Arçais is a typical village shaped by the maraîchin settlement and residential culture. The towpath along Arçais’s waterways is suitable for walking tours.
When planning a trip, you may wish to focus on renting a holiday apartment in Arçais.
Culture and History
The fully restored Grand Port d’Arçais was one of the most important exchange points between the plain and the Sèvre Niortaise valley. Two wooden cranes at the Grand Port recall that poplar trunks brought in by water were once lifted onto the bank. At the river port stands a 19th-century logis, which is privately owned and visible from the road.
The 11 ground-floor warehouses of the Grand Logis were used to store goods in transit to Niort and Marans. The former post-telegraph-telephone building in Arçais still bears its historic inscription, “Poste – télégraphe – téléphone”.
Waterways
Arçais has more than 40 km of navigable canals.
Routes and Rentals
From its location in Arçais, La Bicyclette Verte offers a combined day of cycling and boating in the Marais Sauvage. La Bicyclette Verte also rents conventional bicycles for children and adults, electric bicycles for adults, and electric scooters in Arçais.
The “Découverte du Marais sauvage à vélo” route starting in Arçais is moderately difficult, 32.0 km long, and takes approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes. Along the route, quiet paths shaded by pollard ashes lead through the Marais sauvage.
The circular route from the Embarcadère du Martin Pêcheur on the Route de Damvix in Arçais to Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud runs for approximately 15 km through the Parc naturel régional du Marais Poitevin and introduces visitors to the Marais sauvage.
Getting There
Niort is listed as the nearest railway station; from there, a bus connection is available on Tanlib line 21.
Other places: Fors, Caunay, Chizé, Villiers-En-Bois, Xaintray, Brion-Près-Thouet, Sainte-Gemme, Saint-Maixent-Lʼécole
