Nude Beaches in Europe - Worth the Visit?
 

Hey Fodor’s gang!

So, my friend and I are piecing together our Euro trip, and we've stumbled on this whole nude beach thing. Honestly, it's not really an "American" thing to do, but it seems like it might be more chilled in Europe? Fodors lists a few nude beaches which got us curious and I've been looking at nudebeachmap.com for some beach ideas.. but I'm still not sure.

Has anyone tried it out? Is it just a cool, relaxed experience or is it made out to be more than it really is?

We haven't considered visiting a nude beach in the US. But it seems like a European thing to do. Thanks for the low-down!

If somebody asked you if they should eat chocolate you'd say maybe. Maybe?

Europe is a BIG place. Where are you going? In Spain you'll trip over nudist on city beaches. Maybe similar in parts of Germany. Other than that you'd have to make a trek.

There are great beaches. There are rocky barren beaches. There are crowded beaches. There are beaches with loungers lined up for miles . There are beaches without a soul.

Your question is like asking about that chocolate without mentioning if it's gourmet or the worst budget stuff in the shop.

You might be surprised that most of the naturists you will see on those beaches are old, with wrinkles and saggy skin.

After accidentaly stumbling onto a nudist beach near Vigo, I have to agree.
Personally, I would first check the area for thorny bushes and flying insects.

Having woken up in a nude park in Prague (long story), it isn't that exciting, really just normal. What is odd is the need to stay clothed.

It isn't the thing to do and unless you plan on joining the other nudists, it's a bit voyeuristic on your part.

However, I've been to a nudist beach in the 80s and was not pleased with the esthetics. Seeing older people naked with overtanned sagging skin, overhanging bellies of fat and pendulums swinging sadly in the wind left a rather jarring mark on me until this day.

We inadvertently stumbled upon a nude beach on the south shore of Crete. Quickly left. The nudists were mostly as described above.

All the responses on this thread have me laughing hysterically!

"thorny bushes and flying insects" oh my!
"Wrinkles and saggy skin" and "pendulums swinging sadly in the wind" you guys are too funny! This is why I love Fodors!

If this is something you would not do in the US, don't bother doing it in Europe.

When I was 19 on my first tour of Europe, the boys got real excited for topless beaches in France...until we got there and they found it was not the sexy French young women but rather the women in their 60s with their bikini tops off.

And I have stumbled on a nudist beach in the US. It is not what it is cracked up to be here either, and it is about the same experience as those described upthread.

If you take the train from Nice toward Genoa, there are series of tunnels right by the coast, that suddenly have view to isolated sand by craggy rocks. These are often populated with the saggy and the elderly and the mostly male heretofore described. This is a much quicker and more prolific vantage point, while going from interesting place to interesting place, than actually having to go to one of those.

Maybe you ought to come up with an idea of where you will be traveling in Europe. Will you be near beaches? Then you can aask the question...

Just so you know, there are tons of those beaches in the US..we even have a couple in New York City itself..in the Rockaways. So its not just a European thing.

Personally, I agree with the posters above..its not all glamor unless you go to one of the private beaches on the Cote d Azur...there I saw a pretty stylish crowd. But my first experience was on the island of Hvar, many years ago and all I remember is older German men squatting down to talk to my friend and I (in our early 20s then!!) with all their what-should-be-privates flapping around. We finally got the nerve to take our tops off but honestly, who wants to get sunburned in certain areas?

First post....what a start!

If you are interested, we have nudist beaches right here in New York City.

It's the relative proportion of massively voluminous upstairs versus itsy-bitsy downstairs that often spurs the traveler to direct the attention more to other, more cultural pursuits.

Welcome to Fodors. You say it isn't a US 'thing' but maybe that depends on where you live?? As all the posts above clearly indicate - it isn't a 'Ooh there's a nude beach - let's go take a look!' sort of thing. Unless it is something you'd be comfortable with/do in the States, visiting would basically be voyeuristic and not what you probably imagine.

I have to agree with the above posts - in Germany there is a culture of nudism (it's called FKK, or Freie-Körper-Kultur, free body culture). It's supposed to be healthy and natural, not sexy or something that's supposed to attract attention (much as in the same way wearing BIrkenstocks is healthy and not trendy). You get people going topless in the Englischer Garten in Munich or going naked in FKK camps. And yes, it seems to attract older people - let's face it, when you get older that's when you stop giving a damn. So I would not be drawn by nudism in Germany: move on, people, nothing to see here ...

Lavandula

Of course I would try it also.. I'm not going there to spy on people!
I'm just more inclined to do it overseas and in Europe where I thought it was more common. Maybe not.
We're going to Croatia, Greece and Spain.

Yes, it's a well kept secret. I can't believe the word was spread and newbies found out! :-O
It's the biggest niche in retirement travel tours. Come join us! We welcome young whippersnappers.

Next time you snap my whipper I am hiring an attorney.

Lol. Which beach are you going to? Just so I can stay away...

There are nude beaches in NYC? I had no idea!