Despite being one of the most visited monuments in France, Mont Saint Michel remains a mystery to tourists from outside the country, but it is definitely worth a visit. As its name suggests, Mont Saint Michel is a walled mountain crowned by an impressive abbey. This fantasy island is located in a large bay off the Atlantic coast between the regions of Normandy and Brittany, in north-western France and is connected to the land by a walkway that is covered or not with water depending on the tides. What began as a church in honor of Saint Michael on Mount Tombe in the year 708, over the years has become one of the most famous tourist sites in Europe since it was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1979. .
What to see at Mont Saint Michel?
The visit to Mont Saint Michel begins before reaching the island proper by crossing the footbridge. In the welcome area prior to the footbridge that you have to cross to reach the abbey (known as “Beauvoir” or “La Caserne”, you will find all the practical infrastructures for the visit: parking, accommodation – several hotels and a campsite- , shopping area and restaurants and the tourist information center, which has free left luggage and dog kennel for those who need to leave their belongings or pets before starting the excursion.
The catwalk
The only way to access Mont Saint-Michel is by crossing the footbridge that connects the island with the mainland. You can cross on foot (the walk lasts half an hour), on the shuttle buses that make the round trip several times a day or in the horse carriages enabled for this purpose. In any case, to be able to cross it is necessary to do it when the tide is low, since when going up it covers the walkway completely, making it impossible to access the abbey. You can check the schedules on the official website of the monument.
Saint Michel Abbey
The Abbey Church, built on top of the mountain, sits on a platform 80 meters long, consisting of four crypts built into the rock. This building houses architectural marvels built in Carolingian, Romanesque and Gothic styles. In this sense, it is considered as a “megastructure” in which different buildings necessary for the activities of a Benedictine monastery are superimposed in a very small space.
The story of how Mont Saint-Michel became a great Christian pilgrimage site is born, like all of its kind, with a legend. According to it, the Archangel Michael (representing the struggle between good and evil), appeared to Aubert, the bishop of the nearby town of Avranches, in 708, and forced him to build a church on top of the mountain located on the island. For hundreds of years, men, women and children traveled to the Mount in the hope that the Archangel would grant them eternal salvation. Due to the difficult access, always dependent on the vagaries of nature and the tides, this route became known as the “way to paradise”.
In the 10th century the Dukes of Normandy promoted the development of an important Benedictine abbey on Mont Saint Michel and the place grew more and more. Throughout the Middle Ages, magnificent monastic buildings were added that have been transformed over the centuries after several fires, collapses, reconstructions and changes of use. In addition to being a church, the abbey has also functioned as a fortress and as a prison during the times of the Revolution, becoming known as “La Bastille del Mar”.
Other points of interest in Mont Saint Michel
The ramparts at the base of the island were built to keep out English forces during the Hundred Years War. During this time other buildings were added along the steep street of the town, now converted hotels, restaurants and shops for tourists. In addition to the abbey, in Mont Saint Michel there are other points of historical interest that are worth visiting:
- The Museum of the sea and ecology
- The History Museum
- The “Archeoscope” , a center in which a documentary with holograms and special effects is projected on the history of the abbey and its evolution over time
- The “Logis Tiphaine” Museum , home of the commander of the French armies Bertrand du Guesclin and his wife Tiphaine de Raguenel, famous astrologer. You can find objects of the time belonging to the family and a large collection of astrology.
- The show of the tides
How to get
Mont Saint Michel is accessible both by car and by public transport. You cannot enter the abbey itself with the vehicle, but you can park in the access parking lot that costs € 11.70 for 24 hours. There is also the option to access by tours of private companies that offer day trips directly from Paris, but for a cheaper excursion, take a train from Paris and transfer from a selection of stations to the city of Mont Saint-Michel.
When to visit
Mont Saint Michel is open to the public throughout the year, but given that access to the abbey’s islet depends on the tides, it is necessary to check the calendar and time of the same to be able to plan the visit accordingly. For the rest, the best times to visit are autumn and spring, when the weather is mild and pleasant enough to enjoy the show without the crowds typical of the summer high season.
