The world's number one naturist destination — from the Atlantic pine forests of the Gironde to the Mediterranean coast of Languedoc, and deep into the sun-drenched heartland of Provence.
France · Naturist directory
France receives around 3.5 million naturist visitors a year — more than any other country on earth. The tradition runs deep. From the Atlantic Côte d'Argent, where dune-backed pine forests stretch for hundreds of kilometres, to the warm Mediterranean shores of Languedoc and the dramatic inland valleys of Provence and the Gard, France offers an extraordinary variety of naturist experiences across every landscape and budget.
What France does uniquely well is the village naturiste — the self-contained naturist community where everything from the bakery to the restaurant to the beach operates in the same ethos of freedom, respect and body acceptance. Many guests who visit a French naturist village for the first time leave wondering why they hadn't done it sooner.
Directory regions
16 resorts across 5 regions
CHM Montalivet — Centre Hélio-Marin — holds the most significant title in world naturism: it is the first dedicated naturist holiday resort ever established, opening in 1950 on the Atlantic coast south of Montalivet. The International Naturist Federation (INF) was founded at its first congress here in 1953, and the first official naturist beach on mainland France opened within its boundaries in 1966. To visit CHM Monta is to visit the birthplace of organised naturist tourism.
Today the estate covers over 200 hectares of Atlantic pine forest and encompasses an entire naturist community — bungalows, camping areas, restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets, a hairdresser, sports facilities including football, tennis, basketball, handball and a vast pétanque area, and a two-kilometre naturist beach on the Atlantic. The perimeter of the site is six kilometres. Everything a naturist holiday needs is here, and the community of repeat visitors — many of whom have been coming for decades — gives the place an atmosphere that no purpose-built resort can replicate.
Just north of CHM Montalivet in the Gironde, Euronat is one of the largest naturist resorts in France — 335 hectares of Atlantic pine forest with direct access to a 1.5-kilometre naturist beach on the Côte d'Argent. Like its neighbour, Euronat operates as a genuine village naturiste: shops, bakeries, restaurants, bars, live evening entertainment, thalassotherapy centre and an enormous range of activities from archery to painting, pottery and life-size chess — all conducted in the nude.
Euronat is widely recommended as a first-time naturist destination. The space and scale of the pine forest give newcomers the freedom to ease into naturism without feeling observed, while the warm and cosmopolitan community — Dutch, Belgian, German, British and French guests mixing freely — creates an immediate sense of welcome. Bicycles are the preferred transport on site and cycle paths connect seamlessly with routes through the surrounding Gironde countryside.
La Jenny is a residential naturist village of genuine distinction, situated between the Bay of Arcachon and Lacanau — about 60 kilometres from Bordeaux — in a beautiful preserved environment of dunes and Atlantic forest. It holds a unique claim: it is home to the world's only naturist golf course, an 18-hole course that makes La Jenny unlike any other naturist resort on earth.
Beyond golf, La Jenny offers a 1,000m² swimming pool complex with four baths, six tennis courts, a pony club for children, yoga, Zumba, a wellness centre with sauna, beauty treatments and massages, and a teenagers' club alongside the children's club. The direct Atlantic beach — fine white sand, supervised and vast — is the heart of daily life here. La Jenny has a strong community of returning families and long-term residents, giving it a warm and established social character.
Affectionately known as Arna, the Domaine d'Arnaoutchot is perfectly positioned in a 45-hectare pine forest within the Landes regional park, with direct access to one of the most beautiful naturist beaches in France — over a kilometre of supervised Atlantic sand. It strikes a balance between the scale of the larger Gironde resorts and a genuinely intimate village atmosphere that keeps families coming back year after year.
Arna's aqua park has three pools, a children's splash pad and water slides. The Bassins d'Arna is a superb balneotherapy spa with hammam, sauna, beauty cabins and a garden with herbal tea room. The on-site restaurant sources from a permaculture vegetable garden and focuses on local, seasonal produce. Four children's clubs cover ages 3–17, and evening entertainment includes themed nights, live music, cinema and treasure hunts. The "Far West" camping area in the deeper forest offers one of the most authentic nature-immersion camping experiences in France.
