Île du Levant

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Along the Côte d'Azur, on the Mediterranean coast in the south of France, between Marseille and Nice, is the small city of la Lavandou; a beautiful, touristy beach community.





To reach here from Paris required a four hour train journey to Toulon, (at 108€ each way) then a 3€, one hour bus to la Lavandou. It's about a 15 minute walk from the bus stop to the beach, docks and ferry terminal where for 28€ round-trip you can take the 45 minute voyage to the naturist island of Île du Levant .



Luckily, I was able to choose a train, bus and ferry with tight connections, making our total trip under 7 hours, but at other times on other days, the trip may easily take 10 hours or more. Upon arrival, you can either make the tiring trek (if you have a suitcase,) up the little roads, stairs and walkways, uphill for 20 minutes or so, to reach whatever villa or room you may have rented. We chose to take a ride on the shuttle, one of the very few vehicles on the island. As we had no idea where our villa was located, it was much easier to let the driver find it for us. The cost is 5€ per person plus 4€ per bag. He dropped us off at a path which we followed along through the trees for a few minutes, then down some steps to another small path in the forest, until reaching our little villa with the most awesome panoramic view across the Mediterranean towards another island and the mainland.



The island mostly belongs to the French military and is fenced and off-limits. But the rest of it is a heavily treed, hilly island of nature reserve, hiking paths, private homes and small hotels and hostels, a small variety of restaurants and bars, a few shops for groceries or souvenirs, rocky coastline and beaches, all within the community of Héliopolis. And, the entire island is clothing optional. Except for the beaches and pathways along the ocean where no clothing is allowed, but, we saw occasional exceptions to that and nothing is enforced. It's really all too relaxed and laid-back to worry too much about it.



This is NOT a nudist resort, but a family oriented naturist community. There are ALL types of people here, families with kids, couples and singles, young and old, fat and skinny, beautiful and, well, less so. And the all pervading atmosphere is very reminiscent of the 60's, love and peace, easy-going warm friendliness.



The accessible island area is small enough that you can walk everywhere. With only about 84 full-time residents, even with a couple hundred tourists and part-time residents, there are definitely no crowds here.



Nude beaches are common enough around the world, but the first time you see nude people in the grocery store or walking into a restaurant, it seems a little strange. Probably nearly half the people when not on the beach usually wear something, but not much. And in most restaurants the majority of patrons are somewhat clothed, especially in the evening. Although in one rustic outdoor restaurant serving crepes, the prep girl next to the grill wore only a bit of a scarf for a skirt and worked topless, the male cook wore ONLY an apron, and at least half of the clients were nude. Some of them appeared to be locals, or regular visitors, who had not worn a stitch of clothing for the past few decades. The nudity all around you actually becomes very comfortable and natural very quickly and easily.



The island has good water but its not chlorinated so you must buy bottled drinking water at one of two small grocery stores or the bakery. Most shops and restaurants take credit cards but you will definitely need some cash, and as there are no bank machines on the island you need to bring the cash with you.



The restaurants are mostly open-air, with some indoor seating for poor weather. Obviously everything is VERY casual although we saw the occasional person dressed up for dinner. Most of the shops and restaurants close in the afternoon, only reopening some time between 7 and 8pm so dinner is late. Our little villa had a separate outdoor kitchen of sorts with a small fridge and two-burner cook-top. Although with only staying for 3 nights we decided to have lunch and dinner in the restaurants.



You can find accommodation through links on the island website, or through Air BNB or a variety of other rental websites. And be forewarned, the island is VERY popular so most rooms are booked up over a year in advance. Our small villa was rustic but comfortable, with wifi, good hot water, and as I mentioned, a bit of a kitchen, and lots of outdoor seating including a small dining table. I found it listed on Air BNB and it was exactly as shown. Our hostess Laurette spoke only French and was very nice and helpful and made sure that our stay was comfortable.





If you have ever wondered about this type of vacation, I would highly recommend Île du Levant. A very beautiful location, with an easy-going, comfortable atmosphere.

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Photos

Approaching Île du Levant on the ferry
Our villa was in the upper left area