Cap Ferrat, 400 metres up

Èze village at dusk

A medieval village on a rock with the whole eastern Riviera below. Driver from Villefranche or Beaulieu, the exotic garden at the top, a drink at the Chèvre d'Or as the lights come on along the coast, and back on board for dinner.

Activities ashore · Port Hercule and the anchorage off Monaco

The Grand Prix from the water

We run Formula 1 hospitality from our own deck every May, so we can say this plainly: the harbour is the best seat in Monaco. Berth inside and the cars pass the stern; anchor outside and you have the whole amphitheatre with a swim between sessions.

Tip. Race-week berths are allocated a year ahead. If Monaco in May is the plan, the conversation starts the previous June.