Île du Levant is a wonderful place, but you have to be aware of its limitations.
The up side: wonderful scenery, great panoramas on the coast a couple of miles away, great for scuba diving, the thrill of being on an island and in one of the oldest naturist areas in France (created in 1931), and the water there usually remains warm even when the dreaded "Mistral" has made water on the continent's beaches too cold for bathing. I also believe that the island gets the longest hours of sunshine in France.
But there is no such thing as perfection.
1. for one thing, most of the island is used by the French navy, and the naturist area (known as Heliopolis, the city of the sun) occupies only about one sixth of the island's surface, making it a much smaller place than you could imagine by looking at a map - sometimes you feel a bit "cramped" within its narrow confines, although it is much larger than most other naturist resorts.
2. the village itself is not totally naturist (it is, after all, part of the city of Hyères, with a post office, a branch of the townhall offices, etc.), and wearing a thong, which they locally call "le minimum", is required by a bye-law (bare breasts are ok) in two places, a/ around the harbour, and b/ on the village square. Inside the village. Only private properties are fully naturist: you can lunch nude on the terrace in your home or in some boarding homes, swim nude in your pool or in that of your hotel, but you must put on "le minimum" to go on the street. People in restaurants are fully dressed or wear a thong, toplessness is ok in most of them. This is probably the only place in France where you can buy stamps from a post office, or enter a townhall, topless and wearing just a thong.
3. Île du Levant is visited by day trippers who come, sometimes as they would to a zoo, just for a "fun" day out, staring etc. (they don't throw peanuts to the naturists though, but you feel that they almost could). This can be unnerving, and consequently most naturists will wear a pareo, or just dress, when they have to walk in the village.
4. the whole of the coast (or, at least, of the part of the coast that is not Navy) is naturist. Most of the seafront is rocks, often large slabs of rock from which you have to jump into the sea, wonderful if you are a good swimmer, but not convenient with toddlers. There is one tiny sand beach which can be reached after a delightul stroll through the dry Mediterranean vegetation. That beach can be very crowded in Summer, but offers safe bathing, and is situated in a very strictly naturist area.
5. the place is pricey, as John GW pointed out. Everything has to be brought by boat from the continent a few miles away, and hotels, restaurants and shops take full advantage of the relative absence of competition.
Yet, I quite agree with John, Île du Levant is a very, very special place, unlike any other, and my wife and I always feel exhilarated when we are there, almost as if we were thousands of miles from home.
The only thing worth adding to that is that Jacques has got it bang to rights.
I would go back there like a shot, but it will be some time as my wife found the steep paths rather a trial.
We also managed to be there for the only totally rotten week for weather that the place has seen in recent times. The Frenchman in the next apartment was very eloquent on that point, especially as his native Strasbourg was enjoying a heatwave.
JOhn
Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionaries
We did a day trip from Cavalaire-sur-Mer and all the OP said is true re covering up especially around the town & harbour - in fact a famaily came in on their yacht naked and were told to cover up. However, the sandy beach mentioned is a compulsory no swimwear area, and although I could imagine in August it would be very crowded, in June it was delightful. But, if it were raining (and in summer when it rains it certainly rains) not sure what you could do to pass the time - C'est la vie. 🙂
I was telling a forum member this morning in the chatroom that the best airport to reach ïle du Levant was Marseilles: I was wrong to discard the Hyères-Toulon airport as useless.
After checking, I found out that although this small airport has mostly connections to Paris and to Corsica, they do have a few connections to the UK in the Spring and Summer (London City with CityJet, and Stansted with Ryanair).
I was telling a forum member this morning in the chatroom that the best airport to reach ïle du Levant was Marseilles: I was wrong to discard the Hyères-Toulon airport as useless.
After checking, I found out that although this small airport has mostly connections to Paris and to Corsica, they do have a few connections to the UK in the Spring and Summer (London City with CityJet, and Stansted with Ryanair).
I would still rather do Eurostar and TGV via Lille and Toulon.
