Maillezais Abbey Pier - Abbey Port

Today's Marais Poitevin (Green Venice) is the heir to a vast project begun in the Middle Ages. The Abbey of St. Peter of Maillezais played a very active role in developing the former Gulf of the Pictons. The monks and their marshland descendants built dikes to protect the newly reclaimed land from the high tides and runoff from the surrounding limestone plains.

12 km from Fonteney-le-Comte, at the foot of the abbey, in the former Gulf of the Pictons, discover the hidden marshland by flat-bottomed boat. You will be captivated by the tranquility and beauty of the site. Only our boatmen can reveal the true secret of this maze of canals lined with ash trees, forming veritable canopies of greenery.