Hello Hive!
I am starting a series called Road Trip Postcard where I reminisce old road trips and highlight what was special about them. Today, I am sharing with you our short summer day trip to Marais-Poitevin.
Marais-Poitevin is a large marshland in Western France in the Pays de la Loire and Poitou-Charente regions.The name means "Poitou's Marsh" or the "Marsh of the Poitou region- Wiki
This beautiful landscape is composed of 112,000 hectares of intertwined canals, classified as a Grand Site de France. It is situated in the West of Niort, North of La Rochelle and South of Fontenay-Le-Comte.
The green area on the map shows how grand Marais-Poitevin is and how vast this maze of canals stretches throughout towards the bay.
Marais-poitevin is divided into three zones; the wet marsh covered in green duckweed, the dry marsh used in agriculture, and the coastal zone.
The still green waters of cris-crossing canals, dykes and rivers drew the nickname La Venise Verte or The Green Venice.
It was declared a Regional Natural Park (Parc naturel régional) until 1996 when the area grew heavily in agriculture. This unique site attracts a lot of tourists for the weekend, most popularly during the summer.
How to Get There? Click here for the interactive map
Ride a Bicycle
It's an excellent place to cycle. There are various cycling routes to choose from. If you didn't bring one, there are bicycle rentals in the village of Arçais.
After 25 kilometers, I was exhausted.
Punting with a Local Boatman-guide
Ride a traditional flat-bottomed boat or barque along the picturesque canals passing under footbridges with a local boatman that serves as a guide as well.
Popular for the trees- Saule Pleureur or Weeping Willow, you'll see a lot of them on the meadows with cows.
Admire ancient communities lined with traditional houses, fascinating fauna on the dry marsh and lovely jetties or embarcadères from the water.
Fire on the Water
The boat guide showed us how to light up fire on the water in the marsh. This natural phenomenon is caused by methane pockets in the canal beds. This was a result from the layer of mud created by decomposing leaves that fell in the water emitting carbon dioxide. With a punting stick, he stirs up the layer of mud until bubbles are formed on the surface. As it releases pockets of methane, he uses his lighter to ignite fire on the water.
I found this truly fascinating!
Enjoy a Lazy Picnic Lunch
During our bicycle ride, we stopped for a lunch picnic of fresh baguettes and pâté that was sufficient to fuel us for the journey.
My father-in-law and I pose before the meal. Photo taken by @iamyohann
My Takeaway
Marais-poitevin, with its myriad canals, offers a great experience both by land and water with the enchantment of creating fire on the water and cycling through breathtaking landscape and charming countryside.
It is the second largest wetland in France and the fifth largest in Europe.
I am not surprised why artists are drawn to this place. Everywhere you look, there is always a source of inspiration.
Thank you for reading. Fancy a boat ride through these network of canals?
Inspired by my original post.