Mont St. Michel in Normandy, France

Mont St. Michel

As you approach Mont St. Michel, the abbey appears to float on the horizon. Its spire glinting gold in the sun. It has attracted travellers for centuries. Over 3,000,000 holiday makers a year. Today it draws visitors… There had been churches on the site before, but the striking abbey of Mont St. Michel was what started drawing travellers.

The legend is that a bishop in the 8th century heard the voice of the Archangel Michael tell him to build the abbey.

The land round the island is a flood plain, and it is regularly surrounded by water at high tide. There is a causeway that leads to the island. It is no longer as isolated as it once was because the causeway itself has stopped the flow of tides round the island and a lot of the bay has silted up. It is besieged high on the hill by monastic buildings.

The Abbey church is only the top most building on this tiny island. It is pure granite, so it has resisted time and the tides… The granite rock it sits on is 275 feet (84 meters) high. Holding steady as… Well steady as a rock.

The rest of the island has been developed through the centuries with a warren of tiny houses and shops on its lower levels. The view of the Mont St. Michel abbey is grand from afar, but within it is really simplified, almost stark. The hamlet that grew up round the abbey lies huddled within fortifications of crenellated ramparts, towers, and a 14th century barbican ( double tower with drawbridge or gate ). It was built as a medieval castle and 2 large towers defend the entrance to the castle.

Once you enter the gate, the main road winds up the hill thru what has become a gauntlet of tourist shops. The town is similar to a maze with staircases going up behind the shops and walkways snake behind the shops and lead directly to surprising vistas looking over the bay.

Shops used to sell souvenir medallions and candles to pilgrims, and food stalls kept them fed. There are still travellers to the site, but pilgrims have largely given way to holiday makers who just want to see the abbey. You can still buy candles and medallions, but you are also offered a lot of snow globes,ashtrays, and post cards.

Through the ages, Mont St. Michel has been among the top pilgrimage sites in all Christendom. For more information on the Rick Steves´ Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel information on destinations and more — visit www.ricksteves.com.

Some food shops have gained a certain notoriety. La Mere Poulard is perhaps one of the most famous. At the entrance to the restaurant, waiters beat eggs for omelets with a catchy cadence that draws hungry tourists. The omelets are cooked over fires. Many stars have eaten at Plain Poulard’s, so simply to join that list of diners, you might spend.
The menu is costly, but you can watch for free. Go ahead, have an omelet and cider, you will be in good company. There are also masses of sea food eateries with perspectives of the bay.

Stay on the island if you can…. Park in the pay lot near the entrance. The day trippers will go home, and you can explore. Be forewarned, it’s not worth trying save money and park off on the lower edges. High tide can bring water all of the way up to the causeway, and you’d have a tricky time explaining a how your rental automobile got dunked with salt water.

There are plans to remove the causeway and turn the approach into a bridge. This should permit circulating tides to make Mont St. Michel an island again, and that would be wonderful.

I think part of the draw is just that Mont St. Michel is a attractive sight as it seems to hover on the horizon.