Swimming and sunbathing naked are blissfully natural experiences. At a naturist holiday centre, people also walk around bare, go shopping bare, go jogging bare and perhaps play tennis bare too. And in France they play boules bare too.
Rule at Naturist Centres
Usually the rule at naturist centres is that nakedness is only compulsory on the beach so first-timers can start off gently. On arrival they can begin by walking around in their clothes to get the feel of the place.
Soon, when they see that everyone else is naked apart from a few who may be wearing a t-shirt or sarong to protect them from the sun, newcomers realise that it is much more embarrassing to be clothed than bare.
Naturist Centres Attract All Sorts
They will also be encouraged to see that the other people there are of all ages, shapes and sizes. Fears that everyone else will look like a god or goddess, ultra-trim and toned, soon disappear.
All sorts of people go to naturist holiday centres from toddlers to the elderly - tall and short, overweight and skinny, wrinkled and scarred, hobbling or in wheel-chairs.
Naturist Holiday Centres in Languedoc
One of the best areas for naturist holidays is the Languedoc in the south-west corner of France, just above the border with Spain.
The naturist centre at Port Leucate is a good place for first-time naturists, while nowhere can compete with Cap d’Agde’s naturist town for a full-on no-clothes holiday experience; both adjoin long sandy beaches. There are also naturist camp-sites beside rivers in the area.
Start Day with Naked Swimming and Shopping
A delightful way to begin the day on a naturist holiday in France is to walk down to the beach or river for an early-morning swim and then go straight to the centre’s boulangerie (baker’s shop) to buy a long crusty baguette loaf for a leisurely breakfast.
Shopping bare soon seems perfectly natural when everyone else is doing it too.
Naturist Life is Simple
Though most people put on clothes after dark when the temperature begins to cool, wearing nothing during the day makes packing very easy and avoids all the worry about what clothes to put on and also the need to dry swimwear or do washing and ironing. A naturist’s life is certainly very simple!
Furthermore by the end of a naturist holiday, everyone looks and feels really healthy. Nothing beats having an all-over tan unspoilt by white stripes.
Gillian Thomas - Having left the BBC's Paris news office to return to England and get married over 20 years ago, I have freelanced as a journalist ever ...
