MMD

Visit to the Maison du Maître des Digues

Museums

Adult €6.00 Child (6 to 11 years old) €4.00 Teenagers (12 to 17 years old) €4.00 Free with the Pass!

Enter the Maison du Maître des Digues, the home of the Maître des Digues, who was in charge of water management in the marshes until the 1970s. 

During your visit, you'll discover the specifics of this essential and very special job, and immerse yourself in the life of the Marouins of yesteryear, with the reconstruction of a living room as it might have been at the end of the 19th century.

Through a docu-fiction Frédéric Collardeau, master of the dams in the 19th century, reveals the secrets of his profession and his life. In particular, you will discover the evolution of water management occupations in the marshes. Management that is not without difficulty and without causing conflicts between wet marsh and dry marsh.

Your visit continues in the house of the master of the dikes and invites you to go back in time to share the daily life of the inhabitants of the Marais in the past centuries: eel nasse, compass, pigeon lamp but also bedroom, tablée...

Around the Maison du Maître des Digues you can follow an exhibition presenting the daily life of a Huttier, hunter, picker, fisherman, through the testimonies of Eugène Olivier. (Visitor Information: The Huttier Room is temporarily closed to the public. Other visitor areas remain accessible. )

The ecomuseum offers playful and child-friendly content. Accompanied by their parents, they discover the site by going in search of Margaux, the water fairy (free playbook given to all our visitors from 7 to 12 years old) or by slipping into the skin of a Master of Digues with the application Baludik.

The visit of the Maison du Maître des Digues is free for all visitors during the closing of the exhibition of the Salle des Huttiers.

Opening hours

Ouverture d'avril 2026 à septembre 2026

Avril, mai, juin : du mercredi au samedi (fermé les jours fériés) de 10h00 à 12h30 et de 14h00 à 17h30

Juillet et août : tous les jours (jours fériés inclus) de 10h00 à 13h00 et de 14h00 à 18h00

Septembre : du mercredi au samedi (fermé les jours fériés) de 10h00 à 12h30 et de 14h00 à 17h30

Fermeture annuelle octobre à mars.

Accessibility

  • Motor disability

    The Maison du Maître de Digues is accessible to people with reduced mobility. 

    The entire site is on one level. However, the surface used on the outside areas does not allow wheelchair users to be independent. Some thresholds are difficult to cross, but reception staff can install access ramps for you.

    Preferential parking is available near the site gates.

Access conditions

  • Access by car

    Parking available for visitors to the Maison du Maitre des Digues.

    ADVANTAGE INCLUDED in your La Rochelle Océan Pass (adult fare only): receive a €10 discount on the rental of a Yélomobile car.
    Reach the sites included in your pass around La Rochelle, with the yellow-topped Yélomobile car-sharing car: book in advance, for 1 hour or several days, Yélomobile cars make it easy to get around La Rochelle. 

    Detailed rates and access conditions for the Yélomobile service