Travel Tuesday - Mont Saint-Michel

Rising several hundred feet off a rocky inlet amidst sandbanks exposed to a rocky French shoreline….Mont Saint-Michel is a Gothic abbey surrounded by a small village. Built in-between the 11th and 16th centuries, it is a testament to architecture, a standing test of time, and will always take your breath away.

This Tuesday, it lands on our ‘Travel To-Do’ list and is a must-see bucket list place for me, personally. Let’s dive in and learn a few cool things about it, as well. I love blogging about cool places to go and check out, I find it inspiring, death-defying, and motivating to write about places that pique my interest, and I hope through some of these weekly blogs, I’ll inspire you to travel to some of these places, as well.

Let’s dive in!

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What You Need To Know About Mont Saint-Michel

(Wiki) The island is located about one kilometer (0.6 miles) off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 7 hectares (17 acres) in area. The mainland part of the commune is 393 hectares (971 acres) in area so that the total surface of the commune is 400 hectares (988 acres).

As of 2015, the island has a population of 50.

The commune's position—on an island just a few hundred meters from land—made it accessible at low tide to the many pilgrims to its abbey, but defensible as an incoming tide stranded, drove off, or drowned would-be assailants. The island remained unconquered during the Hundred Years' War; a small garrison fended off a full attack by the English in 1433.  Louis XI recognized the reverse benefits of its natural defence and turned it into a prison. The abbey was used regularly as a prison during the Ancien Régime.

Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. It is visited by more than 3 million people each year. Over 60 buildings within the commune are protected in France as monuments

The tides vary greatly, at roughly 14 meters (46 ft) between highest and lowest water marks. Popularly nicknamed "St. Michael in peril of the sea" by medieval pilgrims making their way across the flats, the mount can still pose dangers for visitors who avoid the causeway and attempt the hazardous walk across the sands from the neighboring coast.

The connection between the Mont Saint-Michel and the mainland has changed over the centuries. Previously connected by a tidal causeway uncovered only at low tide, this was converted into a raised causeway in 1879, preventing the tide from scouring the silt around the mount. The coastal flats have also been polderised to create pastureland, decreasing the distance between the shore and the island, and the Couesnon River has been canalised, reducing the dispersion of the flow of water. These factors all encouraged silting-up of the bay.

When Should You Go?

You should visit Mont Saint-Michel any time of year! But, you should know the best time to go is from May through October. Yet, the highest tidal range here exists in all of Europe! The swells can get up to a 50-foot range and you better adapt for a rising tide….

For more info on when to go and how to get there, read here.

Where Should You Stay?

There is nearby camping close to Mont Saint-Michel, but you can also stay in the abbey itself. It will cost you an arm and a leg, though. My recommendation is to stay in the Auberge Saint Pierre, which vastly resembles Hogwarts form Harry Potter.

For 10 fascinating tips about Mont Saint-Michel read here.

All in all. Mont Saint-Michel resembles something out of a fairy-tale and piques my interest in French history more than ever. I’d love to visit this incredible abbey on the shores of Normandy and I think it’s a place everyone should have on their bucket list.

Let me know what else is on your list and we’ll dive into another location next Tuesday.

See you out there.

Cam // info@ckcollective.co