Levant Island

Île du Levant (pronounced [il dy ləvɑ̃]), sometimes referred to as Le Levant, is a French island in the Mediterranean off the coast of the Riviera, near Toulon. It is one of the four that constitute the Îles d'Hyères. Part of the island is occupied by the naturist resort of Heliopolis and the rest is under military control.

Beach at Île du Levant
Sign at the trail to the beach

History

Ancient history

In the early Bronze Age the deposits at Petit Avis attest to the intermittent passage of man. Then in the Iron Age, in Liserot Cove, in the 7th century BC the occupation remains transient. It becomes permanent there only from the sixth to the fifth century BC. Then, after a long period of abandonment, it was inhabited again in the 1st century BC; Greek and Ligurian dishes were found on the island.

The island was part of the Greek colony of Massalia (modern Marseille).

Modern history

Monks lived on the island beginning in the 15th century; the ruins of their monastery 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 (located on the military part of the island) commemorates them.

In 1931, Gaston and André Durville, both doctors, established Héliopolis, Europe's first naturist village, on the island. As the doctors Durville said in 1931

Heliopolis should not be a city or village, not an agglomeration of houses or luxury villas with garages, casinos, theaters, factories, business houses, but a simple rustic city where air and sunlight lovers come in the quiet of a beautiful nature, rest from the fatigue of artificial civilisation of cities, and enjoy simple and healthy holiday, with the only luxury of high ideals and the only concern for a more robust health.[1]

Geography

The island is 8 by 2 kilometres (5.0 by 1.2 mi), and located in the Gulf of Lion. About 90% of the island is reserved for a military missile test centre (the Centre d'Essais de Lancement de Missiles) which has launched numerous research and testing rockets since its establishment in 1948. The remaining 10% is open to civilians.

The military zone is shown in red on the map of the island.
Plage des Grottes at Île du levant

The village was built on hillsides and is dominated by Fort Napoleon. The village has a post office, a village hall, a chapel and a police station as well as a grocery, a bakery, and two galleries. The port area houses the office of the Capitaine du Port, a clothing store and small general store. In between there is a bazaar (Le Bazar d'Héliopolis) offering food, hardware, a tabac and a cafe bar. There are a number of hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, and eight restaurants (Le Gecko, La Fourmi, La Palmeraie, La Gambaro, Héliotel, Le Minimum, La Pomme d'Adam, La Bohème), all catering for naturists.

Climate

Île du Levant has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The average annual temperature in Île du Levant is 16.5 °C (61.7 °F). The average annual rainfall is 621.5 mm (24.47 in) with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.5 °C (76.1 °F), and lowest in February, at around 10.2 °C (50.4 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Île du Levant was 38.3 °C (100.9 °F) on 7 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −8.2 °C (17.2 °F) on 10 February 1986.

Climate data for Île du Levant (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1968–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.7
(69.3)		 22.3
(72.1)		 23.3
(73.9)		 25.1
(77.2)		 30.5
(86.9)		 35.8
(96.4)		 35.6
(96.1)		 38.3
(100.9)		 31.2
(88.2)		 27.0
(80.6)		 23.1
(73.6)		 20.0
(68.0)		 38.3
(100.9)
Average high °C (°F) 12.5
(54.5)		 12.9
(55.2)		 15.0
(59.0)		 17.2
(63.0)		 20.8
(69.4)		 25.0
(77.0)		 27.9
(82.2)		 28.4
(83.1)		 24.5
(76.1)		 20.3
(68.5)		 16.1
(61.0)		 13.2
(55.8)		 19.5
(67.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 10.2
(50.4)		 10.2
(50.4)		 12.1
(53.8)		 14.1
(57.4)		 17.5
(63.5)		 21.3
(70.3)		 24.1
(75.4)		 24.5
(76.1)		 21.3
(70.3)		 17.7
(63.9)		 13.8
(56.8)		 11.1
(52.0)		 16.5
(61.7)
Average low °C (°F) 8.0
(46.4)		 7.5
(45.5)		 9.2
(48.6)		 10.9
(51.6)		 14.2
(57.6)		 17.7
(63.9)		 20.2
(68.4)		 20.7
(69.3)		 18.0
(64.4)		 15.2
(59.4)		 11.5
(52.7)		 9.0
(48.2)		 13.5
(56.3)
Record low °C (°F) −6.2
(20.8)		 −8.2
(17.2)		 0.8
(33.4)		 2.9
(37.2)		 7.0
(44.6)		 10.0
(50.0)		 13.3
(55.9)		 12.7
(54.9)		 9.9
(49.8)		 4.6
(40.3)		 1.1
(34.0)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 −8.2
(17.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 63.9
(2.52)		 51.2
(2.02)		 48.4
(1.91)		 56.0
(2.20)		 36.6
(1.44)		 22.2
(0.87)		 7.0
(0.28)		 14.0
(0.55)		 58.6
(2.31)		 86.3
(3.40)		 103.8
(4.09)		 73.5
(2.89)		 621.5
(24.47)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 5.9 5.4 4.6 5.8 4.3 2.3 0.8 1.5 4.2 6.5 8.1 6.4 55.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 147.5 163.4 — 245.0 289.8 339.6 366.9 — 268.4 189.3 142.6 — —
Source: Meteo France[2]

