18 Not-to-Miss Yachts in Cannes

We rounded up the yacht debuts to put at the top of your Cannes Yachting Festival list.

Cannes is best known for its May film festival, but this week’s Yachting Festival de Cannes marks the official start of the boat-show season in Europe. Fifteen years ago, Cannes was just a regional event, but it has since become the must-attend for every major yacht builder in the world.

The largest yacht at Cannes, the 157-foot Baglietto 48m T-Line, seems small compared to the largest yachts at the Monaco Yacht Show (September 26 to 29). But the Cannes show’s 120 world premieres dwarves every other boat show on the globe.

This year’s event will have nearly 600 boats in the water and on the docks at the Vieux Port and Port Canto (where brokerage yachts are displayed), along with water-toy and tender sections.

One of the primary attractions of the show is its location on the French Riviera. The beautiful, blue Mediterranean makes an exceptional backdrop (and a great place to sea-trial the yachts), while the French cafés, chic shops, and seafood restaurants are just steps from the show. The Cannes Yachting Festival runs September 11 through 16.

Here are some of the hottest new debuts this year.