Salt marshes

The salt marshes can be visited at any time of year, depending on the landscape and the light. With a guide, discover the essential role played by water, wind and sun in the crystallisation of salt. Watch the salt worker at work, from harvesting flower of salt to coarse salt. Terre de Sel, La Maison des Paludiers and the Musée des Marais Salants in Batz-sur-Mer will give you a better understanding of this exceptional living heritage. Many independent salt workers also open their doors to share their passion and sell their produce directly.

The Bassin du Mès, which stretches between Mesquer, Saint-Molf and Assérac, completes this wealth of salt production, while offering nature walks where egrets, avocets and terns accompany your discoveries.

Each grain of salt is the fruit of constant care andknow-how handed down from generation to generation. The salt marshes are a living place, where nature and the salt workers work together to create this precious white gold.

It comes in several forms, each with its own special characteristics. Flower of salt, fine and fragile, is harvested from the surface of the carnations and melts delicately on the tongue, ideal for enhancing dishes. Coarse salt, more robust, is perfect for cooking or preserving food. Today, some salt workers are also creating flavoured salts, enriched with herbs, spices or citrus fruit, to bring out new tastes.

The salt workers work tirelessly all year round, shaping the basins, canals and carnations in preparation for each harvest. Summer marks the most eagerly awaited period: the salt harvest, a delicate moment when quality depends on precise factors such as wind and sun.