Port Hercule. The harbour that becomes a racetrack.
Monaco's only deep water harbour sits inside the Grand Prix circuit, under a town built on a slope with almost nowhere to park. Getting to the passerelle is a planning question, not a driving one.
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The essentials
Port Hercule at a glance
- Where it isLa Condamine, MonacoBetween the Rock and Monte-Carlo, with the town rising on three sides of the water.
- SizeAround 700 berthsAbout 110 of them for yachts over 24 metres, with the largest berth quoted at around 130 metres.
- VisitingAround 30 visitor berthsRequested through the port authority. Pilotage is compulsory for vessels over 30 metres.
- Nearest airportNice Cote d'Azur (NCE)About 7 minutes by helicopter to the Monaco heliport, or 35 to 60 minutes by road.
Published figures, checked in September 2026. We arrange transport to and from the port. Berths are held by the yacht through her captain and agent, and we claim no relationship with the port or its authority.
The harbour
Four quays, and they are all streets
Port Hercule is shaped like a rectangle open to the south east. Quai Antoine 1er runs along the western side under the Rock, the Jetee Lucciana forms the southern arm, and the eastern side is the long run of Quai Albert 1er below the Boulevard Albert 1er, with the Darse Sud tucked in behind. Depths run from around five metres inshore to around thirty at the outer jetty, which is why the largest yachts on the coast can lie stern to within a few minutes' walk of Casino Square.
The thing to understand before anyone books a car is that every one of those quays is also a public road, and in one case a famous one. The quay a yacht lies on is not a private pontoon reached through a gate from a car park. It is a working waterfront with traffic on it, event structures on it for much of the summer, and pedestrian barriers wherever the port or the police have decided there should be some. Where a car can stop changes with the week.
Getting there
How guests reach the quay
| Arriving from | Typical time | What happens at the Monaco end |
|---|---|---|
| Nice Cote d'Azur (NCE) by helicopter | About 7 minutes in the air | Lands at the Monaco heliport in Fontvieille, beside the Stade Louis II. A car meets the aircraft and runs 5 to 10 minutes round to the port. |
| Nice Cote d'Azur (NCE) by road | 35 to 60 minutes, more in August | Down from the A8 by exit 56 for the port itself. Luggage goes straight to the quay, the car then goes underground. |
| Cannes and Cannes Mandelieu (CEQ) | 45 to 70 minutes quiet, 1 hour 20 to 2 hours in season | The coast road is scenic and slow. In July and August the helicopter is usually the better answer. |
| Port Vauban, Antibes | 40 to 65 minutes | A common run when the yacht has come from a refit berth or a crew change at Antibes. |
| Monaco heliport, Fontvieille | 5 to 10 minutes by car | The shortest leg of the day, and the one most often forgotten when the timings are set. |
Realistic ranges in normal conditions, not promises. Our own chauffeurs and cars are in London and Manchester, with a trusted global network everywhere else. On this coast, cars are arranged through operators we know, with one contact at Odyssey holding the whole itinerary together.
Vehicles and the quay
Where the car actually stops
In an ordinary week a car can usually reach the head of the quay, set down passengers and luggage, and then leave. It cannot wait there. Monaco has very little on street parking and around forty mostly underground car parks, so the pattern is always the same: the driver drops, goes below, and comes back up when you message. Crew meet the bags at the passerelle and carry them the last part, which on a long quay can be a hundred metres or more. If anyone in the party has difficulty walking, say so early, and let the captain and the driver agree the exact stopping point the day before.
Tenders come in to the inner quays rather than to the outer jetty, and the landing point is agreed between the captain and the port for that stay. Give us the pick-up point as soon as the yacht knows it. It is the fixed point the rest of the evening is planned around, and a car sent to the wrong side of a rectangular harbour has a long way to go.
The weeks that change everything
Race days, and the show
The Grand Prix circuit runs along Quai Albert 1er and past Quai Antoine 1er, so for the Formula 1 weekend the harbour is inside the track. Preparations begin weeks ahead, road restrictions build through the second half of May, and from the Friday of the race weekend private vehicles without accreditation cannot enter the restricted zone at all. Where diversions are available they can add three quarters of an hour or more to a journey that normally takes ten minutes. If your yacht is berthed in the port that weekend, plan on reaching her on foot, by tender, or not at all during track hours. The 2027 race is scheduled for 3 to 6 June. See Monaco Grand Prix.
The Monaco Yacht Show takes the harbour over for four days in the second half of September. Quai Antoine 1er is the show's own address, the quays become an exhibition, and visiting berths, cars, hotel rooms and crew accommodation across the whole coast are committed months in advance. Smaller closures happen more often than people expect as well: the historic and electric race meetings in the spring, the tennis in April, the occasional state occasion. Ask us what is on during your dates before you fix the arrival.
Embarkation day
How a good arrival is put together
- Give us the berth, not just the port. Quai Antoine 1er and Quai Albert 1er are a full circuit of the harbour apart on foot
- Embarkation is usually around midday, so the aircraft and the transfers are built backwards from the passerelle rather than forwards from home
- For a tender pick-up, confirm the landing point the night before and again on the morning. It moves
- Coming ashore for dinner, hold a car rather than calling for one. Repositioning through Monaco's tunnels and ramps takes longer than waiting does
Around the trip
Related pages
Request a proposal
Tell us the berth and the day
Dates, how many of you, where you are flying from and the quay the yacht is on. We will come back with the aircraft, the helicopter or road plan from Nice, and the timings at the quay, including what happens if the harbour is restricted that week.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Port Hercule
Can a car drive right up to the yacht?
In a normal week a car can usually reach the head of the quay to set down, but it cannot wait. Monaco has almost no on street parking, so the driver goes into an underground car park and returns when you message. During the Grand Prix and the Yacht Show, vehicle access to the quays is restricted or closed altogether.
Do you arrange the berth?
No. The berth is the yacht's, requested through her captain and agent with the port authority. We arrange the flights, the helicopter and the cars, and we coordinate with the captain so that the two halves of the day meet.
Are these your own cars?
Our own fleet and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, with a trusted global network everywhere else. In Monaco cars are arranged through operators we know, to the same brief, through the same contact.
What happens on a race day?
Much of the circuit, which includes the harbour quays, is closed to traffic and to unaccredited vehicles. Guests reach the yacht on foot or by tender, and journeys that normally take minutes can take an hour. It is planned for months ahead, not managed on the day.
