Marais Poitevin wetlands
Boats, narrow canals, paths and Maraîchine cattle in the Marais Poitevin wetlands, on Niort's doorstep. 17 photos
About this gallery
On the doorstep of Niort, where Karl Forterre lives, the Marais Poitevin spreads its canals, narrow waterways and wet meadows all the way to the ocean; its most wooded part, the “Green Venice”, is explored by boat. This gallery shows its boats: dozens of flat-bottomed boats lined up along a village quay, a black boat moored in a narrow canal, others pulled up on a shaded bank, a green boat beside a wooden pontoon.
The marshes can be explored on foot too: a white gravel path beneath the poplars, a green footbridge under weeping willows, trails along streams in early spring, banks where purple loosestrife blooms and an angler casts a line. Maraîchine cattle, the pale-coated breed of the marshes, graze beside a ditch; near a farm, a black cat pads through the tall grass, and an ivy-covered house keeps its wooden shutters.
The Niort marshes, within the town of Niort itself, also show their emerald waters in spring. These royalty-free photos suit stories about the Marais Poitevin, Green Venice, the Deux-Sèvres, nature tourism or hiking, and can be downloaded for free on Pexels.