Port des Salines

What it is

The Port des Salines is a small port of cabins in the marsh of Le Grand-Village-Plage, in the south of the island of Oléron, which the Communauté de communes de l'île d'Oléron maintains as a salt ecomuseum. Here you see how an island salt pan works: the evaporation ponds, the system of sluices that lets sea water in and out, just as in the claires, and the work of the salt-maker, the saunier, with whom you can talk in summer. It has the Échappées Nature label.

What you see and what you can do

• The ecomuseum, spread over four cabins. The first explains how a salt pan works and the history of the island's marshes, with a film about salt, the saunier's work and the seasons of the marsh. The other three deal with the salt pan's biodiversity, salt in everyday products and salt-pan landscapes in old postcards. For children there is a route with questions and games. It takes 45 minutes to an hour.
• The commentated tour of the salt pan, one hour, outdoors, among the ponds.
• The boat trip: you hire a boat for up to four people and paddle the canal through the marsh yourself, watching birds and plants.
• Meet the saunier, on Tuesdays and Fridays in July and August, by reservation.
• The tour with tasting, which adds local products to the commentated tour, and in school holidays, workshops for children and a team treasure hunt.

In 2026 there was also a temporary exhibition, "À Fleur de Sel", from 12 June to 1 November.

Hours

The 2026 season ran from 1 April to 1 November; the site closes in winter and returns in late March 2027. Using the 2026 hours as a guide:

• April to June and September to November: Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:00, with Wednesdays continuous from 10:00 to 18:00; Sundays, 14:00 to 18:00.
• July and August: Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 19:00; Sundays, 14:00 to 19:00.

The ticket office closes an hour earlier. Commentated tours run every day; outside summer the times change each week, and in July and August they leave at 10:30, 11:30, 14:00, 15:30 and 17:00, except on Sunday morning. In summer you must book them and arrive at reception half an hour early.

Prices

• Ecomuseum on your own: €4.50; ages 6 to 18, €1; reduced, €3; under-6s, free.
• Commentated salt-pan tour: €4.50; ages 6 to 18 and reduced, €3.
• Ecomuseum and commentated tour: €7; ages 6 to 18, €3.50; reduced, €4.50.
• Boat (up to four people): €16.
• Meet the saunier: €9.50; children and reduced, €5.50.
• Tour with tasting: €7.50; ages 6 to 18, €5.50.
• Treasure hunt: €18 per team of two to five.

Getting there

The address is 34 C rue des Anciennes Salines, Le Grand-Village-Plage. You get there by car from the Oléron bridge, heading to the south of the island. By bike it is part of the island's network of tracks: combine it with the Oléron by bike route. For questions about access or accessibility, the site has a Tourisme & Handicap page and answers on 05 46 75 82 28.

Where to eat

At the port itself is Le Relais des Salines, a former oyster cabin with a terrace over the marsh that is listed in the Michelin Guide; book.

With children

It is one of the easiest visits on the island with children: cheap tickets, games in the ecomuseum, boats and workshops in the holidays. There is no shade in the marsh: bring a cap and water in summer.