Camping near the Marais Poitevin
Enjoy a camping holiday near the Marais Poitevin! The Marais Poitevin is one of the must-see excursions from your campsite in Charente-Maritime Val de Boutonne. Classified as a Regional Nature Park, Grand Site de France and Ramsar for the importance of its wetlands, this exceptional territory is nicknamed the “Green Venice” – and with good reason: its 8,200 km of waterways, canals lined with pollarded ash trees and wet meadows form an absolutely enchanting labyrinth of greenery. The largest wetland on the Atlantic seaboard, it welcomes almost 1,400,000 visitors every year to discover a site that is unique in France. From the Val de Boutonne campsite, the Marais Poitevin is only 30 to 45 minutes away, depending on your itinerary – an ideal getaway for a day of total change of scenery! Perfect for families, couples and friends, all year round.
Tips for visiting the Marais Poitevin
The Val de Boutonne camping team has tested it for you! A family day out in November, and we’re thinking about what we can do to keep ourselves busy. We finally decided to take a trip to the Marais Poitevin.
Head for Coulon, capital of the Venise verte and one of the most beautiful villages in the region, with the ” Petite cité de caractère” label in the heart of the Regional Nature Park. There are several landing stages where you can discover the marshes by water: traditional flat-bottomed boats propelled by pigouille or shovel, canoes for the more sporty, or electric boats for silent, comfortable cruising.
There are two options: a guided tour with an enthusiastic boatman who will reveal the secrets of the Green Venice – fauna, flora, market gardening traditions – or a self-guided tour with the help of the map provided at the pier. We choose to leave for 2 h without a guide and embark. The walk goes at our own pace, and we enjoy the scenery, which is certainly more beautiful in summer, but which already fills our eyes. The name “Green Venice” describes this place very well.
Our advice: book well in advance, especially in July and August, as the landing stages are often fully booked! Plan a full day’s outing, including a picnic or meal on site. A return trip from Saint-Jean-d’Angély is also possible.
After our little escapade on the water, we stroll through the cobbled streets of Coulon: its stone houses, stores selling local produce and regional specialities – Angelica and its derivatives, preserved market garden produce, marsh hare – make this stopover a fine gourmet conclusion. We take the opportunity to have a bite to eat and a cup of hot coffee. We then set off along the narrow lanes back to our car. To prepare for your visit, visit the Parc naturel régional du Marais poitevin website.
Campsite 30 minutes from the Marais Poitevin
Camping close to the Marais Poitevin, Val de Boutonne is an ideal base for exploring this unspoilt area at your own pace. As well as boat trips, the Marais Poitevin can also be explored by bike along the canals and towpaths, on foot along the conches, or even on horseback for horseback enthusiasts. All these gentle, environmentally-friendly activities allow you to immerse yourself in this unique atmosphere, subdued by foliage and populated by grey herons, otters, eels and countless species of birds.
The Marais Poitevin also boasts a number of picturesque villages: Coulon, of course, but also Arçais, La Garette, Damvix and Maillezais with its ruined abbey, for an escapade in the heart of Poitevin’s heritage. Every nook and cranny holds a surprise, a panorama, an encounter.
Our experience: we visited the Marais Poitevin with our family on a weekend in November… The weather was good and we found it very crowded. We hadn’t made a reservation, so we weren’t able to take a guided tour (so don’t hesitate to book a tour even before you arrive!). But it didn’t matter, we made the most of it anyway! We rented a boat, and some brave souls took on the task of rowing. We finished with a visit to the town of Coulon, and a snack of crêpes, chichis and waffles accompanied by hot drinks. A great outing for two, family or friends… Plan a full day with picnic or restaurant on site. A nature outing with a change of scenery guaranteed!
To find out more about activities and accommodation in the region, visit the Vendée Marais Poitevin website. And if the Marais Poitevin is what you’re looking for, the Charente-Maritime region has plenty of other outstanding sites to discover from the campsite: La Rochelle, Rochefort and Ile d’Oléron, Saintes and Cognac, La Palmyre Zoo,La Rochelle Aquarium and our top Charente-Maritime places to visit.
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