As of the writing of this article, the artistry tennis grand slam in clay is just around the corner, so I’m inspired to enumerate the best sights and attractions in Paris before sitting inside the box of Court Philippe Chartier.

As you all expected; every inch of square in Paris is bounded with rich history and exquisite beauty. Apart from Eiffel Tower, there are still various aesthetic attractions you need to explore while on Paris.

The first on this list is The Louvre.

Have you watch The Da Vinci Code? If yes, I’m sure you have recognized this pre-20th century museum. The Louvre is the home of the most appealing paintings, sculptures and other art collections in the medieval era. You can also find the undying smile of Mona Lisa here. Traveling to this classic and contemporary building is easy. While in Paris, just ride a bus with any of the lines in 21, 34, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, and 95 and the driver will directly take you in front of the glass pyramid. Physically challenged people are openly welcomed inside this majestic museum as wheelchair can always be rented upon permission at the front desk.

The second a-must-visit scene in Paris is the Boat Tour in Seine River. Coming down to see the overwhelming beauty of Seine River is truly an unforgettable experience. The feel of the chilly wind of the place is miles different from what you have inside your home. Especially if you are going for a boat ride, you can witness the unparallel network of canals, bombastic bridges, awestruck monuments and other mythical spots. Many people suggest the best time for boat ride is May to the mid days of September. There are various travel companies near the site that offers both daytime and nighttime tours throughout the year, especially during Valentine’s Day. 

With its marvelous gothic architecture, the Notre Dame Cathedral is surely one of the dramatic hotspot made of stained glass, situated just blocks away from Seine River. As a matter of fact, it took a century before the overall construction is completed. The Cathedral is the “Notre Dame of the Hunchback,” that’s how Victor Hugo penned it out. The most thrilling part during your visit is when you dig deeper in the archaeological crypt going to the North Tower. Touring Notre Dame is convenient in October till March, ideally in the mornings and in the evenings to see the views of the stained glass. Free guide tours in English are also available upon request.

Opened to everyone to honor the French-President Georges Pompidou, the Center Gorgeous Pompidou is considered to be the cultural heart of the city. The gigantic architecture houses performing plaza, public library and art museum of 20th century masterpieces. The galleries are open daily from eleven in the morning till nine in the evening. Tickets are available at the counter’s area. The three-floor public library is free and for everyone to use. You can find an array of books, magazines, periodicals and multimedia resources here. There are also food and dining in the second floor, reservation-only restaurant at the rooftop, bookstores at the ground, 4th and 6th floors and Parisian Boutique at the ground floor.

The last but not the least is the Sorbonne University. This is the oldest and the intellectual hub of Paris and was once the home of the world’s philosophers and writers like Rene Descartes and Jean-Paul Sarte. Getting here requires you to ride Metro Cluny-La-Sorbone in Line 10 or RER Luxembourg in Line B. Enjoying a cup of coffee with a friend in café before walking around the incredible squares and gardens is surely a grand.

Summertime is almost upon us and what's best to spend it is an island escapade accompanied with all nature's bounty: lush greenery, warm ocean breeze, white sand beaches and blue ocean waters. And where on earth can we find such place? There are a bunch of summer spots and island getaways you can hop into but if you are into a Mediterranean vacation, then Corsica island is what you are looking for.

Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea following Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus respectively. It is located west of Italy, southeast of France, and north of Sardinia island. Also known as the "Isle of Beauty", Corsica, is proud for it's natural wealth: dramatic mountains, sandy beaches and turquoise waters; and as Napoleon Bonaparte's birthplace. In fact, his ancestral home, Casa Bonaparte, is located there still.

What makes Corsica island a best place to spend your summer? Read on!

• It possesses the Mediterranean climate; having a hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters, the island is rich in flora. The best seasons are considered to be spring and autumn. Thus, for a summer getaway you'll surely have what you wanted – to bask in the Italian sun.
  

• Corsica is the most mountainous Mediterranean island filled with rocks and limestone crags. The tallest peak being the Monte Cintu which towers to a magnificent 8880 feet in the air. Having such landscape, rock climbing during the summer is very possible. Other's prefer trekking and horse riding along the ancient footpaths and mule trails. If you are not into mountain climbing, there are also over 200 beaches along the 600 miles coastline of Corsica island and the best thing about that is, a number of them are secluded. Therefore your experience will be private and authentic. St Restitude beach, Palombaggia Beach, Golfe di Sogno Beach, and Santa-Giulia Beach are among the wonderful beaches in Corsica. The pristine water is ideal for swimming, snorkeling, sailing and even windsurfing. Other bodies of water in this area are it's rivers and falls which are a breathtaking sight to see.

