Paris opens its first-ever naked restaurant

Local residents have welcomed the launch

Sarah Jones
Saturday 04 November 2017 06:35 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A country known for its laissez-faire attitude to nudity, France already boasts stacks of beaches, campsites and pools that can be enjoyed in the nude.

But now, Paris has opened its first-ever naked restaurant where diners can bare all while tucking in to dinner, Le Parisien reports.

Aptly named O’naturel, the restaurant opened to the public on Friday after a successful private dinner reserved exclusively for the Paris Naturist Association on Thursday.

Thousands take part in the World Naked Bike Ride 2017

“Tonight, we only had the members of the Paris Naturist Association,” Managers Mike and Stephane Saada told Le Parisien.

“They’ve supported us from the beginning, and we reserved our first soirée for them.”

The pair added that the members were delighted with the experience and it seems they’re not the only ones.

Intrigued at first, the neighbourhood’s residents seem perfectly at ease with the launch of the restaurant, which can be found on rue de Gravelle in the 12th arrondissement.

“It doesn’t bother me at all, or my neighbours,” a man called Mehdi told the newspaper.

“We don’t see anything from the street. We know what’s happening. It’s not a massage parlour.”

A dinner at the restaurant, which seats 40, offers diners a meal that costs around €30 (£26), after they are asked to leave all their clothes in a wardrobe before entering.

And, while it remains to be seen whether Parisians will warm to the idea of naked dining specifically, with more than 2.6 million people in France making nudism a regular habit, it’s certainly a scene that’s positively booming.

In fact, the city already boasts one public pool where people can swim in the buff up to three times a week, as well as around 460 areas including camping sites and beaches.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in