Mont-St-Michel - Encircled by the Sea,

Mont-St-Michel - Encircled by the Sea.

I think we have all looked at photos of the silhouette of Mont St Michel standing majestically all alone off the French Coast and surrounded by the sea and said I must see that enchanting sight for myself –well today we are going to visit and explore this magical place.

 

                                               View of Mont-St-Michel from the car park.

 

A view of the Abbey looking across the farmland around the bay.

 

Mont St Michel stands at the mouth of the River Coulson, in the Bay of Mont St Michel which is influenced by extremely strong tides. The island is about a mile from the mainland and it used to only be accessible at low tide when people had to walk to the island, but today it is linked to the mainland by a causeway and a shuttle bus ferries visitors from the car park to the island. No cars are allowed (or are able to navigate) the narrow lane ways on the island. A continuous stream of people visit this exquisite site every day. There are massive engineering works taking place that are reversing the silting up of the sea around the island ensuring that this fantastic tourist attraction stays pristine and accessible.

Mont St Michel grew from humble beginnings back in the 8^th century to become a Benedictine monastery that had its greatest influence in the 12^th and 13^th centuries. The monastery was a renowned centre for medieval learning and it has attracted pilgrims from all over the world for centuries.

                        The houses and other buildings on Mont-St-Michel as we climbed to the Abbey. Note the tide is going out and the mud flats are starting to show.

 

Mont St Michel was a lot larger and much more impressive than I had ever imagined or expected it would be. It consists of many buildings including a narrow Grande Rue lined with shops and restaurants, many quaint stone houses with slate roofs that people call home, a cemetery, churches and chapels, ramparts and towers, gardens with solid stone walls–all are built on and around the rocks that make up the island and perched majestically on top and actually doubling the height of the initial rocky outcrop is a stunning Abbey. This Abbey is protected by high walls and the Abbey and its Church occupy an impregnable position on the island – they are a fortress.

You could not come to this wonderful place and not want to climb to the Abbey at the very top. As soon as you enter the main access gate and cross the draw bridge and start walking up the pilgrims way though the all the tourist shops and restaurants you start your climb. It is quite a climb and it takes quite some time but it is not difficult because at every corner there is something else to look at and admire –the views out over the sea are breathtaking and improve with every step you take. The architecture of the medieval buildings that you pass is just captivating, the gardens and flower boxes are bright and colourful and the religious statues and the cemetery just have to be investigated. There are stone seats for you to take a rest on and just so much to see and enjoy.

 

                   Part of the Abbey Complex and its Spire with St. Michael and the dragon on the top.

 

You do not have to pay to go onto the island of Mont St Michel but there is a cost to enter and explore the Abbey. The Abbey of Mont St Michel is called La Marseille and it is a large three story Gothic monastic complex built in only 16 years and it is a masterpiece of construction perched so high and built so soundly into the rock. Your informative journey through this magnificent three level structure is extremely well laid out and includes visiting the beautiful Abbey Church, the Knights Room, the Refectory, the elegant Cloister Garden and the abbey garden, various Chapels, Abbots lodgings and the several Crypts. It was just fantastic.

 

                                      The Abbey Cloister and its beautiful enclosed garden.

 

Inside the Abbey - with its beautiful tiled floor and plain but really nice glass windows. Abbeys are a lot plainer than French Churches. They do not have as many religious pictures or statues.

The walk back down and back to the shuttle bus was equally as interesting and enjoyable because the track and steps takes you down the opposite side of the island. By the time we are leaving the tide has gone right out and you can now see small groups of people on conducted walking tours on the sands and mud flats that are now exposed. This magical place is no longer surrounded by the sea it is now surrounded by beach sand and mud, and looks totally different.

 

St. Aubert's Chapel is a small 15th century chapel built on an outcrop of rock and dedicated to Aubert the founder of Mont-St-Michel.

 

                                                   View of Mont-St-Michel from the causeway.

We spent about six hours at Mont St Michelle and just loved and enjoyed every moment of it. The history of the island is just fascinating and you have to just stand and wonder in amazement at how the people of that time actually built such a grand complex of buildings in such an inaccessible place– and they had to contend with those tides as well.

I will never forget our wonderful time at this very special price.