Anais () 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

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

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 and t ...

of southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Anaisiens'' or ''Anaisiennes''

Geography

Anais is located some 15 km east of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

and 5 km south by south-east of Nuaille-d'Aunis. It can be accessed by the D107 road from

Dompierre-sur-Mer Dompierre-sur-Mer (, literally ''Dompierre on Sea'') is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. Population Personalities * Auguste-Louis de Rossel de Cercy * Jacques Archambault, Early settler of New France with his ...

in the west passing through the centre of the commune south of the village and continuing to Bouhet. The D113 road also comes from

Virson Virson () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. The Atlantic Ocean is situated to the west. Population See also *Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The followin ...

in the south passing through the southern part of the commune and continuing north-east to

Le Gué-d'Alleré Le Gué-d'Alleré () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-Maritime departm ...

. Access to the village in the north of the commune is only by small country roads running off the D107 and the D113. Apart from the small village of Anais there is also a larger village called ''Les Grandes-Rivieres'' located on the D113 road. The ''Curé'' stream forms the eastern boundary of the commune and the Virson forms the northern part of the western boundary and they both meet at a place called ''le Gouffre'' (the Pit) which is the start of the Canal du Curé on the municipal boundary of the neighbouring commune of Angliers.Google Maps
/ref> The small village of Anais is built on a low limestone hill, at an altitude of about 13 metres, and it is surrounded by numerous marshes, being located in the southern part of 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 ...

which belongs geographically and historically the plain of

Aunis Aunis () is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis (Châtelaillon) the historic capital which gives its name ...

. It is in this part of the Marais Poitevin that the course of the Curé enters the vast marshy bowl after leaving the last calcareous soils of

in the neighbouring commune of Bouhet.

Neighbouring communes and villages

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Population

Distribution of Age Groups

The population of the commune is younger than the departmental average. Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Anais and Charente-Maritime Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Anais (17007)
/ref>Évolution et structure de la population en 2017: Département de la Charente-Maritime (17)
/ref>

Sites and Monuments

*The Church of Saint Peter from the 10th century.

Transport

Nearest Railway Stations and Halts

Surgères Surgères () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. It is the home of the Surgères 48 Hour Race. History Middle ages The site of Surgères was occupied in Neolithic times, but the earliest recorded history comes ...

(TGV) 14 km *Mer 17.8 km * Aytré (halt) 18.1 km *

Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. It is the birthplace of explorer René Caillié. See also *Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department The following is a list of the 256 communes of the Deux-S ...

(halt) 18.2 km * Châtelaillon 18.5 km

Nearest Airport and aerodromes

(Laleu) 22.1 km *Rochefort-Saint-Agnant 33.8 km *Niort-Souché 41.4 km