JOhn
Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionaries
I visited Ile du Levant last September. I was on my own and it was just a day trip, but it was beautiful. I flew to Toulon-Hyeres and stayed in Le Lavandou and got the boat over on the Saturday. The beach was packed, although the water was really cold (some naturists people (everyone on the beach was a naturist) were putting wetsuits on to swim). I would have liked at least one night ln the island, but all the rooms were taken.
I did get propositioned by two different men, but I just ignored them. And it is partly my fault for straying off the beaten path.
It was interesting to see the couple lf textile families outcast to the rocky part of the shore, by the harbour. A bit of a role reversal there.
I would go back like a shot as well.
Plage du Layet is only about a mile from Le Lavandou harbour, and is definitely worth a visit. If you only care about the beach, it's better than the one on Ile du Levant, although it does get shady very early in the evening.
There is a thread in this forum about Le Layet: http://www.naturist-corner.net/community/index.php?topic=4281.msg38877#msg38877 - a truly delightful place indeed.
Just caught up on this thread as well. Noting that we do the best we can to blend in with the locals, especially as Americans traveling in France, I will simply add a few additional observations to those already stated:
While MOST people are somewhat clothed (pareo, etc) when walking around the island, we ALWAYS see a few others who are not. We always wrap up for the square, (a VERY small area) and at least do something to make a respectful effort in the port, but as soon as we turn the corner, off come the cover-ups. We've seen MANY others do exactly the same thing, and we've never been as much as the recipient of a batted eye. (We routinely shop naked in the "Bazaar" market, and the proprietor has been consistently friendly, mostly concerned about small change!) 🙂
Sometimes we've seen families in the sea with swimsuits on. Other times, we've seen families completely nude. All in the timing - one week to the next. My guess is there are many who purchased homes here years ago, but the children and grandchildren are not so keen on the naturist part.
Going back to my original statement, it's difficult sometimes to figure out who the locals are, and who the day visitors are - so sometimes, everyone is waiting for the first person to doff his clothing so others can follow suit. La Gecko and Le Palmerie seem particularly tolerant of nude dining, especially at lunch.
In five visits, though we've heard about them, we have hardly noticed day visitors or gawkers, though again, that has everything to do with timing. Much less of an issue than ANY naturist beach in the US.
We once stayed at a place where I was approached for "extra-curricular fun." I politely declined and that was that, and we have not returned to that place. Had I read Trip Advisor first, I would have seen that coming.
Great post Jacques! Always something new to learn about this quirky place!
Daniel
Check out my naturist blog: http://meanderingnaturist.com/
a naturist resort for me must be totally naked don't like cloth optional only for evening going out Susan
keep bare and smooth ! and smile if you see us in the UK sun clubs that we go during spring summer Telford is a big fave of ours Morfa And Studland Beach and any where France Susan
A naturist resort for me must be totally naked don't like cloth optional only for evening going out Susan
I fully agree with you, Susan. It makes me fume with rage when I find that you have to dress to go the restaurant or to the supermarket at La Chiappa in Corsica, for instance.
But remember that ïle du Levant is not a resort in the usual sense of the word: it is part of a town, just an outlying quarter of the city of Hyères which a bylaw dating back 82 years (1932) has devoted to naturism.
Which means, for instance that on ïle du Levant you can find such oddities as a post office, and a branch of the Hyères townhall. There used to be a school on the island for the permanent inhabitants - I'm not sure when it closed, but is was still open in the 50s.
So that it is obviously not quite possible to judge ïle du Levant by the standards that apply to other resorts.
Annie and I are off to the île du Levant in the last week of June. We have rented a 3-bedroom house with two other couples to cut the cost, and we are very much looking forward to that week! I am hoping to add quite a few photos to the Media Centre when we are back. I am joining a photo from the website of the house, showing the patio overlooking the sea.
Annie and I are spending a fabulous week on Île du Levant with a group of friends from Bélézy. I had not been here for years and I had almost forgotten the out-of-this-world experience that staying here is. I'll write more at length when I get back to the Continent. Here is a photo taken from the house that we have rented for the party - not to expensive of you fill the house to capacity - which we did, seven of is for seven beds.
