Venise Vert

[LOVEtoTRAVEL.]

Anyone out there been to this area of France? Any thoughts or suggestions on where to stay what there is to do will be gratefully received.

 

[RayS]

I've been through it plenty of times going south for winter but have never spent much time there.
www.marais-poitevin.com looks like a good website to explore - if you use Chrome as your browser it will translate into English if required.
There seems to be plenty of bird watching in the area both inland and on the coast south of La Rochelle, together with boat tours but I guess these will only operate in high season. Landscape is very flat and reedy with many natural and man-made water courses. I would expect sites to be very busy high season and school holidays.
The area to the east and south east of Niort is pleasant if a little outside your target area.

 

[fgb54]

We have visited this area several times and personally like it a lot. There are miles of small roads through the marshes, great for cycling, picnics, fishing, birdwatching, and peace and quiet. If thats what you like it's worth a visit.
Plenty of opportunities to get on the water. We always visit Maillezais, park by the cathedral and hire a 'barque' for a couple of hours.
When we've visited we've always been based elsewhere such as La Rochelle or Jard sur Mer and gone there as a day trip. There are a number of sites in the Green Venice and there are plenty of reviews on other websites. Next year I retire and it's on the list!

 

[LOVEtoTRAVEL.]

Thank you for the replies. fgb: Do you know the names of the websited on which you say there are reviews on Green Venice please? We are retired now ( absolutley fab!!! ) We cycle a lot & the area sounds interesting for a few days. Thanks again.

 

[LOVEtoTRAVEL.]

Thank you for the replies. fgb54 : WE are now retired & looking forward to a trip to France. The area sounds good for cycling so thank you for your reply.

 

[PaulRT]

Hi
We are also fans of this area. As others have said, excellent for walking, cycling, canoeing (available for hire in many places), bird watching - and just enjoying France. It is probably best to stay within the area as access is not the fastest from elsewhere. We think the most attractive part is the area between Coulon and Maillezais. Coulon is a very attractive canalside village.
Re campsites, we have stayed at Camping Le Relais du Pecheur at Le Mazeau. This is a small Camping Municipal in a quiet location close to a canal, just outside the village. It has hedged pitches; the facilities are OK, but a little dated. There is a 'location' for canoe and punt hire closeby. When we last stayed there (21011) we felt it needed a bit more TLC, but I see it is in the latest Caravan Club Europe Guide with a more recent entry (page 270). We have also stayed at Camping Les Conches at Damvix. This is a fairly large, pleasant campsite just outside this canal-side village. It has good sized pitches and a small swimming pool. It was not crowded when we visitied, but this was towards the end of the season. However, do beware of the access slope to the site, as there is a danger of grounding a long outfit.
The whole area is well worth a visit. It is quite well described in a guide 'The Vendee and surrounding area' by Angela Bird.
Bonnes vacances et bonne retrait.
Cheers
Paul R T

 

[fgb54]

Apologies for the delay, LOVEtoTRAVEL, I've been internet free in the wilds of beautiful Northumberland for the last week.
For reviews I usually start on www.ukcampsites.co.uk or simply google 'campsites in marais poitevin/venise verte'.
Once I find interesting campsites I just type the name back in google followed by the word 'reviews'.
The answers often lead you to good review sites like eurocampings or zoover.

• http://www.zoover.co.uk/campsites/france
• http://beta.eurocampings.co.uk/
• http://www.campingfrance.com/UK/Our-themes/Unique-locations/tourist-sites/Marais-poitevin/(decoupage_node_id)/5274/

best wishes