Les Deux-Sèvres is the department of historic Poitou, a land of hedgerows and marshes which for centuries served as a crossroads and a meeting point between northern and southern France, and between Catholics and Protestants during the Wars of Religion. Niort, its capital, is known for its mutual pension funds, but also for its two medieval keep towers which overlook the Sèvre Niortaise and serve as a reminder of the royal castle founded by Henry II Plantagenet.
Oiron, whose Renaissance castle preserves remarkable murals and now houses a collection of contemporary art in situ, is one of the department’s jewels. Bressuire, Parthenay, a medieval town on the Way of St James, Melle and its Carolingian silver mines, Celles-sur-Belle with its royal abbey… Les Deux-Sèvres boasts a highly coherent medieval and Renaissance heritage.
The Poitevin Marshes, nicknamed the ‘Green Venice’, offers an exceptional natural setting of canals, waterways and floodplains, where a few manor houses and stately homes are reflected in the calm waters, inviting you on a slow and contemplative journey to the heart of a region unique in Europe.