Aphrodite Village is one of the seven naturist villages on the Port Leucate peninsula — a family-oriented residential naturist community of apartments and villas on the Mediterranean coast, affiliated with the French Federation of Naturism (FFN). Nudity is obligatory on the beach and strongly encouraged throughout the village during the day. No through traffic passes within the village; it is a pedestrian world of flower-lined paths, shaded squares and unobstructed sea views.
The village has its own swimming pool, tennis courts, fitness room, restaurant, small shopping centre and a shared 1.7-kilometre naturist beach along the Gulf of Lion. The INF card is required. Apartment rentals range from studios to family-sized units with balconies overlooking the sea, the mountains or the gardens. This is as much a community as a resort — many owners spend extended periods here.
Club Oasis sits immediately alongside Aphrodite Village on the Port Leucate peninsula, sharing the same naturist ethos, the same car-free environment and the same stretch of Mediterranean beach. The two villages are frequently booked together or compared side by side — the key distinction being that Oasis tends to attract a slightly more international mix and has its own set of shops and restaurants serving the village.
Apartment accommodation ranges from compact studios to spacious villas with terraces offering outstanding sea, mountain, lagoon or garden views. The atmosphere is peaceful and genuinely naturist — no discos, no through traffic, just shady paths, the sound of the sea and 300 days of Mediterranean sunshine a year. Perpignan is 30 minutes away for those wanting to explore the region.
La Grande Cosse is a landscaped naturist campsite at Saint-Pierre-la-Mer — a secluded and flower-filled setting between the salt beds and sand dunes of the Aude coast, with a 700-metre walk through the dunes leading to a fine sandy naturist beach. The site has 480 pitches, mostly large, with electricity, arranged informally across different areas in the Mediterranean maquis. Three heated pools, tennis, archery, bicycle hire, a well-stocked shop and a restaurant with terrace round out the facilities.
Note: the site has changed management in recent years (now under Yelloh Village) and reviews reflect a change in character toward a busier, more entertainment-focused atmosphere. We recommend verifying current status and style before booking for those seeking a quieter naturist experience.
Le Clapotis occupies a completely different landscape from the other Aude naturist sites — a six-hectare hillside pinewood overlooking the Étang de la Palme, a large Mediterranean lagoon between Narbonne and Perpignan. The site's direct access to the lagoon makes it a haven for windsurfers and kitesurfers, as the Tramontane wind sweeps in reliably and the water is sheltered enough for beginners and experienced sailors alike.
The campsite has 247 pitches with electricity, a private lagoon beach, mobile home rentals, a bar and restaurant, wellness area, sports facilities and a convivial evening programme. The surrounding Fitou vineyards are part of the backdrop — one of France's most distinctive naturist settings. The Pyrénées are visible on clear days and are less than an hour away by car.
Cap d'Agde is the most famous naturist destination in France — and arguably in the world. A fully self-contained naturist village on the Mediterranean coast of the Hérault, it has two kilometres of sandy beach along the Gulf of Lion, its own marina, banks, post office, supermarkets, dozens of restaurants, nightclubs, a casino, a watersports centre and thousands of apartments and villas. The whole village operates on a naturist basis: guests shop, eat, bank and socialise without clothes.
Cap d'Agde is different from every other naturist resort in this directory in one important respect: its size and openness mean it attracts a much wider range of visitors than traditional naturist resorts, including a significant lifestyle and swingers scene that operates openly in certain areas. For traditional naturists focused on body acceptance and family naturism, this dimension of Cap d'Agde is worth knowing about in advance. Many naturists love it; others prefer more conventional naturist settings. Verify which areas and venues suit your preferences before visiting.