Sounds wonderful Jacques! We've only been on a day visit to the island and that was pretty special, but it must be amazing to stay there.
Look forward to hearing more in due course. Meanwhile, have a great time!
Mike
We're now back from Le Levant, after spending a tremendous week there.
Compared with the report below that I wrote back in 2009, and which was based upon much older experience, we noticed a few differences:
- NakedDaniel was right in his report, there are very few gawkers any more. I do not know why, but all the people that we talked to seemed to remember them as something of the past, a phenomenom of 15 or 20 years ago; we only met one guy who was obviously the type, and he certainly seemed more embarrassed then we were: he obviously realized very quickly that he had come to the wrong place for that, and he seemed in a hurry to catch the next ferry;
- having to dress in 2 tiny specific places (the village square + the harbour) is (I think) taken more lightly than it used to the last time we were there. Most people just let a beach towel hang over one shoulder, or use a sarong, and that's it; very few women bother to cover their breasts. When a ferry leaves and you come to send off friends, it has become a tradition to undo whatever you have covered yourself with, beach towel or sarong, and wave it above your head to say goodbye, so that ferries often leave in front of a whole line of naked people;
- the only thing that has got worse over the past 30 years (but that is a very personal remark) is the steepness of the paths; the highest place in the village is just over 100 meters, some of the shops and restaurants are very close to the top of the village, and the village covers 250 acres, which leaves a lot of walking to be done, usually up and down hill - and this made me wish I was 40 again ;-(
- the island is, as it was then, very gay-friendly. There was a whole bunch of gays on the beach one day when we got there (the only beach on the island, "Plage des Grottes", all the rest being rocks and concrete slabs on top of rocks). That day we stayed rather late on the beach so that as evening fell there was only us and them on it, and when we started to leave they came to us, told us that they were having apéritif on the beach, and insisted that we should have a drink with them before we left - which we did, and we had a very enjoyable time, great conversation (French, German, Spanish) as well as a great glass of "rosé" wine with lots of nibbles.
I will post a few photos in the Media Centre. For the benefit of those who do not have access to it, here are a few photos. One is of two ladies in our party swimming in the place known as "Le Bain de Diane" (Diana's bath), one of Annie walking a on dirt lane, and one of the flight of stairs known as "La perspective".
As you may have guessed, I'm longing to be there again...
I have been sending a couple of private messages to a NC member who is planning a trip to Le Levant. As I thought that my information could be of interest to others, I thought that I would share. So here is a very long post about daily life at Le Levant under different headings - actually two different posts, as I got the messae that says "The message exceeds the maximum allowed length (10000 characters)".
THE MAP OF LE LEVANT
The map of Le Levant is available at http://www.iledulevant.com.fr/images/extras/2015_plan.pdf
It shows you where you may / may not / have to be nude.
THE WAYS AND FOOTPATHS ON THE ISLAND
Two sorts of ways to be found on the island.
The map displays tiny green triangles over some ways; these are the uphill/downhill ways, all of them steep, most of them surfaced in concrete so as to withstand the heavy Spring and Autumn rains.
Other ways are called "corniche" and are more or less horizontal, following contour lines. They are unsurfaced, some of them being mere footpaths.
THE SHUTTLE SERVICE
As you land at Levant from either Hyères or from Le Lavandou you have to decide if you walk up to your accommodation or if you use the shuttle to "la place" – depending on where your accommodation is on the island. The shuttle is really very expensive (I seem to remember 5 euros a person + 3.5 euros a big piece of luggage), but remember that the altitude of "la place" – from where you'll find your way to your house" – is 110 m, about 360 feet, and that the path is fairly long and steep – and usually very hot. The only way you can walk up dragging your luggage is Val de l'Ayguade, straight ahead from the harbour, which is the way the shuttle also takes. "La Perspective", which goes straight almost to the top, looks tempting on a map, but a/ is still steeper, and b/ is mostly steps near the bottom.
