Cap D'Adge

[Sagacious]

Just back from Cap D'Adge. Have to admit, it was kind of fun spending most of the week naked. OK - seems there are different opinions about the place, but here are my observations.

The median age is probably about 50. Yes, ages range from infants to probably about 80, but would say most folks are in their 40s and 50s. A moderate amount of kids. That probably changed after we left. Few people there spoke English. I've been to several countries where English wasn't the official language, and France is definitely the one where people know English the least. But we managed to get by.

We stayed at Heliopolis which was probably a good choice. It was not as wild at night like some of the other areas. Port Nature at Port Ambonne did have the night clubs, but the people there were a bit strange. Mostly older couples trying to look sexy, and not doing a very good job of it. But the sexual activities that I've heard some mention were non-existent from what I could tell. And it seemed like very few gays there as well.

There are plenty of good restaurants in the area. Groceries and other items were in the shopping area there. We had to get use to carrying money in our hands since we spent most of the time nude there. It's OK to go nude for lunch, but you would look pretty strange going naked for dinner. The pool that was in the middle area of Heliopolis is gone and they are building more rooms.

The beach was actually nice, better than I had expected. The only problem was the wind. The sand is very fine and when the wind blows, which it usually does, you get covered. Also the water in early July was very cool and only a few were actually swimming. I would say that there were a few more men then women since they allow singles to come on the property. And in spite of what I had read before, there were several people who were not nude, mostly younger people. Seems like most of the teenagers there kept their swimsuit on.

The rooms are average at best and are not air conditioned. Since the temps were hitting low 60s in the morning, it wasn't much problem, but I can imagine that later in July and August it would be hard to sleep.

All in all it was a worthwhile trip, though the wind was certainly annoying. I would say that if they modernized the place a bit and the weather was good, it would be a great place to go.

[Sagacious]

Just back from Cap D'Adge. Have to admit, it was kind of fun spending most of the week naked. OK - seems there are different opinions about the place, but here are my observations.

The median age is probably about 50. Yes, ages range from infants to probably about 80, but would say most folks are in their 40s and 50s. A moderate amount of kids. That probably changed after we left. Few people there spoke English. I've been to several countries where English wasn't the official language, and France is definitely the one where people know English the least. But we managed to get by.

We stayed at Heliopolis which was probably a good choice. It was not as wild at night like some of the other areas. Port Nature at Port Ambonne did have the night clubs, but the people there were a bit strange. Mostly older couples trying to look sexy, and not doing a very good job of it. But the sexual activities that I've heard some mention were non-existent from what I could tell. And it seemed like very few gays there as well.

There are plenty of good restaurants in the area. Groceries and other items were in the shopping area there. We had to get use to carrying money in our hands since we spent most of the time nude there. It's OK to go nude for lunch, but you would look pretty strange going naked for dinner. The pool that was in the middle area of Heliopolis is gone and they are building more rooms.

The beach was actually nice, better than I had expected. The only problem was the wind. The sand is very fine and when the wind blows, which it usually does, you get covered. Also the water in early July was very cool and only a few were actually swimming. I would say that there were a few more men then women since they allow singles to come on the property. And in spite of what I had read before, there were several people who were not nude, mostly younger people. Seems like most of the teenagers there kept their swimsuit on.

The rooms are average at best and are not air conditioned. Since the temps were hitting low 60s in the morning, it wasn't much problem, but I can imagine that later in July and August it would be hard to sleep.

All in all it was a worthwhile trip, though the wind was certainly annoying. I would say that if they modernized the place a bit and the weather was good, it would be a great place to go.

[True Brit]

Yes Sagacious I'm pleased you had a great time at Cape d'Agde, and your long trip proved worthwhile.

Cape d'Agde is certainly still the Mother of all Nudist resorts, although probably now showing its age.
I have visited nearby but not actually been inside the resort, so many mixed reports going around. I believe early and late summer suits the traditional nudist.
On a sad note i was dissapointed to read that Textiles had invaded the resort, i always thought that during the day everyone with the exception of hotel/bar & shop staff had to be nude , it is however common practice that people will dress for the evening.

I'm planning to visit D'Agde next summer and stay at Port Nature, the thought of shopping nude while pushing a supermarket trolley around, what an experience!!

Now that your back home Sagacious, i can imagine it will take time to readjust back to a textile environment, No going out the front door naked!

[Sailor]

Sagacious said:

quote:

But the sexual activities that I've heard some mention were non-existent from what I could tell. And it seemed like very few gays there as well.

I was in Cap d'Agde in mid June (for the first time), and had a slightly different experience than you.

Is it possible that you tended to sit in the "family" part of the beach? When I was in Cap d'Agde I learned that most of the beach is for families (ie normal nude beach), then if you keep walking there is a "couples" beach, and then on the end is the gay beach (furthest to the left if you are facing the water). One day I walked to the end and noticed that it was mostly men, and I assumed that I had arrived at the gay beach that I had been told about. The "Couples" beach I spent some time on and found it absolutly fascinating. It was certainly different from anything I had seen on this planet before. It is not just for couples, its just that it is not for children or the people who object to seeing sexual behavior.

I was also told that for the height of the French vacation season (July 1 to close to the end of August) the police keep the couples beach well behaved. So that was probably the situation that you saw, even if that was where you were sitting. What I saw in the couples area was some people doing nothing unusual, a good number of couples "touching", and the regular event of true sexual activity (I won't give you the details or our very own moderators might zap this post). The most fascinating part of the whole thing was a swarm of very serious looking, masturbating men that walked from event to event, along the couples beach. This was particularly noticable late in the afternoon (maybe 4PM onward) when the heat of the sun would start to fade. If the audience was particularly pleased with a certain performance they would politely applaud! Sometimes the crowd would grow to 30 or 40 people, sometimes many fewer.

