A magical world of green on green, light and shade, croaking frogs and the throaty call of cuckoos floating across the water meadows. Leafy tunnels of pollarded ash, drooping willows and swaying poplars line the water’s edge. Blunt-ended punts are still the main form of transport for exploring the 7,000 km of navigable canals as they carve paths through the carpet of duckweed past low blue- or red-shuttered cottages, and the odd fisherman, hat tipped over his eyes, baguette poking out of his fishing bag.

At Coulon, 11 km west of Niort via the D9/D1, you can hire a punt with or without a boatman, a canoe or even a pedalo. If you feel safer on dry land, ignore the tourist mini-train and rent a bicycle. There is more of the same at Maillezais, 30 km north-west on the D15, where you can also visit the soaring Gothic abbey ruins.

Arcais and Saint-Hilaire-la-Pallud (south-west of Coulon) are also popular, but be warned: weekends can get too busy for comfort, and August, the height of the tourist season, is unbearable.