THE VILLAGE SQUARE
On "la Place", where you must be clothed, you find the baker's shop, a small grocer's (both at the top of "la Place") and the two main bars/restaurants on the island, "Le Minimum" and "La Pomme d'Adam", both under the same management. The are the heart of social life in Le Levant, usually crowded at night, always busy with some people having a drink in the open air during the day; this is where people stop to have a cup of coffee mid-morning or a glass of beer at night, or where people come to chat with friends. On the other hand the food did not impress us particularly – it's ok, but nothing special – and this is confirmed by Tripadvisor.
THE MAIN GROCERY: "LE BAZAR"
The main grocer's shop of the island, "Le bazar" – by far larger and better stocked than the one by "la Place", is to be found in another area. Find the way called "Corniche de l'Arbousier" on the map: the grocer's shop is where the first letters of "Arbousier" are. It is not shown on the map because the map is distributed by a local shop and restaurant owners association to which the owners of the grocer's shop do not subscribe: the two co-owners, especially the one whom everybody calls Berty (I'm not even sure what his real name reallys is, probably Albert) campaign for the right to nudity in shops on the island, whereas the association accepts the current rules – that some clothing must be worn inside shops. "Le bazar" is where most of the shopping on the island takes place, as they also stock newspapers (in season), cigarettes etc. They are a branch of Vival, a chain of good-quality grocers in France. The prices are higher than on the Continent, as expected – but then there is little competition, and bringing goods to the shop is quite a challenge. They also have a tiny terrace where you can enjoy a drink watching the great view (it's not fully licensed, and can only sell beverages no stronger than beer or wine).
RESTAURANTS
You can have meals in the hotel restaurants that have their menus displayed outside. I know that "La Brise Marine" is quite popular, but I have never tried it.
Everybody seems to agree that the best place to eat at Le Levant is "La palmeraie" (nr 30, halfway up "Val de l'Ayguade"). It is very unimpressive and looks like a sandwich shack, but they serve the best food on the island – both for a quick snack or for a full meal, or even a grand meal. You can have your meal on the rough terrace in the shade.
In season, wherever you are planning to go, it is safer to book in advance as all the facilities on the island are kept very busy..
See Tripadvisor on the restaurants at Le Levant:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Restaurants-g1131457-Ile_du_Levant_Iles_d_Hyeres_French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence.html
This confirms that the two restaurants on "la Place" (La Pomme d'Adam, and Le Minimum) are great for a drink, or for a pause in the shade, or a chat with friends – but below average as restaurants.
SWIMMING
There is only one sand beach at Le Levant, "la plage des grottes" (bottom right-hand corner on the map). It is tiny, with not much shade (none in the early afternoon), usually crowded, but it offers great swimming. You get to it by following the footpath from the harbour.
Many people will take the sun and go swimming from the rocks along the coast – as you know, Le Levant is very rocky. There is a footpath that more or less follows the shore all along from one end of Héliopolis to the other; the rule is that you have to be nude on this footpath.
Shoes that can protect your feet from sharp, cutting rocks are ABSOLUTELY necessary, and it would be a pity not to use goggles and a snorkel when in the water.
Any place where you can get down to the shore and find a place to stretch your towel is fine, but people tend to go mostly to a limited number of places where steps or a footpath have been carved in the rock and, sometimes, concrete slabs have been added to make it possible to lie down.
Most (but not all) places that are equipped for easy access to the sea are marked on the map. There are a couple of such places within easy walking distance of the beach. Some people swim from very close to the harbour, although we would not be very happy to do that – even though it is a tiny harbour, the water is bound to be less clean there. "Bain de Diane" is a favourite with us, and it is even fitted with a ladder to ease yourself into the sea ; "Les Plates", "Les phoques moines", "Les pierres blanches" are ok. I rather like "La galère", at the very end of the path, but the footpath for access – although well-marked - is difficult as it goes up and down through the undergrowth.
(to be continued)