Mont-Saint-Michel

9am-7pm from 1 May to 31 August and 9.30am-6pm the rest of the year, last entry an hour before. €16 in high season, €13 from October to March, free for EU residents aged 18-25. Closed 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.

The bay has one of the largest tidal ranges in Europe. Check the day's coefficient before planning anything: on the biggest tides the water surrounds the Mont and the low car parks are closed.

Walking out onto the sands is only safe with a licensed guide — quicksand and a fast-returning tide are both real. Book ahead and expect to go barefoot.

Free, and the best thing on the island: a circuit of the walls, above the crush on the Grande Rue below.

Arriving late or staying over gets you the lit abbey with almost nobody in the streets, and parking is free from 6.30pm for most of the year.

Cars stop about 2.5km away. Parking is €14 for 24 hours in low season and €28 in July-August, and free after 6.30pm from September to June. The free Passeur shuttle runs every twelve minutes or so and stops around 350 metres from the ramparts.

There is no station at the Mont. Come via Pontorson or Rennes and connect by bus, and check the last return before committing to a late abbey visit.

Rooms on the Mont and in the causeway hotels cost more, but they buy you the island at eight in the morning and after six at night.

April-June and September: long days, workable tides and far fewer coaches.

November-February is cheapest and often empty, with winter hours of 9.30am-6pm and a €13 abbey ticket.

July-August, when parking doubles and the Grande Rue moves at shuffling pace.

Arrive before the coaches. Take the first shuttle from the mainland car park, or walk the causeway if the weather allows.

Into the abbey at opening, working up through the church, cloister and refectory before the queue builds.

Eat on the mainland or bring food. The Grande Rue restaurants price for a captive audience.

Walk the ramparts, then out onto the sands with a licensed guide if you booked one.

Stay for the abbey lit up. Parking is free from 6.30pm for most of the year, which makes a late visit cheap.

About an hour west: a walled corsair port with a ramparts circuit and tidal swimming pools cut into the beach.

The museum holding the abbey's medieval manuscripts, with a reduced combined ticket if you also visit the abbey.