Mont-Saint-Michel

Mont-Saint-Michel is a tidal island and a mainland commune in Normandy, lying about a kilometre off the north-western coast at the mouth of the Couesnon near Avranches. The island itself is only seven hectares; the commune around it runs to four hundred. The abbey rises in tiers from the rock, and the tide is the thing that defines a visit. It comes in across the bay fast enough that the causeway and the surrounding sands have to be treated with respect. Out of season and early in the day it is a different place from the one the coaches see.