Signature experience — La Rochelle
Marais Poitevin, the Green Venice
Duration
Full day
Price
From €620
Mercedes
Dedicated vehicle & chauffeur
Follow the N11 and then the D123 for a precise 46 km from La Rochelle and the land flattens into wet meadows and willow-lined ditches: the Marais Poitevin. At Coulon and Arçais, small harbors sit right on the conches, under pollarded ash trees and above slow water thick with duckweed. This is a living water garden and a man‑made one too: canals first cut by monks from Maillezais in the 12th century, lock gates with boat ports, and irrigation rills that shaped today’s bocage.
Your dedicated driver collects you at your La Rochelle hotel in a comfortable Mercedes and stays on call all day, so you float, taste, and learn while they handle the D1 hop between Coulon and Arçais. Start with a guided flat‑bottomed boat for an hour to grasp the drainage belt canal, step into the Maison du Marais poitevin for context, then detour to Magné to see the chain lift‑bridge before lunch by the Sèvre Niortaise for grilled eel or farci poitevin. You keep the pace; the driving and waiting are taken care of.
Your itinerary
- I
09:00 — Pick‑up at your La Rochelle hotel and drive via N11/D123 to Coulon (46 km, 45 min).
- II
10:00 — Board at Coulon’s landing for a 1‑hour guided flatboat on conches and rills.
- III
12:15 — Lunch by the Sèvre Niortaise in Arçais or Magné, local specialties (1 h 30).
- IV
14:30 — Visit the Maison du Marais Poitevin in Coulon, photo stop at Magné’s lift‑bridge, return by 17:00.
What’s included
- ✓ Dedicated Amani driver
- ✓ Mercedes E‑Class or V‑Class
- ✓ Hotel pick‑up
- ✓ Waiting at landings
Your chauffeur’s tip
In May–June, start at 9:30 to miss the crowds and catch the “fire on the water” demo with the pole as the mist lifts. Book the Coulon boat the day before and request a naturalist guide.
Book this experience
Confirmed within 30 minutes · Fixed price quoted in advance