Travel France - Deux-Sevres

Above: Be seduced by the tranquil marais © Richard Wadey

There’s something rather otherworldly about the Marais Poitevin. The light is different, dappled and ever changing; traffic and everyday noises of the outside world seem to disappear and Mother Nature takes over. This network of waterways in the southwestern corner of the department of Deux-Sèvres is the perfect escape from it all.

Surprisingly, this natural wilderness is man-made, or more specifically, monk-made. The Marais Poitevin stretches from the Atlantic coast just north of La Rochelle and takes in two other departments – Vendée and Charente-Maritime – before it reaches Deux-Sèvres. The 96,000 hectares were previously under water and it wasn’t until the eleventh century that monks began to drain the wetlands in order to cultivate the land.

The full article can be found on page(s) 46-54 of this issue.

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