We are considering a vacation to Europe, if we can get some bargains. I am not quite sure where, it will depend on the prices. I have been told by friends that the women all go topless on the beaches. I have also been told that there is a lot of nudity on the beaches, that people change into their swimming clothes right on the beach, and that there is sometimes sex on the beaches.
I looked at some travel books, and found words like “surprising to Americans” and “a different dress code”, but no real info.
I have two teenage daughters and a teenage son. My family is kind of relaxed about clothes. My daughters take showers when my son is in the bathroom, and visa-versa. We change clothes together in hotel rooms. My son has seen me and my daughters naked many times, and my daughters have seen my son and husband naked many times. So I don’t think seeing a topless woman on the beach is a problem.
I am concerned about nudity. It’s one thing in the family, but different with strangers. Also, if all the women are topless, are my daughters going to feel pressure to expose their breasts.
Does anyone have any real experience so they can tell me what European beaches are really like. Thanks.|||I%26#039;m not a beach babe but have visited many beaches in Spain, France, the UK and the Netherlands at least.
Regarding the topless thing - some do, some don%26#039;t and it%26#039;s not treated as a big deal either way, so don%26#039;t worry about your daughters. If they don%26#039;t want to go topless then there%26#039;s no pressure to do so. Wearing a bikini/swimsuit is completly normal (apart from on nude beaches maybe but then these are clearly signposted normally). They can make their choice and be happy with it. There%26#039;s no pressure to do it either way.
Big No! Sex on the beach is not normal and in my experience anyone doing this in public would be told to go get a room in no uncertain terms. Being topless on a beach and sex in public are two very different things and with kids on the beach there%26#039;s no place for the latter. It%26#039;s not the norm at all so I don%26#039;t know who says otherwise!
Yes people can and do get changed on the beach but generally for the bottom half it%26#039;s done discreetly with a towel
To be honest your family sounds like they would fit in fine on the average beach in any of the countries I mentioned and indeed even in some countries like the Uk it%26#039;s not even common for kids to see their parents naked
So I wouldn%26#039;t worry if I were you. If you can find the right deal then jump on it. Then you can set the story straight for other American families in the future. It%26#039;s amazing some of the myths that are spread in the US about Europe (and probably vice versa!) and I never realised it until I started on Y!A.|||They do not %26#039;all%26#039; go topless on beaches, that is a myth. Some do, so don%26#039;t. It%26#039;s entirely up to the individual to choose to be topless or not.
And in terms of practicality - Europe is a big place, and goes quite far north, where beaches are quite cold. You are highly unlikely to see anyone topless in Ireland, for example, for the simple reason that it%26#039;s too bloody cold.
You do find that people are far more relaxed about nudity and social issues relating to the body and nudity in Europe, and personal choice is a major part of this. People can choose to strip off on designated nude beaches, go topless on other beaches, or just go around in their swimsuits. It%26#039;s no biggie.
However, sex in public places is not considered appropriate generally.|||The differences between your average beach here in the US and those in Europe are just a matter of degree. At most beaches here and there, they wear the same attire. At some beaches, it%26#039;s more common for women to be topless, but then again, go down to South Beach near Miami and you%26#039;ll see the same thing. Clothing optional sections are more common there, and rare here. Yes, you do sometimes see fleeting nudity as some people discretely change, but that%26#039;s not common everywhere in Europe. You%26#039;ll see nudity more often in advertisements and on TV over there, but it%26#039;s not a big deal.
You%26#039;re likely to notice the more casual approach to nudity there, but it%26#039;s easy to avoid or turn a blind eye to. But if you want to seek out places where you can be topless or nude, you%26#039;ll easily find them. Just ask around.|||Good God no. The women on European Beaches are not all topless. I was in Barcelona for nine weeks last summer and I can attest to that at least for Spain. Most of the time about 1 in 3 of the girls on the beach I saw were topless and most of them were the under 30 set. But if you decide to allow your daughters to try topless sunbathing don%26#039;t worry. The Spanish guys couldn%26#039;t care less. The Spanish girls are dumbfounded by how uptight American women are on the subject. They all grew up with bare breasts on the beach. It%26#039;s just skin to them. They didn%26#039;t notice a group of 6-7 topless American college girls on the beach they shouldn%26#039;t notice you.
