The harbour at Ars-en-Ré is a small working port where fishing boats share the quay with pleasure craft and the morning catch is sometimes sold on the spot. At low tide — which on this Atlantic coast means very low indeed — the mudflats are exposed and the boats sit at awkward angles in the channel. At high tide the water comes up to the quayside walls and the effect is considerably more picturesque.
The harbour is the social centre of Ars in the evenings, with a few tables spilling out from the bar and the last of the day's cyclists returning their bikes. The oyster beds that border the channel to the north are worked by local ostréiculteurs — oyster farmers — whose produce you can buy directly from their cabanes (sheds) along the road, usually along with a glass of local white wine.