Toll bridge at Fromentine, off D22 43 km S of Pornic, D948 causeway; ferries from Pornic. The most satisfactory means of getting to this 22 km-long island is definitely the Passage du Gois. This causeway by-passes the expensive toll bridge but is only accessible for three hours either side of low tide.

Each summer, peaceful Noirmoutier undergoes a startling metamorphosis into popular holiday resort. Beyond the salt pans, its modest dunes unfurl along the west coast fringed with samphire, while the north-eastern coast rears up into a couple of headlands above rocky bays. There is mimosa in mid-winter and potatoes in the autumn. A monastery was founded here in the 5thC, and the main town, Noirmouti-er-en-l’Île, has a church with an 11thC crypt, also a 12thC Musée du Château, and well-stocked Tuesday, Friday and Saturday market.

In summer there are boat services from Noirmoutier (75 minutes) to the half-pint-sized lle d’Yeu (www.yeu-island.com – services from mainland Fromentine year-round). On Yeu bicycles can be hired from the quayside at Port-Joinville for the 3-km cycle ride across the tiny island to Ie Vieux Château which juts out from the ragged granite cliffs of the Côte Sauvage. The spick-and-span village of Port de la Meule prefaces the beaches of L’Anse des Vieilles.