Marais salants de Guérande

The salt marshes of Guérande

The Guérande audio-guided tour takes you to meet what makes its worldwide reputation: its salt marshes. The salt of Guérande, recognised internationally, is the only sea salt in France to benefit from the Label Rouge, a guarantee of its exceptional quality.

A thousand-year history of white gold

Salt has been harvested there since the Iron Age, and the Romans had already made it a flourishing commercial activity. In the tenth century, monks from the abbey of Landévennec created the salt pans, those basins where salt forms by natural evaporation, giving the marshes their present appearance. For a long time, salt was a rare and precious commodity, indispensable for the preservation of food. The word "salary" moreover comes from the Roman salarium, a ration of salt paid to soldiers. In the Middle Ages, a tax on salt, the gabelle, was instituted to finance the Hundred Years' War; it was abolished only in 1790.

What there is to see

At the gates of the city, the salt marshes unfold their geometric basins where the sky and the light are reflected, particularly at sunset. Even today, the salt workers harvest the salt there in the traditional way, to the rhythm of the tides, the wind and the sun, while preserving this exceptional environment labelled Site Remarquable du Goût. It is an essential stop to understand the soul of Guérande.

Practical information

The salt marshes of Guérande extend on the edges of the city. One can walk along them freely by the paths, on foot or by bicycle, at all hours; the light there is particularly beautiful at the end of the day. Guided tours of the salt pans are offered by salt workers and local structures, according to their own programme and hours, especially during the summer harvest season.

Since when has salt been harvested in Guérande?

Since the Iron Age; in the tenth century, monks from the abbey of Landévennec created the salt pans that give the marshes their present appearance.

What distinguishes the salt of Guérande?

Its 100% natural and traditional production; it is the only sea salt in France to benefit from the Label Rouge, and the site is labelled Site Remarquable du Goût.