The 8 Best Yachts From the Cannes Yachting Festival 2025
Ocean Development
This year’s Cannes Yachting Festival wrapped up yesterday with an impressive number of vessel debuts among the 700 boats, crowds estimated at about 55,000 for its six-day run, and, of course, the stunning Mediterranean backdrop. It was a strong opening to the international yachting season.
Cannes has made a substantial effort over the years to develop the show into zones that make more sense for visitors, including the Sailing Area and Power Boat Marina in Port Canto, and the Superyacht Extension in Vieux Port. This was the second year of the Innovation Route, which is a trail of boats and products that either have innovative designs or sustainability components—or both.
The first Innovation Route Awards gave companies like SEA.AI show recognition with its AI-controlled Watchkeeper system while also recognizing Vaan Yachts’ 49-foot sailboat Vaan R5, which is almost totally (95 percent) built of recycled aluminum and circular materials for its unusually low environmental impact. Benetti’s B.Yond 37M Motopanfilo also gained the Special Jury Award for its retro look in a modern hull. The MODX 70 catamaran won the Sustainable and Responsible Technology award.
This space-age cat was among the yachts that we saw and loved at this year’s Cannes. Here are eight of our favorites.
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Benetti ‘Juno’s 7’
Image Credit: Benetti Yachts Juno’s 7, the first example of the Class 44M series and the largest composite yacht in Benetti’s fleet, turned out to be a standout design by Giorgio Cassetta. It was also a big showstopper at Cannes. Cassetta’s exterior featured a large social area on the foredeck, a convertible beach club (separate from the tender garage) and its most unusual selling point—an upper sundeck that spans over 1,000 square feet. The interior includes salons and staterooms finished with pale woods, mineral-resin surfaces, and FSC-certified elm floors. But its most important detail is the one you can’t see. The yacht’s advanced soundproofing, accomplished through floating floors and bulkheads, acoustic foams and absorbers, and other technical features, keeps engine decibels, wave banging and vibration at minimal levels. Combined with the elegance, that extra technical bit of sophistication lifts Juno 7‘s onboard livability to another level.
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Prestige M7
Image Credit: Prestige Yachts Packing 2,152 square feet of living space aboard a 58-foot yacht is no mean feat, yet that’s what the Prestige M7 offers. It highlights an obvious benefit to choosing a multihull over a monohull, “especially when the design has derived from a motoryacht architecture, rather than than that of a sailboat,” Jean-Francois Lair, Prestige’s brand director, told Robb Report during a tour of the vessel. The overall design by Garroni Design Studio features a light-and-beamy open plan aft deck and a loft-style living space that wouldn’t feel out of place in Miami. However, perhaps the most exciting feature is the reversed staircase in the main salon: It’s been engineered 180 degrees to face the interior. It’s a radical design alteration that came from the desire to make the stairs feel safer, more protected and with better interior circulation, all without encroaching on the outdoor living space. Living space is also at a premium in the main-deck master suite, which in addition to a bed, closet and sizable ensuite, contains a large lounging sofa and an even larger corner office.
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CDM ‘Project T’
Image Credit: CDM Yachts The exterior of CDM’s 148-foot Project T has that brand’s stylish explorer look, but designer Giorgia Cassetta was tasked with creating an unusual interior layout by devoting the lion’s share of the main deck to the owners and placing four guest suites on the lower deck. Essentially, the owners enjoy a full-beam apartment with his-and-hers ensuites, a dressing room, lounge and side balcony. The interior’s contemporary artwork and warm décor give it a modern look. The owner-favorite layout shows how this Italian yard can modify spaces within its existing hull shapes.
