Les Voiles d'Antibes: the first classic regatta of the season

Port Vauban in Antibes holds the regatta that opens the Mediterranean classic season, and for five days at the turn of May and June the harbour fills with wooden boats that have no business still being afloat. Some of the hulls date from before the First World War. They race in the bay in front of the Fort Carré, they moor along a public quay when they are not racing, and watching all of it costs nothing.

When are Les Voiles d'Antibes and what is racing?

Five days at the end of May or the very start of June depending on the year, 27 to 31 May in 2026, based in Port Vauban, the historic harbour under the ramparts of old Antibes. The fleet is classic and vintage yachts, divided into classes by age and rig: gaff-rigged boats from the early twentieth century, the great Marconi-rigged racers of the 1930s, and post-war classics up to the 1970s. Sixty five to seventy boats is a typical entry, and the largest are well over thirty metres.

Created in 1996, this is the event that opens the Mediterranean classic yacht circuit each year. The season then runs through the summer and closes with Cannes from 19 to 26 September and Saint-Tropez from 26 September to 4 October. Coming to Antibes in the spring and Cannes in September gives you both ends of the same circuit.

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

The quay in the morning, the ramparts at noon

On the quay in the morning, on the ramparts at noon. The quays of Port Vauban are open to the public and the classic fleet moors along them, which means you can walk within a metre of hundred year old hulls while crews polish brightwork and bend on sails. There is no other event on this coast where you get that close for free.

Then move up. The ramparts of old Antibes, the sea wall walk under the Château Grimaldi, look over the harbour entrance and the bay beyond, so you watch the whole fleet motor out and make sail below you. That is the hour of the day worth planning around. In the afternoon the racing happens offshore and is more distant from land: the beaches on the Salis side give you the best sea level angle, and the honest answer is that the racing itself is better seen from a boat than from the shore.

What is the Quai des Milliardaires, and can you walk it?

Port Vauban's Quai Camille Rayon, universally known as the Quai des Milliardaires, is the deep water berth that holds some of the largest private yachts in the Mediterranean, immediately alongside the classic fleet during the regatta. It is secured and you cannot walk onto it, but you walk right past it: the view from the public quay and from the ramparts above shows the whole line. A 1912 wooden cutter and a hundred metre modern yacht moored fifty metres apart, for about five days a year. Port Vauban is the only harbour on the coast where both berth at once.

Antibes is also the crew capital of the Mediterranean, which is worth knowing if you are curious about how this industry works. The bars and agencies around the port are where deckhands and stewardesses find their seasons, and in early June the town is full of people starting theirs.

What makes classic yachts worth photographing?

Detail and light, rather than speed. A modern racing yacht is a white surface, and it photographs like one. A classic is varnish, bronze, hemp, painted sheer lines and canvas, which means the same low sun that flattens a modern hull turns a classic into something with depth. Early morning on the quay, when the light comes in sideways off the water and the crews are working, is the hour that produces the images people keep.

Antibes has one advantage the other classic regattas do not. The bay in front of the Fort Carré is short and shallow, so the fleet stays close to shore on every leg, and this is the one week of the classic season where a good position on land competes with a mediocre position on the water. Our Antibes yacht photography page covers days on board, and Les Régates Royales in Cannes covers the other end of the same circuit.

Frequently asked questions

When are Les Voiles d'Antibes?

Five days at the very start of June, based in Port Vauban under the ramparts of old Antibes. Created in 1996, it opens the Mediterranean classic yacht circuit each year, with a fleet of sixty five to seventy classic and vintage yachts divided by age and rig, from gaff-rigged boats built before the First World War to post-war classics. Race schedules depend on the wind and are confirmed each morning.

Is Les Voiles d'Antibes free to watch?

Yes, entirely, from land. The quays of Port Vauban where the classic fleet moors are public, so you can walk within a metre of century-old hulls while crews work on deck. The ramparts of old Antibes overlook the harbour entrance and the bay, and the festival village on the quay is open to all. Only going out on the water requires a boat.

Where is the best place to watch the classic yachts in Antibes?

On the quays of Port Vauban in the morning, when the fleet is alongside and the crews are working, then on the ramparts of old Antibes at around midday to watch the whole fleet motor out of the harbour and make sail below you. In the afternoon the racing moves offshore and is more distant from land, with the Salis beaches giving the best sea level angle.

Can you visit the Quai des Milliardaires in Antibes?

Not onto it. The deep water berth that holds some of the largest private yachts in the Mediterranean is secured and closed to the public, but you walk directly past it along the public quay, and the ramparts above give you the whole line. During the regatta the contrast between a pre-war wooden cutter and a hundred metre modern yacht moored fifty metres apart is the whole appeal.

More reading: Les Régates Royales in Cannes, the best photo spots in Antibes, and why hire a private yacht photographer.