Planck's Constant

First let's get the naked girls out of the way. NSFW

That Forbes published a list of the Top Topless Beaches shows that Capitalism isn't the only tool Forbes is interested in polishing.

Here are the top 10 Topless Beaches according to Forbes:

Anse du Gouverneur, St. Barts, French West Indies
All the beaches on the French-owned island of St. Barts allow topless sunbathing. But Anse du Gouverneur has nice scenery even before the beach, which is arrived at via a winding mountain road.

Black's Beach, San Diego, Calif.
Known for its high cliffs, Black's Beach is one of the most popular in San Diego for surfing and parasailing. A lower-risk activity on the beach is topless sunning and swimming, with people lounging on the rocks. Black's is owned by the state of California, so any clothes-free activity is illegal in certain areas--check before disrobing.

Clifton Beach, Cape Town, South Africa
Clifton Beach, Camps Bay and Llandudno Beach are among the most popular in Cape Town, but if you're planning on going topless, we recommend Clifton. That's because the beach consists of four sheltered coves, which protect sunbathers from chilly summer winds.

Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Copacabana Beach is a three-mile-long stretch of sand, framed by Sugarloaf Mountain on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.

Rio de Janeiro has Carnival, Copacabana and teensy bikinis. Seems most of the city is romping in the ocean, sun bathing, or playing volley ball. If you are my age you are familiar wit Ipanema beach made famous by the song, but Forbes recommends you go girl watching on Copacabana Beach.

Illetes Formentera, Spain
Formentera, a tiny Balearic island just below Ibiza, shares the temperate climate and sensuous beaches of its neighbors Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca. But it's smaller and best navigated by bicycle, which works to deter hordes of summertime party-goers and render the beaches safe for families and intimate groups of friends.

La Voile Rouge St. Tropez, France
Technically speaking, St. Tropez is a little port town on the French Riviera. But it rose to international prominence in the 1950s with the arrival of artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso and Jacques Prevért, who were drawn to the laid-back charm and seductive weather of St. Tropez in the summer.

Las Salinas Ibiza, Spain
Las Salinas in Ibiza is framed with pine trees and located at Ibiza's southern-most point. The beach is the center of the action for the party-seeking crowd that takes over the island every summer

Manly Beach Sydney, Australia
There are nearly 200 beaches in the greater Sydney area, and with summer weather making an appearance in early November, there's plenty of time to explore during the North American winter. Manly Beach, accessible via ferry from Sydney, has all the trimmings that make a day at the beach comfortable: water-sports facilities (especially surfing), homey restaurants and places to buy postcards, sun screen and ice cream.

Nikki Beach St. Tropez, France
Along with La Voile Rouge, Nikki Beach is one of St. Tropez's most stylish and outrageous beaches. The sand is as packed with body guards as it is with tan bodies, and music blasts from nearby cafés, where prices are geared toward the rich

Paradise Beach, Mykonos, Greece
Paradise Beach in Mykonos is the place to be at the height of the summer in Greece, but don't bother if all-night beach parties aren't your thing. The beach's many bars and tavernas keep everyone occupied by night, when dance parties take over the beach, and sunrise just means it's time to pick a spot for your towel for the next day

Plage de Pampelonne St. Tropez, France
Plage de Pampelonne, with its clear water and uninhibited bathers, is the center of the St. Tropez beach scene, and Hotel Byblos is the place to stay while there. Built in the style of a Mediterranean mansion, the hotel opens on April 12 this year

Santa Maria, Forte Dei Marmi, Italy
Forty miles outside of Florence, Forte dei Marmi is a prime resort on the Italian Riviera. A favorite among the wealthy Tuscans who own pine-screened villas here, as well as of visiting Europeans and Americans, Forte dei Marmi is famous for its weekly market, where shoppers can score fabulously discounted designer shoes, beachwear, crockery and almost anything else you can think of.

South Beach, Miami, Fla.
If you hate tan lines but love the U.S., you're probably heading for South Beach, Miami on your next beach holiday. The young, tan crowd is as good-looking as the beach, and trendy hotels are as easy to find as 80-degree temperatures

Here are my honorable mentions:

Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia

Plage de Tahiti, Saint Tropez, France

Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

Playa El Agua, Margarita Island, Venezuela

I wonder what the bottom 10 Topless Beaches look like (is that an oxymoron?)?

In Canada, of course, toplessness or topfreedom is legal, so every beach in the country is topless, if you like.

Unfortunately in the US we have the fewest topless beaches of any civilized nation; we have never outgrown our Puritan baggage. The sad fact is that on many beaches in the U.S. going topless is not only frowned upon, it's against the law. In 1968 my brother and I were lying on the sand at the beach in Nice, France when two girls put their blanket only a few feet away from us and proceeded to change right in front of us. Although the beach was not bottomless, they saw nothing wrong in flashing us briefly until they put the bottom bikini on. This from Catholic girls!

For a tour of bikini beaches throughout the world (and a thorough history of taking it off as well) visit Bikini Science.

If you feel the urge to go on a completely naked vacation slide over to the American Association for Nude Recreation. I actually stop by there even if I'm not going anywhere.

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