The Marais Poitevin is a strange, lazy landscape of fens and meadows, shielded by poplar trees and crisscrossed by an elaborate system of canals, dykes and slow-flowing rivers. Recently declared a regional park, it is known as "La Venise Verte" – the Green Venice – and indeed, farmers in this area frequently travel through the marshes in flat-bottomed punts as their fields lack dry-land access. A tourist industry of sorts has been developing around the villages, so it's best to avoid weekends, when evidence of the transformation is all too clear.Access to the eastern edge of the marsh is easiest at the whitewashed village of COULON, on the River Sèvre, just 11km from Niort by bike or occasional bus. The tourist office is at 18 place de l'Eglise (daily: April–June & Sept 10am–noon & 4–7pm; July & Aug 10am–7pm; Oct–March Tues–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; tel 05.49.35.99.29, www.ville-coulon.fr) while punts can be rented, with or without a guide, just down the road at no. 6 (tel 05.49.35.02.29). There are two hotels in the village, both likely to be full in season: the family-run Central, 4 rue d'Autremont (tel 05.49.35.90.20, fax 05.49.35.81.07; €40–55; closed mid-Jan to early Feb, plus Sun & Mon late Sept to mid-Oct), and the pricey Au Marais, 46–48 quai Louis Tardiy (tel 05.49.35.90.43, fax 05.49.35.81.98; €55–70; closed late Dec to late Jan). If you're camping, head for the attractively sited Camping Venise Verte (tel 05.49.35.90.36), in a meadow about 2km downstream (a 25min walk), or the Camping Municipal La Niquière (tel 05.49.35.81.19; closed mid-Sept to March), north of Coulon on the road to Benet. The best eating option in Coulon is the regional cuisine of Le Central's characterful restaurant; with generous servings, a well-deserved reputation and a menu from €15.24, it's wise to book. An excellent place from which to rent bikes is La Bicyclette Verte (tel 05.49.35.42.56, www.bicyclette-verte.com), on rue du Coursault in the village of ARÇAIS, 10km west of Coulon; they also have children's bikes and tandems. If you're walking the marshes, it's best to stick to the lanes, since cross-country routes tend to end in fields surrounded by water, and you have to backtrack continually. Once you're away from the riverside road from Coulon to Arçais, there's practically no traffic, just meadows and cows. At the seaward end of the marsh – the area south of LUÇON – the landscape changes, becoming all straight lines and open fields of wheat and sunflowers. The villages cap low mounds that were once islands.
| 