European nudism .....
This may seem ignorant to somebut please help me out ......As a life-long Australian nudist & patron of TN for a few years now, I live in envy of the nudist life & acceptance in the northern hemisphere compared to us in the south. But .... I'm not reallyin aposition to judge the difference so I value informed comments.I'm also making plans to find out first hand if the impressive (& sometimes not so) places in Europe meet expectations.Please help me out with my travel plans .For starters ...where do you all rate the multitude of renowned nudist places in Europe....Starting with countries & why ? Then the best places in those countries.There's no prize for helping me decide on my travelplans....unless I see you in one of these great places sometime :)I'm Bern ....hello everyone ....just joined this group so be kind I don't bite unless you want me to ....
It is hard to speak of all of Europe and it isn't as if your call for information is really old and I am not surprised that you didn't get loads of answers within 3 hours of your posting.
I would say that Germany, Holland, Austria , Switzerlnd are extremely open on nudity. Almost all beaches are clothing optional , all spas are mixed and nude. And the prices for spas are accessible to everyone. They are not for the wealthy, such as spas in the US . In fact, they are more like public swimming pools which are used naked.
That having been said, nudity is very common in the Czech republic but not at all in Poland. There is anude beach in Prague which is in the center and reachable by tram. I have been to baths in Czech republic where people just walk ariound naked and think nothing of it.
Spain and France have nudity on certain beaches only and in the case of Spain, it was in fact the Germans whgo got them on it and now it is legal in Spain to be naked on ANY beach , whic does not mean that all beaches are nude. In fact, they aren't. There are almost no nude saunas in Spain. It just isn't a sauna culture.
Scandinavia has saunas everywhere but most are not mixed and nudity everywhere is frowned upon.
Italy and Greece have the climate for it but they prefer showing off their sexy bikinis to being nude.
Denmark's beaches may all be used naked but you do not have the nornal nudity as in Germany.
UK only on official nude beaches and not exactly the climate for it.
In fact, I would say that Germany, Austria and Holland are the countries where you can just plain be nude and in Spain on the beaches if you look around first to see if others are also naked. You won't be arrested anymore but you shouldn't trample on their ideas of decency. It was after all a very Catholic country at one time.
I hope this helps
Hi Bern. there are parts of Europe which are more nude friendly than others. Also Southern Europe has a longer season in which it is warm enough to be naked in comfort. I have found southern France, Spain and Portugal to be very nude tolerant. Usually the main town beaches are textile but they have lots of out-of-town beaches where nudity is simply ignored. They might have only a few official nude beaches. But they aren't neededbecause there are so many unofficial ones. Do an internet search for naturism in Spain/Portugal/France and you will get a whole list with maps, descriptions and how to get there. Nudism is also tolerated to some extent in the countryside giving opportunities for naked hiking. Wear a broad brimmed hat (corks not needed) for protection against the sun and to hide your bits as a gesture to any approaching hikers who might object.
There are also the Recognised nude villages like Cap d'Agde in France and Vera Playa in Spain where you can wander around the entire village naked - go shopping, drinking, eating etc. as well as excellent beaches. For year-round warmth try the Canaries. Off the African coast they are officially part of Spain and the same tolerance applies. There are nude resorts and beaches on Lanzarote, Fuertaventura and Gan Canaria, with the nude village of Charco de Palo in Lanzarote.
It all depends on what you are looking for - somewhere that you can be naked it peace and quiet in nature or somewhere buzzing with other nudists.
I'm genuinely humbled by your reply and apologise for my rude comments. I admit that it is a typically Australian trait to bleat out our initial feelings and test the reactions....not nice ....sorry !!To all that my see my reply I'm sorry & promise to control my crudeAussie-bred compulsions.AND .... I apologise to any Aussies offended by these comments ....we know that we're not all bad but there are plenty who are.As for my topic ....I'm very surprised by the difference between what we have fed to us in publicity aboutEuropean places. I'm especially surprised aboutyour Scandinavian comments. Also surprisedabout France which is promoted so heavily ( esp the Cap ).I'm slowly building a travel plan .....Thank you so much ....I'llstart narrowing the field & run it by the group......AND be more patient.Bern.
Hi Bern
no need to apologise. You didn't offend anyone. You were just a bit impatient.
France is probably the oldest nude scene but only on the official nude beaches. Topless was en vogue for quite a few years but you will find very little of that even on the Riviera. It is showing off your expensive bikini that counts.
Spain is extremely tolerant which means that no one calls the police but it still doesn't mean that they like it everywhere. In Barcelona is a city beach called Mar Bella where people promenaded from the beach to the Ramblas naked and went shopping once it was no longer illegal to take off your clothes anywhere in public and that got so out of hand that the city government came with new ordinances that made it a misdemeanor to walk around barcelona naked and act as if you were clothed. In fact, if you go o that beach now you will find more textile than nude even though it is perfectly Ok to be nude on it.
In Denmark it officially states that you can be nude on any beach but that you should be courteous and do it where you are more or less alone and not flaunt it where others do not want to see it. I don't really know if people have encounters with the law, though or whether it is just frowned upon but with no consequence.
In Sweden there was a movement to allow women to take off their tops in public swimming pools on the principal that if men can do it why can't women . There was a lot of legal and media attention to it and I don't know what happened in the end with the women who insisted on baring their breasts were stopped or just humoured.
As I said, Poland is extremely against it and will prosecute but Czechs are extremely tolerant of it.
We forgot to mention Croatia which has been nude for generations now. It was probably the Germans who started it there but in Croatia it is also only on the official nudist beaches and they are actually few and far between.
Thank you so much Olly ....my comments & apologies for my earlier rude comments definitely apply to all. You are very considerate & understanding.
The peace & quiet of nudism is something we have down hereby thespadeful and I'm blessed with some of the best places on my doorstep. I guess I feel like getting out there & shouting aboutwhat so many nudists out there are missing out on by not being here.As for what I'm looking for with travel plans.....the buzz of nudist crowds is missing in Australia soit's publicity grabsmy attention. That's not so say I'd like it ... I won't know until I've experienced it first hand.There's plentyof new experiences up there I'm sure Europeans take for granted. By the same token there's so much down here thatyou all must envy.I hope I can be trusted to contribute to this group ..... stay patient with this crude Aussie :)Bern..
Your knowledge is great Olly ! Thank you again...It's incredible that there is somany optionsand I'll take my time to research the places I've been given advice on.As a long distance potential traveller,is thereany ideas about the must do places ....to helpnarrow the field? At my age I'm not likely to aim for the backpacker set .....as much as I'd love to be camping (a preferencein Aussie travel) I'm more likely to travel light & head for motels or resorts.(As for my apologies ...I react to the better judgment of the wonderful Pamela who deserves respect & has lostconfidence in me.....hello Pamela).Bern :)