Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité . . . Nudité
The municipality known as Agde, 40km (25 miles) northeast of Narbonne and 50km (31 miles) southwest of Montpellier, operates like every other commune in France, with one startling exception: its flourishing nudist colony. In the 1970s, the community's founder/matriarch, Mademoiselle Geneviève Oltha, had the idea of promoting a simple pine grove beside the sea as a place for an escape from the stresses of urban life. Within less than 25 years, the site burgeoned into the largest nudist colony in Europe, with a roster of about 100 midwinter residents and a midsummer population usually approaching 30,000.
Don't expect everyone in Agde to be nude, since the town's four major subdivisions (Cité d'Agde, Cap d'Agde, Grau d'Agde, and La Tamarissière) offer options for the clothed as well. However, in the clearly signposted and, for the most part, fenced-in Quartier Naturiste Cap d'Agde (tel. 04-67-26-00-26; www.agdenaturisme.com), nudity is required on the beaches and encouraged elsewhere. Stores, restaurants, and shops (most selling everything except -- you guessed it -- clothing) are part of the setup. Those who arrive on foot at the compound's gate pay 5€ ($6.50) for entrance; motorists with as many passengers as can be crammed into their cars pay 10€ ($13). The Agde Office de Tourisme, Espace Molière, Centre Ville (tel. 04-67-94-29-68), or its satellite branch, the Office Municipal de Tourism, Cap d'Agde, Les Plages (tel. 04-67-01-04-04), long ago became accustomed to answering questions for the clothed, the unclothed, and the clothing indecisive.
Conveniently close to but not within the nudist zone are two museums. The Musée Agathois, rue de la Fraternité (tel. 04-67-94-82-51), is noted for the homage it pays to (clothed) cultural models of the city's 19th-century fishing tradition and the region's handicrafts. The Musée l'Ephébe, Mas de la Clape, Cap d'Agde (tel. 04-67-94-69-60), showcases the artifacts dredged up by marine explorations of the nearby sea bottom. Its star exhibit and namesake is the nearly life-size l'Ephébe, a graceful-looking Greek statue from the 6th century B.C. Admission to each museum costs 4.50€ ($5.85).