Culture

The Bain de Diane and the Plage des Grottes (a nude beach) 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.[3] In the harbour, it is formally necessary to wear what the French jokingly call French: le minimum,[lower-alpha 1][4] often a pareo or a string. In conformance with the relaxed atmosphere of the island, this rule is not really enforced, but generally well observed. Inside restaurants outside the village centre, some clothing, although often flimsy, is often worn but toplessness (for women and men) is quite accepted there and le minimum considered sufficient attire; on the outside terraces, nudity is common, especially at lunchtime. At least two restaurants, La Fourmi and Heliotel, actively encourage customers to be nude, even at dinner.

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 Héliopolis naturist village, the other main tourist attraction is the Domaine des Arbousiers, a voluntary natural reserve of 19 hectares (47 acres), established on 3 December 1993.[5]

The island can be reached by boat from Hyères and from Le Lavandou. As no cars are allowed on the island (except for some four utility cars), these ferries do not take cars.

A 1956 film by Werner Kunz was called Isle of Levant and featured so-called "nudist camp" footage.

The island is used as a setting in the Robert A. Heinlein novel Glory Road and in the Mario Reading novel The Music Makers.

The island was mentioned in Are You Being Served? episode "Hoorah for the Holidays" as a presumed destination for Captain Peacock's annual vacation. Miss Brahms calls it "a nudist colony" but Captain Peacock insists it's a "nature camp".

The island, and a nod to its nudist history, was also featured in the French film Nos Futurs (Our Futures).

It was also the setting for a short story, The Reluctant Nudist, featuring Leslie Charteris' character The Saint. The Reluctant Nudist appeared in the collection published as The Saint Around the World

"The Incompleat Guide to the Île du Levant", Henry N. Manney III and Russell Brockbank (illustrator), Road & Track, March 1964.[6]

See also
See also: Naturism

Notes
  1. Le minimum is the term used by naturists on the island, for the tiny coverage required by regulations on a few locations. Near the harbour the genitals have to be covered. As a good-humoured protest against this regulation, some naturists wear in these locations a tiny string, a transparent pareo or a loincloth that fulfils the legal requirement but does little to preserve modesty.
  1. "Heliopolis Naturist Resort History - Ile du Levant". iledulevant.com.fr. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  2. "Ile du Levant (83)" (PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  3. Arrêté Municipal Hyères N° 25, 14 March 1978 (http://www.aln.fr/html/documents/Arr%EAt%E9_1978_03_14_Mairie_Hy%E8res_Naturisme_au_Levant.pdf); modified 20 April 2005 (http://www.aln.fr/html/documents/Arr%EAt%E9_2005_04_28_modif-arr%EAt%E9-1978-naturisme-Levant.pdf). In August 2015, the Mayor of Hyeres informed the French Naturist Association that simply traversing, but not stopping on, the Village Square and its surroundings nude will henceforth be tolerated. ("Traverser nu la place du village - Ile du Levant". Archived from the original on 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2016-03-24.).
  4. Bisserbe, Noemie (10 March 2016). "On French Island, Nudists Rebuff Clothing Rules". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  5. Décision du Préfecture du Var, 3 December 1993.
  6. Simanaitis, Dennis (15 January 2016). "Remembering Henry N. Manney III". simanaitissays.com.

Further reading
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Levant Island.

43°02′N 6°28′E

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