La Génèse is a naturist campsite in the Gard region, set on the banks of the Cèze river in a setting of authentic, unspoilt southern French countryside. The Cèze valley is one of the most beautiful and least-commercialised naturist areas in France — where wild swimming in a clear, warm river replaces the Mediterranean sea, and the pace of life slows to the rhythm of the garrigue and the cicadas.
The campsite is part of the CHM group, providing a quality baseline and access to the wider network's standards and activities programme. Nearby naturist neighbours La Sablière and the abandoned Château de Ferreyrolles give the valley a genuine naturist community character that has developed over decades.
La Sablière is a large naturist campsite on the Cèze river in the Gard, a favourite among families who value direct river access in a genuinely wild setting alongside comprehensive resort facilities. The estate has multiple outdoor pools, a separate children's pool, an indoor pool and a sauna — a rare combination that makes it viable across a longer season than most river-based sites. Swimming in the Cèze river itself, from private sandy beaches along the estate's frontage, is the highlight most guests remember longest.
The weekly programme includes craft workshops, sports and fitness sessions, and the surrounding area invites exploration: the Pont du Gard, the Cocalière cave and the ancient city of Uzès are all within easy reach. La Sablière has been an established presence in the Gard naturist community for decades.
Les Aillos is a naturist campsite in the Haute-Garonne countryside near Caraman, comfortably accessible from Toulouse. Part of the CHM group, it offers 90 pitches with rental options including lodge tents, Pipo tents, safari tents and mobile homes. Facilities include a sauna, tennis courts, restaurant, swimming pool and a separate children's pool, and the site is open from early April to mid-October.
For naturists based in or passing through the Toulouse region who want a properly naturist setting without a long drive to the coast, Les Aillos provides a relaxed inland alternative surrounded by the gentle rolling countryside of the Midi-Pyrénées.
Origan Village Naturiste is one of the most scenically positioned naturist sites in France — set at 550 metres altitude in the hills of Haute-Provence, above the River Var, looking out over a landscape of olive terraces, forested slopes and, on clear days, a horizon stretching to the Mediterranean. It sits 60 kilometres north of Nice and is reached by a rail line that makes it accessible without a car — a rarity among French naturist sites.
The 4-star campsite has 100 pitches and 51 rental units ranging from Provençal-style chalets to Italian-themed maisonnettes with hydromassage showers and lodge tents with mountain views. Facilities include a heated pool with water slide, hammam, sauna, jacuzzi, fitness area, tennis, volleyball, archery, table tennis and a restaurant. The surrounding area offers via ferrata, kayaking, rafting, river swimming, hiking in the Mercantour National Park and the unique Train des Pignes steam railway to Nice. For naturists who want mountains rather than beach, Origan Village is outstanding.
Creuse Nature is a 4-star naturist campsite in the Limousin heartland of central France — one of the most authentic inland naturist destinations in the country, set in the deeply rural Creuse department among rolling farmland and ancient forests. It is a world apart from the coastal resorts: no crowds, no queues for sunbeds, just the deep silence of wild France and a genuinely naturist community.
Managed with clear Dutch influence (the owners are Dutch), the campsite maintains high standards of cleanliness and organisation while keeping the atmosphere relaxed and unpretentious. For naturists who want to escape mass tourism entirely and experience naturism in its most authentic, nature-connected form, Creuse Nature is a gem worth seeking out.
Le Petit Arlane is a naturist campsite in the heart of Haute-Provence, part of the CHM group and set in a landscape of lavender, limestone and Provençal light. Smaller and more intimate than the Atlantic giants, it appeals to naturists who want the quality and philosophy of the CHM network combined with the particular beauty and warmth of Provence.
Activities in the surrounding area include hiking, cycling through the Provençal countryside, and exploring some of the most beautiful villages and markets in the south of France. The exceptional climate of the Provence interior makes this a reliably sunny destination across a long season.
Our love for naturism doesn't stop at South Africa's borders. If you know of a destination we should add to this directory, we would love to hear from you.