Mont-Saint-Michel, France, is not a place you drive up to, and it does not work well as a rushed Paris day trip either. Cars stop at a paid mainland car park about 2.5km out; the only way onto the mount from there is the free Le Passeur shuttle or a 35-45 minute walk. Base yourself at La Caserne, in Pontorson, or in Rennes for these two days instead of squeezing the mount into one long single day: a late, quiet abbey visit on day 1, then a sunrise return plus a licensed bay walk on day 2, timed around the bay’s roughly 14-meter tide rather than the day-tripper coaches.

Three days is a genuinely good length for Mont-Saint-Michel, France (not to be confused with the smaller lookalike, Saint Michael’s Mount, across the Channel in Cornwall), as long as the logistics are sorted before you book anything. There are no cars on the island: park at the mainland car park about 2.5km out and finish the trip on the free Le Passeur shuttle or a 35-45 minute walk, the old horse-drawn Maringote carriage is reportedly gone, so do not plan around it.

Four days at Mont-Saint-Michel, France works because it does not pretend the mount itself needs more than a day and a half. There are no cars on the island: you park at a mainland lot roughly 2.5km out and finish on the free Le Passeur shuttle or a 35-45 minute walk, the old horse-drawn Maringote carriage is reportedly gone, so do not plan around it. The bay’s tides swing close to 14 meters, fast enough to trap a solo walker in quicksand, so crossing the sand is a licensed-guide-only outing, and the midday coach crush on the Grande Rue is real enough to build around too.

Five days at Mont-Saint-Michel, France, works best as a genuine Normandy-and-Brittany loop anchored by the mount, not five days spent on the rock itself. There are no cars on the island: park at the mainland car park about 2.5km out and cover the rest on the free Le Passeur shuttle or a 35-45 minute walk, the old horse-drawn Maringote carriage is reportedly gone, so leave it out of your plan entirely.

Six days at Mont-Saint-Michel, France is really a Normandy-and-Brittany road trip with the mount as the hinge, not six days spent on the rock. There are no cars on the island: you park at a mainland lot roughly 2.5km out and finish on the free Le Passeur shuttle or a 35-45 minute walk, the old horse-drawn Maringote carriage is reportedly gone, so do not plan around it. The bay’s tides swing close to 14 meters, fast enough to trap a solo walker in quicksand, so crossing the sand is a licensed-guide-only outing, and the midday coach crush on the Grande Rue, close to 3 million visitors a year, is real enough to build the first two days around.

Mont-Saint-Michel, France, the tidal abbey island in Normandy, is easy to confuse with the similar-looking Saint Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, and just as easy to under-plan for. Since 2014 there’s been no car access at all: you park on the mainland roughly 2.5km out and finish the trip on the free Le Passeur shuttle or a 35-45 minute walk, the old horse-drawn Maringote carriage is reportedly discontinued, so don’t plan around it.