Paris Naked Now: First Nudist Restaurant and Park Open To Naked customers in Paris

It's the first restaurant in Paris where the clients must disrobe in the lobby coatcheck room before being shown to a table - and an interesting test of the City of Lights' taste for nude dining.

O’Naturel, the nudist restaurant that opened this week in the city's 12th arrondissement, has been accorded a pleasant welcome from the media - and earned an enthusiastic reception from the growing nudist community.

O'Naturel O'Naturel

The dining room at O'Naturel. You'll have to use your imagination...Photo: O'Naturel

"There are restaurants so expensive that you can 'lose your shirt' on your way out," Le Parisien joked in its review. "At O'Naturel, it is at the entrance that customers are asked to leave their shirt (and all their other clothes) in the cloakroom.”

“Known for their casual attitude towards nakedness, the French now have their first eatery to dine in the raw,” commented RT News.

After a discrete “soft opening" on November 2 for members of the Paris Nudist Association, O’Naturel, which seats about 40 people ready to have a gourmet dinner in the most natural of attires, had its official public launch the next day.

France is considered a mecca for nudists. Here people take part in a traditional celebration to mark the end of the year in Le Cap d'Agde in the south of France.

Located on the small residential street of Rue Gravelle, the place“goes completely unnoticed,” according to Le Parisien. It also has a curtain-covered window to discourage “voyeurs” and curious onlookers, and another blackout curtain “that prevents anyone from seeing inside when someone opens the door.”

The managers, 42-year-old twin brothers Mike and Stephane Saada - who along with the waiters and cooks are the only people allowed for hygiene reasons to keep their clothes on - said they've already taken many online reservations. The price of a meal starts at around €35 and the restaurant is open only for dinner from Tuesdays to Saturdays.

It's impossible for the brothers to know if reservations are made by practicing nudists, amateurs new to the practice, or simply the curious. "In any case, the comments on the site are very nice," they told the paper.

Last year, when the Bunyadi nudist restaurant opened with considerable attention in London, it was reported that the owners were looking to replicate their restaurant with another in Paris.

Nudists throwing their clothes up in the air at the space for nudists at the Bois de Vincennes park in Paris    Photo: Bernard Guay/AFP/Getty Images

The Paris restaurant is not far from a new area for nudists, tucked away in a secluded section of the Bois de Vincennes park that was unveiled in August following the approval of a proposal by the Green Party.

"The creation of an area in the Bois de Vincennes, where nudism will be authorized is part of our open-minded vision for the use of Parisian public spaces," Penelope Komites, a deputy mayor in charge of the city's parks, told The Local.

Sunbathing at the Bois de Vincennes park during the summer. The nudist space closes in winter  

After all, the French are not timid about being naked. Nudist associations estimate that as many as 2.6 million French regularly practice nudism, and the country has some 460 areas reserved for nude tourism, including 155 camping sites and 73 beaches.

“We offer a friendly atmosphere where  families as well as couples will feel comfortable,” the Saada brothers told Nudist Magazine. “We propose a refined cuisine ‘dans l’air du temp'.”

Entry to the restaurant is by online reservation only.