Mont Saint-Michel: The Tidal Island That Defies the Sea
Twice a day, the tide retreats to reveal the causeway to Mont Saint-Michel — a medieval abbey perched on a granite island that has been a place of pilgrimage for more than a thousand years.
Mont Saint-Michel rises 92 metres from a tidal island in the bay where Normandy meets Brittany, its medieval abbey and village climbing the granite rock in a series of concentric rings of walls, towers, and buildings that have been accumulating since the 8th century. The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway that is submerged at high tide — the tidal range in the bay is among the highest in Europe, reaching up to 14 metres — and the sight of the island surrounded by water, its spire catching the last light of the day, is one of the most iconic images in France. Mont Saint-Michel was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
The abbey of Mont Saint-Michel was founded in 708 AD, according to tradition, when the Archangel Michael appeared to the Bishop of Avranches and instructed him to build a church on the island. The current abbey, built between the 11th and 16th centuries, is a masterpiece of Norman and Gothic architecture — the Romanesque nave, the Gothic choir, and the extraordinary cloister known as La Merveille (The Marvel), which seems to float above the sea on its supporting arches, represent three centuries of architectural ambition compressed into a single building.
The village that clings to the lower slopes of the island below the abbey has been inhabited continuously since the Middle Ages, and its single main street — the Grande Rue — is lined with restaurants, souvenir shops, and the occasional medieval building that has survived the centuries. The village can feel overwhelmingly crowded in summer, when three million visitors a year funnel through its narrow lanes, but the crowds thin dramatically after the last tour buses leave in the late afternoon, and the island in the evening — when the day-trippers have gone and the tide is coming in — recovers something of its ancient atmosphere.
The tides of Mont Saint-Michel Bay are among the most dramatic in Europe, and the experience of watching the tide come in — moving, as Victor Hugo wrote, 'as fast as a galloping horse' — is one of the great natural spectacles of the French coast. The bay is also famous for its quicksand, which has claimed the lives of pilgrims and travellers throughout history, and guided walks across the bay at low tide — following the ancient pilgrim routes through the sand and the channels — are one of the most memorable experiences the region offers.
The surrounding region of Normandy is one of the richest in France for history and gastronomy. The D-Day beaches, where the Allied landings of June 1944 turned the tide of the Second World War, are 100 kilometres east of Mont Saint-Michel, and the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer — 9,387 white marble crosses on a bluff above Omaha Beach — is one of the most moving memorial sites in the world. The Norman cuisine — Camembert, Calvados, moules marinières, and the apple-based dishes that reflect the region's orchards — is among the finest in France.
The omelettes of La Mère Poulard, a restaurant that has been operating on the Grande Rue since 1888, are one of the most famous dishes in France — beaten vigorously in a long-handled copper bowl over an open fire and cooked until they are light and slightly runny, they are served as a main course rather than a breakfast dish and have been eaten by everyone from presidents to film stars. The recipe is a closely guarded secret, and the debate about whether the omelettes justify the price — which is considerable — has been going on for over a century.
The best time to visit Mont Saint-Michel is in spring (April-May) or autumn (September-October), when the crowds are smaller and the light is at its most beautiful. The summer months are extremely crowded, and the island can feel more like a theme park than a medieval monument. Arriving early in the morning or staying overnight — there are a handful of hotels within the walls — gives you the best chance of experiencing the island without the day-trip crowds. The highest tides of the year, which occur around the spring and autumn equinoxes, are the best time to see the island completely surrounded by water.
