Ideally located between Fontenay le Comte and La Rochelle, Marais Poitevin this county offers a diversity of landscapes between wet marsh and swamp dried up.
Location of heavy traffic, the town became a garrison town in the 17th century. It also keeps the memory of a memorable confrontation (War of Religion, War of Vendée). Located at the crossroads of a Roman road, it owes its name to its crossing of the river Vendee by a ford.