The original idea of summer.

The cure for anything is salt water — sweat, tears, or the sea.
— Isak Dinesen

French Riviera

Monaco to St. Tropez

Six days along a coastline that invented the idea of summer.

This is the coast that taught the world how to do summer. The light, the stone, the pines, the rosé — every cliché about the South of France started here, and every cliché is true. But the Riviera has layers. Behind the famous names and the magazine covers, there are quiet headlands, empty islands, and harbours where the fishermen still outnumber the photographers. You just need to know where to anchor.

Six days aboard Vantanera, moving west from Monaco's vertical glamour to the pine-covered calm of Porquerolles. The Côte d'Azur at both volumes — loud when you want it, silent when you don't. This is not a cruise that chooses between elegance and escape. It takes both.

Monaco → Villefranche / Cap Ferrat

Day 01

You board in Monaco. Supercars, superyachts, a principality that fits inside a single bay and still manages to feel larger than most countries. But you don't stay. Vantanera slips out of Port Hercule and within twenty minutes the spectacle fades to something better — Villefranche-sur-Mer, one of the most beautiful natural harbours on the Mediterranean. Deep water, pastel houses, a quietness that seems impossible this close to Monte Carlo. Or anchor off Cap Ferrat and swim above the rocks where the old money built its villas and the pines grow sideways from the wind. Dinner ashore. The Riviera, already, at its best.

Cannes

Day 02

West along the coast. The Esterel massif glows red against the blue — a reminder that the Riviera is geology as much as glamour. Then Cannes, the city that made a film festival look like the most natural thing in the world. Anchor in the bay or take a berth in the Vieux Port. Walk La Croisette. Sit at a café and watch a town that has elevated people-watching to a performing art. Cannes is unapologetic about what it is — polished, confident, slightly theatrical — and from the deck of a Wally it feels like exactly the right stage.

Îles de Lérins

Day 03

A short hop south — fifteen minutes — and the world changes completely. The Îles de Lérins sit just off Cannes but feel like they belong to a different century. Sainte-Marguerite with its fortress and eucalyptus forest. Saint-Honorat with its working monastery where monks have been making wine since the fifth century. The water between the islands is clear and calm and perfect for swimming. Anchor, jump in, spend the afternoon doing nothing. The Riviera's best-kept secret is that its most peaceful spot is ten minutes from its most famous boulevard.

Saint-Tropez

Day 04

The sail to Saint-Tropez takes you around the cape and into the Gulf. The town appears slowly — the ochre bell tower first, then the pastel waterfront, then the masts. Hundreds of masts. The Vieux Port is one of the great arrivals in Mediterranean sailing — you dock stern-to, facing the quay, and the quay faces you back. This is a town that likes to look and be looked at. Walk the old town. Find the market square. Sit somewhere on the port with a glass of something cold and let Saint-Tropez do what it does — make everything feel like a scene in a film where nothing bad ever happens.

Pampelonne Beach

Day 05

A full day on the south side. Pampelonne is five kilometres of white sand and the birthplace of the Riviera beach club. Pick one — Club 55 for the history, Nikki Beach for the energy, or something quieter at the far end where the sand meets the pines. Or skip them all and swim off the boat in the bay, eating lunch on deck while the beach does its thing in the distance. Saint-Tropez gives you the option to be in the middle of everything or at the edge of it. Today, both are the right answer.

VO65 Sisi@Aegean 600 - 2024. Photo: Olav Stubberud.

Porquerolles

Day 06

West one last time. Porquerolles is the final note — and the perfect one. A national park island with no cars, no high-rises, and beaches that look Caribbean but smell like Provence. Pine forests, sandy paths, water that runs from pale green to deep blue across a single bay. This is where the Riviera exhales. Swim. Walk. Sit under a tree with the last of the rosé. Then back to the mainland, where real life waits — though after six days of this, you may want to renegotiate the terms.