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Mont Saint-Michel is a small rocky tidal island in Normandy, roughly one kilometre from the north coast of France. Mont-Saint Michel is one of the most spectacular sights in the world. Its name comes from a small island, a granitic outgrowth approaching 960 meters in circumference that reaches 92 meters above the sea, dedicated to Michael archangel. The Mount consecrated to St Michel in 708 was one of the first place of cult for the Archangel Michel with the Gargan’s Mount. UNESCO has classed the Mont Saint-Michel as a world heritage in 1979 and this mecca of tourism welcomes more than three million visitors a year. The church is crowned by a gold leaf statue of St. Michael by Emmanuel Frémiet, reaching a height of 155 metres above the sea.
The Mount was connected to the mainland via a thin natural land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high tide and revealed at low tide. Thus, Mont Saint Michel gained a mystical quality, being an island half the time, and being attached to land the other: a tidal island. Perched on a rocky islet in the midst of vast sandbanks exposed to powerful tides between Normandy and Brittany stand the ‘Wonder of the West’, a Gothic-style Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St Michael, and the village that grew up in the shadow of its great walls. The abbey presents a big panorama of the medieval architecture from the XI to the XVI Th century. Situated in the middle of a bay, the Mont Saint-Michel welcomes nearly three and a half million people every year this includes visitors, pilgrims and tourists. At the entrance of this medieval town is the ancient Burgher’s Guardroom now the Tourist Office. After going through the Boulevard Gate and then the King’s Gate fortified with its portcullis, you will find the « Grande Rue » or main street with its museums, shops and houses dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. Finally we get to the «Grande Degre » or Grande Staircase whose majesty is a prelude to the « Marvel ». After admiring the Abbey church, you can enjoy the beautiful and matchless view over the bay when going down the ramparts path. The parish church consecrated to St. Pierre, the patron saint of fishermen is a small edifice from the 15th and 16th centuries.
The old town at the base of the abbey hosts a wide selection of restaurants, cafes, fast food outlets and other food venues. Note that Mont Saint Michel is more than slightly a tourist trap with regard to refreshments and travellers’ needs – check a number of places for the best deal before ordering. Today there’s a road reaching Mont Saint Michel that is only flooded when the tide is very high. Most of the time now a sea of touring cars and Italian Campers is surrounding the medieval fortress, the small streets are packed with tourists, but there are still special arrangements for real pilgrims. Go early in the morning, to avoid the crowds.
St. Michael is a surety for freedom and thus this sanctuary also became a symbol of the allied landing in Normandy during the Second World War.