Les Régates Royales: the Dragons and the classic fleet in Cannes

At the end of September, after the Yachting Festival has packed up and the summer crowds have gone, the week we recommend to anyone whose dates are open begins, and almost no visitor knows about it. Les Régates Royales bring the classic yacht fleet to the bay: wooden hulls from the 1900s to the 1970s, gaff rigs, long overhangs, boats that have been racing here for a century. They start and finish in front of the town, and they are free to watch from every point on the seafront.

When are Les Régates Royales, and what is the fleet?

The 2026 regatta runs from 19 to 26 September, eight days, based at the Yacht Club de Cannes in the Vieux Port. Around 150 yachts from ten to fifty metres take part, which is a much bigger fleet than most visitors expect. They are split by rig, size and age rather than by material: Big Boat, Époque Aurique, Époque Marconi, Classic Marconi, Modern Classic, plus the metre classes, 6M, 8M and 12M, and a Dragon fleet of fifty or so boats that has raced here for decades. The classics are the reason to come, and there is no other week of the year when you see them in these numbers in one bay.

Race schedules depend on wind and are confirmed each morning by the organising club. Verified August 2026.

The departure is the hour that matters

Start at the harbour, then move. The single best free hour of the week is the departure: from the Jetée Albert Édouard you watch the entire classic fleet motor out of the Vieux Port in single file, close enough to see the crews on deck and the brightwork in the sun. That is around late morning, and it happens on every racing day.

Once they are out, the racing takes place in the bay between the Croisette and the Îles de Lérins. From land, the Pointe Croisette at the far eastern end of the seafront puts you closest to the action, and the Palm Beach headland beyond it closer still. From above, Le Suquet turns the same scene into a composition: fifty sails spread across a blue bay with the Estérel hills behind. And in the late afternoon go back to the quays, because a classic yacht alongside, with its varnish and its rigging and a crew coiling lines, photographs better than most of them do racing.

Why is late September the best week to be in Cannes?

The light is the argument and the rest follows it. The sun sits lower, the haze of August has cleared, and that low angle across the water is what makes a sail read as a sail. On top of that the crowds are gone, so the town is walkable and restaurants take bookings the same day, hotel prices have come off their August peak, and the sea is warmer than it is in June, which surprises people every year. The regatta is on top of all that rather than in the way of it.

Our month by month guide to the best time for a photoshoot on the French Riviera makes the same case with the light figures behind it.

Can you get out on the water during the regatta?

Yes, in three ways. Some classic yachts take paying crew or guests for the week, arranged through the owners or through classic yacht associations, which is the most involved option and needs organising months ahead. Local operators run spectator boats on racing days that follow the fleet from outside the course. And a private charter from Cannes or Golfe-Juan lets you position wherever you like, provided you respect the course limits and the committee boat's instructions.

That last option is how we photograph the regatta. Racing sailboats from land gives you distance and haze; from the water you get the angle that matters, low, close to the surface, with the hull heeling towards you. If you are chartering that week and want the day documented, our Cannes yacht photography page covers how we work on board, and why hire a private yacht photographer covers what changes when someone else holds the camera.

Frequently asked questions

When are Les Régates Royales in Cannes?

The 2026 edition runs from 19 to 26 September, eight days, based at the Yacht Club de Cannes in the Vieux Port. Around 150 yachts from ten to fifty metres take part, divided by rig, size and age into Big Boat, Époque Aurique, Époque Marconi, Classic Marconi and Modern Classic, plus the 6, 8 and 12 metre classes and a Dragon fleet of around fifty boats. Race schedules depend on the wind and are confirmed each morning.

Where is the best place to watch the classic yachts?

The Jetée Albert Édouard for the departure, when the whole classic fleet motors out of the Vieux Port in single file close enough to read the names on the transoms. The Pointe Croisette and Palm Beach headland for the racing itself, which happens in the bay between the Croisette and the Îles de Lérins. Le Suquet, the old town hill, for the whole fleet in one frame. All of them are free.

Is Les Régates Royales free to watch?

Yes. The racing takes place in a public bay and the fleet leaves from a public harbour, so every land viewpoint costs nothing. The quays of the Vieux Port are open, which means you can walk among the boats before and after racing, and the late afternoon return is when the varnish and rigging look their best. Only going out on the water requires paying for a charter or a spectator boat.

Is late September a good time to visit Cannes?

It is arguably the best week of the year. The light is low and clear after the August haze, the summer crowds have gone so the town is walkable and restaurants take same-day bookings, hotel prices have dropped from their peak, and the sea is warmer than it is in June. The regatta fills the bay with classic sails on top of all that.

More reading: the best spots for a yacht party on the Riviera, the best time of year for a photoshoot here, and the best photo spots in Antibes for the classic fleet in June.