Maillezais () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

department in the Pays de la Loire

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It was once an island in the

Marais Poitevin The Marais Poitevin () or Poitevin Marsh is a large area of marshland in western France. The name means "Poitou's Marsh" or the "Marsh of the Poitou region". It is a remnant of what was the former . The western zone near the sea (about two-thi ...

, until monks of the

Maillezais Abbey Maillezais Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Maillezais, or ''St. Peter Maillezais'') is a ruined Roman Catholic church in the commune of Maillezais in the Vendée, France. Formerly the site of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, the site gr ...

dug canals in the 13th century. Remains of the sea wall are still present, and canoe tours of the canals are a regular attraction to tourists. The ruins of the former Maillezais Abbey, dating from the 11th-14th century, are a listed monument.

See also