Marais Poitevin - and a forest.

Conservation area and a water playground.

The Marais Poitevin - the marshes, channels and waterways to be found to the west of Niort - get star rating in most tourist Guidebooks. They are the jewel in Deux-Sèvres' crown; they are the one geographical feature that brings a special spotlight onto one corner of this lush and pastoral Département. The area was tidal in pre-history; a winding funnel-shaped estuary that reached to the site of the prefecture town. Over the centuries it has silted up and land has been reclaimed with dykes. Today the Sèvre Niortais - the southernmost and by far the most significant of the two rivers Sèvre (hence Deux-Sèvres) - winds gently through a luxuriant landscape of trees and shrubs. With the recent parallel growth of ecological concerns and themed leisure the area has become both a conservation area and a water playground.

A wealth of flora and fauna.

The leisure elements of the mixture are the most obvious. Dubbed the 'Venise Verte' (the Green Venice) by some marketing official several centres provide flat-bottomed boats and canoes for hire. At Coulon and Arçais former commercial wharfs provide landing stages. At La Garette there seems to be some sort of pontoon or tiny pier among rampant shrubs behind each of the houses along the village street. Most places of any size have an 'Embarcadère' and generally, within a short distance, you can venture off to explore secret channels. They are the domain of flourishing wildlife: fish, eels and otters; rodents, snails and small mammals; birds, insects and bees - not to mention the plants and flowers that jostle each other from the bed of the stream to the nearby meadow.

A Price List for dreams.

The human species will generally prefer centrally-heated homes in or near this paradise. The small towns and villages on the banks of the main waterways are more popular than they used to be some years ago. There are dream properties too with lawns reaching down to the river and private landing stages - but each element of the reverie will have its price tag. Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon is to the south of the principle canals but is alongside the N11 (near motorway standard between Niort and la Rochelle).

More conservation in a forest.

A little further to the south and east the Foret du Chize lies on the boundary with our adjoining Area of 'St Maixent to Melle'. The forest is the home of Zoorama - a zoological park specialising in European mammals and their conservation. In general terms this corner is on the doorstep of its own major attraction and is only a stone's throw from the delights of the Atlantic coast.