A bustling and attractive town at the bottom of the Cotentin peninsula (click here), Avranches has a long and historic association with Mont-Saint-Michel which it overlooks across the bay. In the 8thC, St Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, received two visitations from St Michael commanding him to build a church on the distant rock. When Aubert delayed, the impatient archangel prodded a hole in the abbot’s skull, now a treasured relic on display in the Basilique de Saint-Gervais – Saint-Protais.

For a view of the midget Mont-Saint-Michel (midget-sized from this distance) you can head straight for the Jardin des Plantes; or walk up to Square Thomas-à-Becket, which is also known as La Plate-Forme, where a grassy plot is chained off to mark the spot where Henry II of England allegedly did public penance in front of the cathedral (now disappeared) for the death of St Thomas at Canterbury.

The Musée d’Avranches (www.scriptorial.fr), beautifully displayed in an annexe of the former episcopal palace, is well-worth a visit for its terrific collections of medieval wood carvings, sculpture, religious art and illuminated manuscripts. Three new rooms opened in 2012, dedicated to the Second World War. Avranches is a starting point for visiting Rennes and the Border Castles.