La Maison du Fier d’Ars

Located at the entrance to the Lilleau des Niges National Nature Reserve, 10 minutes from our campsite, the Maison du Fier is a small museum dedicated to the local natural heritage. Well worth a visit to be reminded just how beautiful and vibrant nature is!

The “Ré, nature on the island” exhibition

The Maison du Fier d’Ars, at the northern tip of the island, houses a museum dedicated to the local natural heritage. The museum is housed in an old salt shed at the entrance to Les Portes-en-Ré, an old port and departure point for ships loaded with white gold (salt) which supplied three-quarters of the kingdom of France in the Middle Ages. Today owned by the Conservatoire du Littoral, the Maison du Fier d’Ars hosts permanent and temporary exhibitions about the island’s coastline and forest, fauna, flora and landscapes. From its “Ré, nature on the island” exhibition, visitors will find out all about its biodiversity, from forest to beach. To keep things lively for children, the Maison du Fier d’Ars offers games for the whole family, as well as a fun and educational trail with interactive terminals on the fauna and flora, bird watching, the village, marshes, foreshore, dunes and forest.

Prolonging the experience

After your visit to the museum, continue your experience in the Lilleau des Niges National Nature Reserve. Created in 1980 and managed by the LPO (League for the Protection of Birds), the reserve covers 120 hectares of mudflats, salt meadows, old salt pans, wooded areas and dunes used by nesting and wintering birds. Every year, it welcomes thousands of migratory and sedentary birds: the avocet, white stilt, redshank, blackbird, common tern, and last but not least the shelduck, the reserve’s emblem.

All year round, the Maison du Fier d’Ars offers free self-guided tours. An interpretation trail with observation points and information terminals offers nature lovers the opportunity to observe and study the animals and plants that live in the reserve and the Fier d’Ars marshes.

Visitors can discover even more if accompanied by a passionate naturalist guide. During the season, the LPO organises numerous nature tours and educational activities on various themes for all audiences.

Practical information

  • Address: Route du Vieux Port, 17880 Les Portes-en-Ré (8 km from Le Cormoran campsite)
  • The Maison du Fier d’Ars can be reached by a cycle track that runs along the marshes
  • Telephone: 05 46 29 50 74
  • Not to be missed: the Bird Festival, the flagship summer event which takes place in August
  • More info: www.maisondufier.fr