Conference moira::naturism

453.0. "Cap d'Agde" by MOIRA::FAIMAN (Alternately stone in you and star) Wed Oct 25 1995 12:15

This report on Cap d'Agde was contributed by Richard Burnham, who has now 
left Digital.  He can be reached at:

	[email protected]

CAP D'AGDE VISITED

These are my personal impressions from a first visit to Cap d'Agde and a 
few practical hints for anyone thinking of going there. They are based 
on a week in mid-September 1995, which is in the low season. I had a 
really good time and met some great people, but Cap d'Agde does 
have a few drawbacks. 
 
*The place* 
 
Cap d'Agde itself is a substantial town of mostly holiday villas and 
apartments. The Quartier Naturiste (Naturist Quarter) is only a small 
part of the town, although still substantial as a resort - more a 
suburb, with its own shops and restaurants. Access to the Quartier 
Naturiste is controlled by the police, but the strictness of the control 
is patchy - apparently it was tightened up in 1995 because of theft 
and other offences committed in the grounds the previous year. If you are 
staying there, you can obtain a free magnetic swipe card to re-enter 
after going outside. There is admission by the day: FF12 for 
pedestrians, FF50 for cars, with special rates for more frequent visits. 
However, it's possible to get in simply by walking along the beach 
from the village of Marseillan-Plage. 
 
The Quartier Naturiste is a bit like a smaller version of the main town, 
built around a marina. It's about 20-30 minutes walk to the centre of 
Cap d'Agde, and about 10 km to the ancient city of Agde, where there is 
a railway station. There is an inconvenient circular bus service to both 
Agde and Cap d'Agde from the Quartier Naturiste, running less frequently 
outside the high season. Although Cap d'Agde is convenient for visiting 
interesting places (e.g., Narbonne, Carcassonne and Nimes) if you have a 
car, it is not well placed if you rely on the train. 
 
The Quartier Naturiste has an excellent beach, maybe 2 km long, which is 
clean and well cared for, but it must be packed in the high season.
There are several swimming pools; if you arrive with a tour company,
free admission to one of them may be included in what you have paid. 
 
Although the resort is open all the year round, most businesses inside 
are open only from May to September. 
 
*The Naturism* 
 
You're free to go anywhere nude in the Quartier Naturiste; nudity is 
compulsory on the beach (but this is not effectively enforced) and in 
the pools. On the streets and in the shops clothed and partly-clothed 
people seem to outnumber nude ones by maybe 10 to 1, even when the 
weather is plenty warm enough. This can be a bit intimidating if you 
step out naked and find everyone else clothed. 
 
To the east of the naturist beach is a beach where naturists 
(unofficially) and textiles seem to coexist happily. At the west end, 
there is a path alongside the channel giving entrance to the Quartier 
Naturiste port, where you will find yourself opposite textiles fishing 
and strolling.

A wide range of people of virtually all ages visit Agde, and the place 
did not seem to be dominated by any age group or by one sex. Not 
surprisingly, given the time I was there, I saw very few families with 
school-age children, but many couples with and without young children.   

*The Weather* 
 
The reason why there is so much tourist development along the Languedoc
coast is that there wasn't much of anything there before, apart from
the growing of low-quality wine. That was partly because it is a barren 
coast prone to strong and unpleasant winds, and many people prefer the 
shelter of the pool to the beach. A cold wind can spring up at any
time, it seems. 
 
September weather is unreliable, although you can expect higher 
temperatures and more sunshine than in the British Isles. During my
week we had cloudy early mornings with the sun breaking through later to
give temperatures around 22-26C. One day it rained all day (the first whole 
day of rain since May) and for two days the wind was too strong and
cold for sitting comfortably on the beach. I was told that September 1994
had much rain and gales. 
 
The high season in Agde in 1995 was cooler than normal, coinciding 
with the hot dry weather in northern Europe. 
 
*The Price* 
 
Agde is expensive. Shop prices are about 2 to 2.5 times those in the 
supermarkets outside: you pay a high premium for the privilege of 
shopping in the nude. This is on top of the unfavourable exchange rate 
due to the strong French franc (especially for people paid in
sterling).
 
Take as much as you can of the things you will need when you first 
arrive and, when you can, go shopping in the supermarkets (such as 
Intermarche) on the outskirts of Agde. 
 
*The Accommodation* 
 
The Quartier Naturiste, both residential and business, has a rather
run-down, tatty look about it, especially when compared with the main part 
of Cap d'Agde. The self-catering accommodation, at least that offered
by the British tour companies, is on the poky and spartan side. Most of it
seems to be owned by individuals who furnish it to their own taste and 
let it out through agencies. This means that you may spend your nights
surrounded by some awful kitsch. Believe me. 
 
The apartments in Port Natur are particularly badly designed from a 
security point of view, and if you leave the French windows open for
air in hot weather anyone has access to your room. While I was there a 
couple lost everything as they slept. 
 
There is a three-star hotel, the Eve, but I didn't investigate it. I 
suspect it's for the feelthy reech.

*The Night Life*

There are many bars and restaurants in the Quartier Naturiste, some of
which have entertainment. The entertainment is predominantly French.
Tour companies may arrange entertainment for their own customers. There
are also discos/night clubs, one of which advertises itself explicitly 
to swingers. I visited one of the discos, which was very expensive.
There is a similar range of entertainment outside the Quartier
Naturiste.
 
*The Sleaze* 
 
In 1994, apparently, there were complaints about the behaviour of some 
people on the beach - since it is a naturist beach, the complaints 
presumably came from naturists. As a result, the municipality of Agde 
passed a bye-law (arre^te) for 1995 onwards prohibiting 
"exhibitionism", "pornography" and "pornographic jewellery" in the 
Quartier Naturiste. In some ways the Quartier Naturiste is more
strictly regulated than the rest of France. I did see some porn on sale in the 
shops, but no worse than anything on sale outside (in France, pornographic 
videos are on sale in supermarkets).
 
The east end of the beach has an area marked by a fence where the
authorities seem to tolerate exhibitionism in the dunes, and it is probably 
best for families to avoid this area. Aspiring exhibitionists should perhaps 
be warned that fine adhesive Agde sand being wind-blasted into all crevices 
may well be a passion-killer. 
 
When assessing Cap d'Agde from this point of view, remember that it is
not a naturist resort in the usual sense, but a part of France that
happens to be for naturist use, and it is regulated by the local government.
Although Cap d'Agde may seem very exciting from the viewpoint of 
Northampton or of Normal, Illinois, it is not way out for a place that is 
(a) in France and (b) somewhere where people go to relax. The sleaze is 
not obvious to families or those who are not looking for it.

*The Conclusion*

Cap d'Agde is an interesting and enjoyable place, and I hope to go back,
but it's not a naturist paradise. If you want the Cap d'Agde experience,
then there is only one Cap d'Agde, but if you just want to be naked,
then, from the climatic and financial points of view, Spain is probably
better value.

 
(c)1995 Richard Burnham