Poitevin Marshes: Green Venice

Two days in the Venise Verte, the waterlogged heart of the Marais Poitevin and the largest wetland on France's Atlantic coast. The route starts at Coulon, capital of the marsh, where flat-bottomed punts set out, reaches Arcais and its fishing harbour, then La Garette, a hamlet strung along its canals where dusk outings are loveliest. Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud and the Maison du Marais Poitevin explain this ecosystem, shaped by monks since the eleventh century, before Niort and its Plantagenet keep. This is a landscape of pollarded ash, duckweed and silence. Punts can be hired with or without a guide; the guide is well worth it for the wildlife. Insect repellent is essential, and high summer is best avoided.