Push the Boat Out

The very name Monaco carries about it the whiff of tuxedos, fast boats and ruinous expense—and all three will be in evidence at the Monaco Yacht Show, monacoyachtshow.org, to be held in the principality from Sept. 20-23. If you command the kind of disposable income that puts you in the market for a Lürssen or a Sunseeker—the Maybach and the Rolls-Royce, respectively, of pleasure yachts—then any of the 520 exhibitors representing 77 shipyards, 29 yacht brokers and 54 naval architects would be delighted to see you.

If your means are more constrained, no matter: you can still gawp at the stunning craft on display. More than 90 of the most luxurious yachts in the world—some as long as 90 m—will be moored in a "floating exhibition" at Port Hercule. But be warned: speechless envy of how the other half lives is the typical gut response to seeing these waterborne palaces for the first time. Get used to it, or pray for a windfall at the casino.