THE GREEN VENICE : THE SECOND LARGEST WETLAND IN FRANCE

If you enjoy nature, soft adventure and a gentle pace of life, you’ll love the Marais Poitevin, which stretches from the Bay de l’Aiguillon in the west to the town of Niort in the east, from Esnandes in the south to Luçon in the north. An easy drive from the port of La Rochelle, it’s a great place for a day trip as well as a longer stay.

Split into three distinct zones, the fenland is shared between three departments or counties, Charente-Maritime and Deux-Sèvres in the Poitou-Charentes region and Vendée in Pays de la Loire. 

FROM THE DRY MARSH TO THE COASTLINE

Marans lies at the heart of the Dry Marsh, an agricultural plain bisected from east to west by the Sèvre-Niortaise river. Protected from the Atlantic floods by a ring of dykes, the wide open countryside – used for cattle breeding and cereal growing – is criss-crossed by canals that control the water level with a system of dams and sluice gates.
The Sèvre-Niortaise meanders its way through the marshes to join the sea at the Baie de l’Aiguillon, an almost circular bay that indents the coastline north of La Rochelle.