This island is one of the most beautiful of the country I ever visited (with Corsica island and Brehat island in my opinion). It is easy to reach by car from La Rochelle with a bridge that connect the island to country land. This bridge is almost 3 kilometers land and max height about 42m high so the crossing is quite impressive.
My favourite part of this island is the upper side of it, including Saint Clement des baleines and Ars en re towns. You can see small street with lots of flowers that are smelling nice mixed with the sea salt fragrance.
On the first location you have to pass by the lighthouse which is worth a visit and the effort to climb the stairs. There is a nice view where you can shoot picture from above, very beautiful sight. It could be very windy depending on the season.
One the second location you can find the market where you can buy local products, the most famous are of course the oysters and [fleur de sel](https://goo.gl/maps/y8LeaaAFh2a3bEzM9) which is the highest purity and quality level of salt, do not hesitate to take some back home to put on your veggies, salads or steaks.
Everything sold there is pretty tasty so there is no wrong pick (cheese, wine, chocolate, and caramels with salted butter are my other favourite picks).
There is the harbor as well where you can see some boats parked.
You can find as well local produce of beer (there is local brewery to visit on the south part of island)
One of my favourite view is the one from [plage de la conche](https://goo.gl/maps/MB1SbwBFvhGPEK8RA) where you can see amazing sunset.
