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What was called Lower Poitou before the Revolution now makes up the
département of Vendée, composed of the two very different zones that are
inland and coastal Vendée. Inland Vendée is a land of hills and low mountains
that prolongs the Armorican massif, before it plunges into the wetlands of the
Marais Poitevin, west of Niort. The Marais is a unique and magical landscape
made up of polders, or swamps reclaimed from the sea. The effort began far
back in the eleventh century, when the abbey of Maillezais was founded on an
outcrop of limestone for the express purpose of draining the land and making
it arable (the ruins of the Romanesque abbey church can be visited today).
Known as the Venise verte or “green Venice,” the Marais Poitevin is
crisscrossed by a maze of canals, which visitors can explore in flat-
boats that leave from Coulon, on the River Sèvre. The drier, eastern portions
of the Marais Poitevin support livestock, especially beef cattle. Industrialized
towns are few in Vendée: Cholet, famous for its printed handkerchiefs,
Fontenay-
center of Parthenay all share the discreet charm of sleepy provincial towns.
Coastal Vendée bears little resemblance to the interior. Its long stretch of shore
is punctuated with port towns that once enjoyed considerable renown, like Les Sables-
resources. Away from the coast, vegetable growers cultivate carrots, lettuces, garlic, beans and potatoes on small truck farms. This produce rarely leaves the region, but along with ducks from Challans, butter from Charentes, and fresh seafood from local waters, it makes the markets of Vendée a food lover's dream.
The booming tourism industry has changed the face of coastal Vendée in the past 25 years. More than 180 miles of beaches and a
sunny climate attract holiday-