There are a lot in store for you in this wondrous paradise: from it's wide variety of landscape; dramatic mountains, vast coastline with hidden coves and shore that have yet to be discovered, Mediterranean climate to Corsicans warm accommodation. What more can you asked for?

What well-regarded nudist destination has a nude beach, pool, nude golf, biking, hiking and more in a family-friendly environment in the Bordeaux region of France?

By the title of the article, the answer is easy: La Jenny.

While France's famous naturist village of Cap d'Agde has been reviewed here before, besides culinary delights, France serves a plate full of nudist destinations. France also provides La Jenny, Euronat and many other destinations.

The other naturist village, La Jenny, lies on the Atlantic Ocean on northwest side of France and offers a low-key, relaxing place to be naked.

La Jenny is a large, family-friendly nudist campground, a very different experience from the larger, more commercial Cap d'Agde.


La Jenny's centerpiece is an incredible grouping of 4 swimming pools kept at 77 degrees to provide a week of enjoyment.

And if the pool is not enough for you, take a walk down to the Atlantic Ocean. Lifeguards are on hand in the main section. When the conditions are right and waves high enough, surfing naked is the way to spend the day. Most people would rather just catch some sun on the nude beach.

Naked golf...real naked golf is a rarity. La Jenny's course is only 4 holes, but is probably the best 4 holes of nudist golf around.

To get around, ride a bike. Bikes are available for rental for riding around through the extensive grounds. Ride from your rented chalet down to the beach to play naked beach volleyball in the sand. Then ride back and have a nude dinner at the clothing-optional restaurant.

Accommodations at La Jenny include chalets/cabins and a campground. The chalets come in many sizes and prices, in peak season from around $70 to $200 a night. The typically include a refrigerator and hotplates for cooking. Some have ovens, dishwashers and other conveniences.
La Jenny even has a small grocery store where visitors can shop in the buff for food to bring back to the chalet. Having shopped at stores like this in Cap d'Agde, I am sure this is a fun experience at La Jenny too.
Learn more about La Jenny at their website.

The Nudist Travel Guide Blog introduced the Naked Must Do List series to provide a resource about Cap d’Agde Naturist Quarter in France, the world's largest naturist village. In this post, Part 3 of the Naked Must Do List, the restaurant options will be further explored (see last post for an introduction to nude dining).

Lunch is the best time for nude dining as this is when most people are nude throughout the Naturist Village. In the evening, more people wear some sort of cover-up.

So let’s say that all you have is a towel on which to sit and you are ready to head for a restaurant. Where to go? The restaurants in the Cap d’Agde’s Naturist Quarter are located mostly in the 4 commercial complexes adjacent to the residential complexes (see picture).

Heliopolis, the large and distinguished circular building seen in the aerial photo of Cap d’Agde, has a complex of shops and restaurants in the center and a few more beachside. Le Lagon Bleu and Le Pointu offer French cuisine. L’Espadon and La Villa Romaine (clothing required) serve fine seafood selections. There’s the Pizzeria Le Ghymnos, an Italian style restaurant/grill, or for Creole-style fair, try La Case Creole.

The beachfront terrace restaurant Le Buvette de Marseillan is a short walk up the beach from the Heliopolis complex and has a great view.

Port Nature is the large, long holiday apartment building and has two restaurant areas: one on the beach and the other inland at the other end of the building. On the beachfront side of Port Nature can be found a few good restaurants. The Mississippi (Le Mississippi) is one of them. They have several types of savory crepes filled with hams and seafood and topped with assorted cheeses.

The inland side of Port Nature has restaurants that seem more focused on the nighttime bar and club scene catering to the more erotic-oriented vacationer than the typical naturist. During the daytime, it is a quiet area.

The semi-circular Port Ambonne complex is north of Port Nature and has a few restaurants in it too including the seafood restaurant La Poissonnerie Chez Maxime and La Bleue. There are also a few restaurants in the small complex across the street, next to the Port Soleil building.

The focus of this article has been the Naturist Quarter, but it would be a shame not to mention other great places to eat nearby. Though clothes are required, the trade-off for higher quality food may be worthwhile.

