The
Marais Poitevin (,
Poitevin Marsh) is a large area of marshland in western
France, a remnant of the former Gulf of Poitou (the name meaning "
Poitou's Marsh", "Marsh of Poitou region"). It consists for two thirds of a western zone near the sea called the "dry marsh" (or "dried marsh"), used for farming and breeding, and for one third of an eastern zone called the "wet marsh", a maze of islets criss-crossed by picturesque canals now used for tourist rowboating and nicknamed
The Green Venice (
la Venise Verte).