Mount Saint-Michel, Tidal island and abbey in Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Manche, France
Mont-Saint-Michel is a granite islet at the mouth of the Couesnon, built over with a fortified village and a Benedictine abbey. A crenellated rampart with round bastions rings the base; above, steep-roofed houses climb to a massive buttressed structure crowned by a slender spire with a gilded figure of Michael.
Around 708, Bishop Aubert of Avranches built a chapel on the rock after three dreams of the Archangel Michael; the saint's touch left a hole in his skull, kept at Avranches cathedral. In 966 Duke Richard I founded a Benedictine abbey, and from 1023 the Romanesque nave rose. During the Hundred Years' War the English besieged the mount for eleven years, until 1434.
The abbey's name comes from the Archangel Michael, who appeared to Bishop Aubert in 708. The rock was earlier called Mont-Tombe, a Celtic site. Today the village at its foot, with the Mère Poulard omelette as a noted dish, serves the millions of pilgrims and tourists.
The island is reached by a footbridge and shuttle buses from mainland car parks. Streets are steep and cobbled, so wear sturdy shoes. The causeway was removed in 2009 and replaced in 2014 by a bridge about 760 m long that lets tidal currents pass beneath.
During exceptional high tides, the island becomes completely isolated from the mainland, with water encircling the rock in a ring that appears to float the structure. The speed at which the tide advances startles many visitors, as the water moves faster than a person can walk.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,087 contributors worldwide.