For more distinguished eating and scenery, the restaurants lining the canal of the fishing village of Sète are about a 30-minute drive from the Naturist Quarter. Restaurants here are known for their fresh seafood dishes and the atmosphere here is unique and should not be missed.

Even a 15-minute drive will get you to the “Centre Port” harbor area of the clothed town of Cap d’Agde. Though somewhat touristy, there is a nice promenade where you can take a strong along the harbor and pick from a large selection of eateries.

Whether eating in the Naturist Quarter or outside of it, some restaurants have French only menus. Before visiting, studying the French language a little is recommended or at least bring a travel dictionary.

The Nudist Travel Guide Blog introduced the Naked 'Must Do' List series to provide a resource about Cap d’Agde Naturist Quarter in France, the world's largest naturist village.

The Naked Must Do List series explores the best activities Cap d’Agde vacationers can enjoy without clothes. Part 1 talked about nude grocery shopping. In this Part 2 of the Naked Must Do List, the essential activity of dining out au natural is the focus.

Dining while nude is a liberating and fun experience in the Naturist Quarter. There are 30 or 40 different places to dine during the main tourist season from May to October.

The Nudist Travel Guide Blog author has eaten at a handful of the inexpensive, outdoor terrace-style restaurants in the Naturist Quarter - a return trip will be necessary to try the other restaurants. All restaurants so far were enjoyable and being naked made for a unique dining experience hard to duplicate anywhere else in the world.

Clothing is OK too. People tend to wear some form of covering in the evening and at least one fancy restaurant even requires patrons to wear nice clothing.

Even on the beachfront terrace cafes during a hot summer day, some of the patrons will wear clothing. Maybe they just prefer to be nude on the beach or maybe they are novices. At Cap d’Agde, it doesn’t matter if you wear nothing at all or dress like an Eskimo. Everybody blends in and it is a very tolerant culture.

In his more sexually-focused than naturist-focused book on Cap d’Agde, “The Naked Truth about Cap d’Agde”, Ross Velton briefly discusses restaurants and makes the point that Cap d’Agde “lacks the consistently fine dining opportunities found elsewhere in the country” and also says that non-fussy eaters will have no problem with the selection of foods. His opinion seems correct.

There are no 5 star gourmet restaurants in the Naturist Quarter but the selection of foods is vast and varied enough to keep everyone happy.

On many of the menus can be found dishes like mussels with Roquefort, grilled shellfish, shrimp, squid and octopus, goat and sheep cheeses, fish soups, and beef dishes. Some menus include Italian pizza and pasta dishes while other include more exotic dishes.

So bring your towel to sit on and head for one of the commercial areas in the Naturist Quarter for a selection of restaurants to be discussed in Part 3.

Have you dined at Cap d’Agde? What was your experience? Comments welcome.

The "Naturist Quarter" in the beach town of Cap D'Agde in France is the site of the world's largest naturist village. Measuring over 1 mile along the shore and then approaching a half-mile inland at its deepest, the Naturist Quarter covers a lot of ground. Cap d'Agde offers the freedom to do lots of activities without the requirement of clothes - making for a great nudist travel destination.

In this series, the Nudist Travel Guide blog looks at the 'must do' activities with a few 'do not do' ones thrown in for good measure. Let's get started with the topic of buying food.

If you are staying at Cap d'Agde for a few days or a week, most humans are going to need food. Getting food in the nude is fun.

Whether staying at a rented apartment/condo or "the" hotel (Hotel Eve is the only hotel in the Naturist Quarter), you can walk to one of the 4 or 5 grocery stores in the nude and do your grocery shopping au natural. These little grocery shops are similar, but they are worth exploring.

The stores have a selection of the perishable foodstuffs like milk and cheese, the necessities like paper towels and common items you'd expect in a grocery store. The stores have snacks, cereals, breads, drinks, canned goods, and lots more.

There are a few fresh fruit stands and several meat shops scattered throughout the shopping centers in the Naturist Quarter. Of course there are a few bread shops and wine shops in the Naturist Quarter too - this is France after all!

On the 'do not do' list for Cap d'Agde is bringing lots of clothes. Sure, most people put on some form of covering at night, but more clothes means more laundry. While there is a laudry mat or two onsite, doing laundry is still a chore. Who needs chores on vacation?

This is part 1 in a series. Return to http://nudisttravel.blogspot.com soon for more of the Naked 'Must Do' List for the World's Largest Naturist Village!