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Majesty 100 Terrace
Image Credit: Gulfcraft Majesty Yachts This yacht’s most innovative feature is part of the name. The outdoor bow lounge aboard the Majesty 100 Terrace is directly accessed from the master suite, creating a cozy, private outdoor nest cocooned within the bow. The relaxing space can be configured as a coffee-table setup or for breakfast dining and, according to Alexander Souabni, global head of marketing at Gulf Craft Group, was a huge selling point for the owner who purchased the yacht. “We created the bow terrace to give a unique sense of privacy to a 100-footer,” he told Robb Report. The feature occupies what is typically a storage or technical area, yet remains accessible to the crew when the anchor, mounted on a remote-controlled platform, has to be weighed. Side steps link the Terrace to the bridge deck for sunbathing or a dip in the Jacuzzi. Other key features of the yacht include a large skylight amidships that brings light and height to the main staircase, and generous deck space at the stern, where folding side platforms enlarge the aft-deck beam to more than 26 feet across, and modular seating with movable backrests can service the swim platform and convert to aft dining.
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Ocean Development MODX70
Image Credit: Ocean Development French builder Ocean Development stepped ten years into the future with this 70-foot sailing cat. It’s equipped with systems that will provide 100-percent renewable energy, thanks to proprietary Aeroforce wings, electric motors, hydrogeneration and 750 square feet of solar panels. The boat also looks stylish, with the 75-foot-high wings (each with 1,300 square feet of sail area) delivering 20-knot top end with zero carbon emissions. The five-stateroom layout, with space for two crew, can be customized with the owner’s choice of décor and interior layout. The MODX70 was one of the most exciting yachts at the show.
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Sanlorenzo SD132 ‘Andiamo’
Image Credit: Sanlorenzo Yachts Sanlorenzo’s 133-foot Andiamo, the largest composite, semi-displacement yacht built by the Italian shipyard, made a striking appearance at Cannes, thanks to its bronze paint job. It’s the flagship of the Italian builder’s SD132 range, which is defined by an asymmetric layout. That felt particularly successful aboard Andiamo. A formal dining table starboard and lounge seating portside give the main salon a residential vibe. Earthy, tactile fabrics, including a textile wall designed to look and feel like stone, enhance the yacht’s individual aesthetic. In the master suite, the owner’s decision to locate the ensuite forward allows for two separate entrances on either side of a full-sized bathtub. Smooth marble countertops are paired with rough, cement-like finishes for an industrial touch and what Zuccon International Project, the vessel’s designers, describe as “stylistic language inspired by the colors of the earth and nature.” The jewel among the multiple deck areas and social spaces is the aft beach club, with lounge seating, drop-down terraces and a TV-equipped bar.
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Bellini Astor 58
Image Credit: Bellini Astor Whoever said that blue and green should never be seen together clearly couldn’t seen how Bellini’s Astor 58 looked on the az8re Med at Cannes. One of five stock colors, the owner chose green in multiple shades. The exterior paired with an equally contemporary interior, complete with lime-green trims, of course, and high ceilings. Norberto Ferretti, founder of the famed Ferretti Group, consults for the builder on the concept and hull design, and therefore brought a sense of Italian pedigree. True to form, sociability and outdoor dining sits at the heart of exterior layout with a fully equipped wet bar in place of a large interior galley that serves the massive fold-down platform. Powered by Volvo Penta 950 twin engines with IPS drives, the Astor 58 hits a top speed of 36 knots and cruises at 27 knots.
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Van der Valk ‘Lalabe’
Image Credit: Van der Valk Yachts There were several elements helped turn our heads with Van der Valk’s full custom aluminum yacht, Lalabe (foreground), at Cannes. First and foremost, the aft deck’s fold-down side terraces. The owners chose to compromise on the size of the main salon to afford as much outer deck space as possible, resulting in a vast aft terrace with sofas and tables. The main salon therefore feels more akin to a sky lounge, while the bridge-deck salon can be used as a cozy four-season garden with sliding glass doors that partially open on three sides. Lalabe is based on the same hull platform as the builder’s Lady Lene, which the owners visited at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2022. By adding five extra feet to Lalabe, they found it would accommodate their multigenerational family. “The owners were involved in all aspects of this build, from the choice of materials to limiting the yacht’s length to 115 feet to make it easy to berth in marinas,” Yoeri Bijker, Van der Velk’s commercial director, told Robb Report during a tour. Generous accommodations for eight crew, a large galley with a residential feel, and custom safety features for the owners’ young grandchildren were also requirements, along with flexible guest accommodations to futureproof the yacht for charter.
