The first village opened in 1950, in a pine forest bordered by a beach in Alcudia, a small fishing village on the island of Palma de Mallorca. In that first year, 2,600 people left. Paris-Paris, for 16,800 francs, 15 days of vacation, 36 hours of train and a boat crossing, all without any real comfort.
In 1951, Alcudia could not open for the simple reason that the Club clashed with the Spanish clergy, who did not entirely agree to see young girls in swimsuits. It was a bit of a mess, at least at the time! This is how the club rented a small hotel in Puerto de Alcudia at the last minute, but the expected success was not there and relations with the manager were difficult. The same year, the village of Golfo di Baratti opened in Tuscany on the edge of a pretty black volcanic sand beach. It will then be in Corfu, better known as Ipsos, the island of Elba, Montenegro in Yugoslavia to see the light of day in the following years. These first villages will be canvas villages, the equipment being supplied by the Trigano company.
In a text, Jean Pierre BECRET indicated that at the time of registration I quote:
"It was a rush! We had to open them first to the old members, then to the new members who were sponsored, then to those who weren't sponsored... One year, five or six hundred people were queuing up on Rue de la Bourse when registration opened. The following year, we distributed small copies. The year after that, with these small copies, we gave out vouchers for a coffee at the bistro next door, which we had specially asked to open."
Videos
Alcudia, the first Club Méditerranée village. A short montage with films and images.
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