French Riviera / Monaco
Port Hercule
Port de Fontvieille
Anchorage off Larvotto Beach
Cap-d’Ail roadstead, just west of the border
Open bay mooring off Monaco-Ville
Visit the Casino de Monte-Carlo
Watch the Changing of the Guard at the Prince’s Palace
Tour the Oceanographic Museum
Walk the Monaco Grand Prix circuit route
Visit the Jardin Exotique de Monaco
Monaco-Ville and the Prince’s Palace
Casino de Monte-Carlo and Place du Casino
Port Hercule waterfront
Fontvieille Marina and Princess Grace Rose Garden
Larvotto Beach
June through September is the core season, with July and August bringing the warmest water and the busiest harbour. Late May to early June overlaps with the Formula 1 Grand Prix, when Port Hercule closes to charter traffic for the race and hotel prices in the principality climb sharply. September brings the Monaco Yacht Show, which fills the same harbour with exhibiting superyachts. Outside those two windows, June and early July offer full sun with a calmer marina.
Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE), about 20 kilometres to the northwest, is the closest international airport and the standard entry point. A helicopter transfer with operators such as Monacair or Heli Air Monaco takes roughly seven minutes and lands at Monaco’s own heliport in Fontvieille. By road, the same journey takes 35 to 45 minutes depending on traffic along the coast, longer during the Grand Prix or Yacht Show weeks.
Port Hercule takes the largest yachts directly in the centre of Monaco, a few minutes’ walk from Monaco-Ville and the casino quarter, though berths are limited and often booked out during the Grand Prix and Yacht Show. Port de Fontvieille offers a smaller, quieter alternative nearby. When both are full, Cap-d’Ail just over the French border and the open roadstead off Larvotto Beach give practical overflow options a short tender ride from the centre.
A day or two is enough to see Monaco-Ville, the casino quarter and the Oceanographic Museum on foot, since the whole principality covers just over two square kilometres. Most charters treat it as a stop on a longer French Riviera or Ligurian coast itinerary rather than a full week on its own, pairing it with Cap Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer or the Italian Riviera towns just across the border.
During Grand Prix week, usually the first weekend of June (June 4 to 7 in 2026), Port Hercule is closed to leisure yachts and converted into grandstands and paddock space for the race itself. Charters planned around the event typically anchor off Cap-d’Ail or further along the coast and tender in, or book a berth months in advance through a specialist agent. The Monaco Yacht Show each September brings similar, if less extreme, pressure on marina space.