For an insight into the traditional life of those living in the watery landscape of the Marais Poitevin in the Deux-Sevres, visit the Maison du Marais Poitevin in Coulon.
In what was once a toll house on the bank of the Sèvre river, are exhibitions and displays about the flora and fauna, traditional architecture and way of life of its people. The museum has three rooms of permanent exhibitions which feature the inside of a typical Marais home, the life of eels (the creature is an emblem of the area and in the past eel-fishing was very common), the building of the traditional boats that sailed the canals and the information on the landscape that is known as Green Venice.
A guide can be hired at the museum, for tours through the Marais Poitevin, also known as ‘Green Venice’ either on foot, bicycle or boat. Visitors can also go shopping for local craft products including pots and objects made of willow, and foods such as angelica and the white beans called mogettes.