The one retail area that Cap excels at is sexy/S&M/fetish clothing. There must be a greater density of shops here than anywhere else on Earth and although prices are not cheap they are not astronomic either. The choice is fantastic, the quality very good and it is almost impossible to resist buying something new for that second week in the clubs when your tan is looking up.

There is a fairly good Chinese restaurant called Le Zen over Le Tantra nightclub above the beach in Port Nature Village that we would recommend if you like oriental food. L'Horizon overlooks the beach in front of Port Nature itself and is good for breakfast, elevenses, lunch and tea. We have been told Le Grange in Port Ambonne is reasonably priced and Les Jardins du 16, in Heliopolis, is recently been praised.

But for your main meal the one place we recommend above all others is Gymnos in Heliopolis. It's big and has a bustly rather than a bistro atmosphere but there is a very wide choice, the food is all good and the prices are as low as you can find in Cap. Beware, it's very popular and unless you come early or book you are likely to end up queueing. Its phone number is 04 67 26 06 09. Every year couples who holiday at Cap send us updates for this site and every year Gymnos is rated as the best eatery by far and without qualification.
                                                                                                                                      

However, the nightlife centre of Cap is undeniably Port Nature 5. This stubby part of the Y-shaped building has a row of bars and sexy clothes shops that becomes crowded in the evenings with young people seeing and being seen. Biggest of the bars and setting the tone for the others is the Melrose, right at the end of the building. It has a dancing platform although customers and barmaids are just as likely to dance and strip on the tabletops. The place has such a reputation that people come in from outside for the evening and French pornstars and film producers hang out, keeping their eyes open for new talent.

From the Melrose the corridor runs through Port Nature 5 - past other bars including one gay one - to the space in the angle between the two longer arms of the Y. The picture of Cap at night on the intro page overlooks this area. It is often called Waikiki after a prominent restaurant there and in the evening it is the nearest thing Cap has to a town square. There are open air restaurants and shops and street theatre sometimes takes place after dark. This is another popular place for couples to promenade if they want to be noticed. The entrance to Le Juls is here and the facing restaurant "Le Bistro" is run by the same management. Later on people stream through on their way along the walkway down the side of Port Nature to Le Tantra.