La Baule – Presqu'île de Guérande

Characterized by the diversity of its landscapes, La Baule – Presqu’île de Guérande is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean at the West and the South, by the mouth of the Vilaine at the North, and by the Brière marshland at the East.

La Baule – Presqu’île de Guérande is made up of these main towns and cities: This region is known for the presence of three elements: salt, the Brière and the sea.

Down through the centuries, the harvest and the trade of salt have sculpted not just the landscape but also the architecture of the saltworkers’villages, the ports and the areas of fortification.

Currently, Guérande Peninsula contains about 2,000 hectares of salt marshes, divided into two salt basins: The Brière[3] gets its nickname of “Pays noir” (Black Country) from peat, formerly one of its main resources, which results from the decomposition of mosses and plant matter.

The most beautiful aspects of this huge expanse of canals and wetlands, with its natural setting of freshwater marshland, the reeds providing the ideal nesting habitat for many species of birds, and its architectural heritage are best appreciated in a barge, a slender, flat-bottomed craft steered using a pole.