Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel needs 1 day: touring the Benedictine abbey built on a rocky islet since the 8th century, climbing through its medieval village of steep streets to the summit, and witnessing continental Europe's largest tides, which can advance up to 15 meters per minute across the surrounding bay. April-June and September-October bring the mildest weather. It's expensive for a village with fewer than 30 permanent residents. It's one of France's most visited sites outside Paris, with over three million tourists a year, and its silhouette -a Gothic abbey crowning a 92-meter granite rock- is one of the country's most recognizable images.