The salt marshes

The Côte Sauvage salt marshes

At the heart of Loire Atlantique, the Guérande salt marshes cover 1,400 hectares where geometric shapes meld with pastel shades to create astonishing landscapes. Take a walk, a bike ride or a horse-drawn coach ride through the marshes, and discover the techniques used for gathering salt. These go back to the 9^th century and are mainly based around regulating water levels in a sequence of basins so that the water evaporates and the salt crystallizes.

In this way, without using any machines or chemicals, the paludiers gather the "white gold", a delicacy for gourmet diners: fleur de sel. To brush up on your knowledge of salt and the lifestyle of the paludiers throughout history, you can visit the Marais Salants museum in Batz-sur-Mer, with its fun and fascinating exhibition.