Also, even though the majority of people were French, I met Dutch, British, Germans, and Americans. I had also heard that June not only was more "active", but also a larger percent of foreigners are there.

But I would have to agree about the ages. 40-60 was the norm.

Also, I saw almost no textile on the couples beach (just a very small number of women in bikini bottoms) but on the family beach many of the kids had on bathing suits. Around town it was mixed.

The only time that I heard people raise their voices on the couples beach was when 2 young men (maybe in their 20's) came on the beach in full street clothes. They basically got run off the beach by the screaming mobs!

[DoctorSurferDude]

Hmm....the peril of nude beaches. They are beautiful and natural but there's just no way to really police them effectively.

I find it somewhat disturbing that open sex is accepted to the point that it's viewed as a show. That pretty much means it's a place for exhibitionists and voyeurs...what a pair. Definately nothing I'm interested in, so if I'm ever there I'll stick to the family section of the beach. Thanks for the local knowledge....

[JonR]

quote:

Originally posted by Sagacious:
The pool that was in the middle area of Heliopolis is gone and they are building more rooms.

Oh dear - that was the pool where I learned to dive on my first naturist holiday in 1999.

It was also the only pool area to have a slide....

Jon.

[Sailor]

Dr. Surfer Dude said:

quote:

I find it somewhat disturbing that open sex is accepted to the point that it's viewed as a show. That pretty much means it's a place for exhibitionists and voyeurs...what a pair.

I actually think that it is not such a bad idea to send the voyeurs and their friends off into their own corner. I have read many posts on this forum where people (women in particular) have been a bit intimidated by certain men's actions on many of the nude beaches in the US. If these guys have someplace else to go, and something more interesting to do, they leave the normal people alone.

I never felt intimidated anywhere in Cap d'Agde, even on the couples beach. If someone had attention, they were inviting it, by doing rather obvious things. The men who came up to me, and spoke to me, were true gentlemen, and not acting weird at all. For the most part, they were also just curious to see what all of the fuss was about, and get a glimpse into another way of life.

While I admit that I was fascinated by seeing some new things, on the whole it was the most relaxing vacation that I ever took.

[David77]

quote:

Also the water in early July was very cool and only a few were actually swimming.

I hear that a person must walk out in shallow water an unusually far distance from the beach to find the water deep enough to swim in it.

It was just reported that they did away with the swimming pool at Heliopolus to build more housing, so this would only intensify the problem of swimming.

[BackpackerBrian]

Having lived in Europe three years, I had the pleasure of going to a naturist (FKK) resort there to experience the European version of naturism. I looked into Cap D' Adge as well as some places in Rovinj, Croatia.

In the end I chose Monsena because it was about 1/4 the cost of Cap D'Agde, the history of Croatia, and it's reputation of being an undiscovered vacation haven and the long-standing reputation of being an Eastern European naturist mecca. I had also heard how Cap D'Adge had lost its charm and was becoming more of a swinger place in recent years.

I was not disappointed by my choice at all. Monsena was incredible! It is on the Adriatic, overlooking Rovinj, an old Venetian port town with toms of charachter. It has a long beach and a pool with waterslide.

Best of all, there were people of all ages there. Kids, teenagers, 20's 30's . . . 80's. Very much a family place, visited by Eastern ERuropeans, Austraians, Germans, Dutch and Italians. Truly one of the best naturist places I've been. Plus there were NO WALLS! In Croatia, naturism is not just accepted, but normal. How great was that . . . no stigma at all. It was so great I wrote an article on Monsena and the experience for "Nude & Natural" (Issue 21.2 with the woman caked in mud on cover) and went back a second time the following year.

Sadly, I must report that Monsena is no longer nudist. However there are other places in Rovinj, like Valalta, which are similar (http://www.cronatur.com/TripR/tripr9.htm). Highly recommended!!!

[Sailor]

quote:

I hear that a person must walk out in shallow water an unusually far distance from the beach to find the water deep enough to swim in it.

It was just reported that they did away with the swimming pool at Heliopolus to build more housing, so this would only intensify the problem of swimming.

I found waist deep water fairly easily, and I did swim there, but was never in water above my head. Of course this might vary with the level of the tide. The thing that I remember most about the water was looking down into 14" of water and seeing an assortment of 1-2" little fishes of various sorts swimming around my feet. That was neat!

There are other swimming pools in the village, and I think that most people choose what building to rent their apartment in by what facilities they want easy access to.


I get the idea that Cap d'Agde is not only suffering from an identity crises, also the locals are worrying about the best future economically for them. The vast majority would like to get rid of the swingers all together. I had an interesting conversation with a restaurant owner where he called present day Cap d'Agde "Sodom and Gemora". He lives a distance from the resort and never brings his family. But I think that the municipality is worried that without the swingers and associated special interest groups, they will not get enough visitors to continue to thrive, given the strong European competition. So the present compromise is to try to move the sexual activities out of the public eye by providing many police during the busy season.

By the way, they have a huge camping area, which has many resort activities of its own, and there the normal rules of naturist conduct are quite strictly enforced (from what I heard).

And shopping in the supermarket nude is an experience that everyone should experience at least once in their lives!