Damvix / Bazoin / Marans
The Sèvre Niortaise remains your guide on this stage, except on two stretches, one where you follow the Canal du Nouveau Béjou, the other the Canal du Pomère. Enjoy the ballet of little boats exploring the wetlands around these parts. You arrive at Marans via its quaysides, allowing you to appreciate how this little town lives via its waterways. Marans traditionally stood guard over the canal, marshes and river estuary; today it stands out because of its futuristic bell tower.
Gradients and elevation
Road types
Surface
The route
Follow the signposts indicating La Vélo Francette. You have to share the way with motorised traffic all along this stage. There are many little bridges crossing the waterways.
Tourist Offices
SNCF Train Services
Marans train station: there are plans afoot to re-open the station to create a rail link La Rochelle <> Marans from 2017.
Don’t miss
Damvix: landing stages from which you can embark on punts or in canoes; Le Collibert, a boat offering cruises, including dining cruises; the church of Saint-Guy
Marans: the port and its quays; the banks of the Sèvre Niortaise River; the 19th-century covered market; Notre-Dame Church, with its striking belltower made from metal and glass – built in 1988, it has become a belvedere for the wider area; the ruins of the former church of Saint-Etienne; the Moulin de Beauregard, an 18th-century mill in the centre of the town that’s still in use; the Parc du Bois Dinot grounds.
