Île du Levant
Encyclopedia
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
, near Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. It is one of the three that constitute the Îles d'Hyères
Îles d'Hyères
The Îles d'Hyères is a group of three islands off Hyères in the Var département, in the south-east of France. The three mediterranean islands are named Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Île du Levant. Together, they make up an area of .-See also:...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The island is 8 km long, 2 km wide, and located in the Gulf of Lion
Gulf of Lion
The Gulf of Lion is a wide embayment of the Mediterranean coastline of Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France, reaching from the border with Catalonia in the west to Toulon.The chief...
(geographical coordinates: 43°03' northern latitude, 6°28' eastern length). About 90% of the island is off-limits to the public, reserved for a military
Military of France
The French Armed Forces encompass the French Army, the French Navy, the French Air Force and the National Gendarmerie. The President of the Republic heads the armed forces, with the title "chef des armées" . The President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who...
missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
test center (the Centre d'Essais de Lancement de Missiles) which has launched numerous research and testing rockets since its establishment in 1948.
In 1931, Gaston and André Durville, both doctors, established Héliopolis, Europe's first village dedicated to naturism
Naturism
Naturism or nudism is a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending social nudity in private and in public. It may also refer to a lifestyle based on personal, family and/or social nudism....
, on the island. The village was built on hillsides and is dominated by Fort Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. The village has a small school, a city hall, and a police station. There is one food shop (Le Bazar d'Héliopolis) and a few speciality clothing shops, offering varieties of "le minimum", the local dress code. There are a number of hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, and seven restaurants (Le Gecko, La Fourmi, La Palmeraie, La Gambaro, Héliotel, Le Minimum, La Pomme d'Adam), all catering for naturists.
The Bain de Diane and the Plage des Grottes (a nude beach
Nude beach
A nude beach is a beach where users are legally at liberty to be nude. Sometimes the terms clothing-optional beach or free beach are used. Nude bathing is one of the most common forms of nudity in public. As beaches are usually on public lands, any member of the public is entitled to use the...
) are reserved for naturists; nudity is formally obligatory there. Being nude is allowed (and expected) everywhere on the public area of the island, except in the immediate vicinity of the harbour and on the village square. On these locations, it is formally necessary to wear what the French jokingly call "le minimum", often a pareo
Pareo
The pāreu or pareo is the Cook Islands and Tahitian word for a wraparound skirt. Originally it was used only to refer to women's skirts, as men wore a loincloth, called a maro. Nowadays the term is applied to any piece of cloth worn wrapped around the body, worn by males or females...
or a string
G-string
A G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
. In conformance with the relaxed atmosphere of the island, this rule is not really enforced, but generally well observed. In restaurants outside the village centre, some clothing is usually worn but toplessness
Toplessness
Toplessness is the state in which a female's breasts are uncovered, with the areolae and nipples visible, usually in a public space. It can also refer to a female not wearing any clothing above the waist, which is the female equivalent to a male barechestedness.The history and even the present-day...
(for women and men) is quite accepted there and "le minimum" considered sufficient attire.
The island sees a number of scuba divers; these generally do not partake in the nudist lifestyle.
The non-military part of the island is private property. The owners form the Association Syndicale Libre des Propriétaires à l'Île du Levant.
Outside of Héliopolis, the other main tourist attraction is the Domaine des Arbousiers, a voluntary natural reserve of 19ha28a, established on 3 December 1993.
The island can be reached by boat from Hyères
Hyères
Hyères , Provençal Occitan: Ieras in classical norm or Iero in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France....
and from Le Lavandou
Le Lavandou
Le Lavandou is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It derives its name either from the flower lavender that is prevalent in the area, or more prosaicly from the local form of the Occitan name for lavoir, lavandor .The village is where...
. As no cars are allowed on the island (except for some four utility cars), these ferries do not take cars.
Trivia
- Monks lived there since the 15th century; the ruins of their monasteryMonasteryMonastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
still exist on the island. - From 1861 until 1878, the island was a penitentiary for young offenders and orphans, of whom 89 died here. A plaque commemorates them. Claude Gritti wrote a romanticized history of the penal colony (Les enfants de l'Île du Levant, Editions Jean-Claude Lattès, 1999.)
- FerryFerryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service to the island is available from HyèresHyèresHyères , Provençal Occitan: Ieras in classical norm or Iero in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France....
and Le LavandouLe LavandouLe Lavandou is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It derives its name either from the flower lavender that is prevalent in the area, or more prosaicly from the local form of the Occitan name for lavoir, lavandor .The village is where...
. - Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
wrote glowingly about the island's simple pleasures in his novel Glory RoadGlory RoadGlory Road is a fantasy novel by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published in hardcover later the same year...
.
External links
- Map of the island in JPEGJPEGIn computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
format, from the Hyères Office of Tourism - Ile du Levant Chronology and Launch Log
- Google Maps: Satellite picture
