Le Mont St. Michel is just west of Normandy on the north coast of France. We visited the Mont in July of 2004 on our way to Roscoff to catch the ferry to England. If you are ever in the Normandy area, this is one stop that is well worth the time and effort.

This island on the tidal flats is a rare sight and visible from quite a distance as you are driving up to it. While it was begun in the 10th century, it was a simple abbey settled by the Benedictines on the rocky hill top. Over the centuries, more and more has been added on, until the final spire in the 20th century (placed on top by helicopter). As an example of military fortification, the mount was an impregnable stronghold during the Hundred Years War. As a result, the mount became a symbol of national identity.

The amazing part of the construction is that because the island is essentially all rock, many lower buildings were built simply to support the cathedral structure at the top. There was an amazing amount of planning and design work that neede d to be in place before construction of the cathedral began.  In the picture at left, the cloisters are visible below the cathedral, one of the many supporting structures. The powerful buttresses seen at the right of the photo provide additional support.

Because the structure is so vertical, the passage of goods up to the top was quite difficult. This was made a bit easier (for some) by the use of a huge wooden wheel, used as a pulley to lift the supplies. Rather than pull on ropes around a wheel, the wheel itself was powered by humans walking on the inside. This was installed around 1820 when the structure was used as a prison (from the Revolution until 1863).

Belo w the cathedral and abbey structure, a tight little village grew up, slowly spiraling up the hill. The streets are quite narrow with the building tops almost touching each other in places. The town area is now supporting the tourist trade with restaurants, museums and gift shops. The street is congested with the many visitors from all different countries making their way to the top (photo at left). Luckily we got there at 10 am so were a bit ahead of the worst of the rush.

Today, you can drive up to the mount as a levy with a road on it has been built across the tidal flats. However, you park on the beach itself, so you must check the signs just inside the entrance that inform you in many different languages of the next high tide. If you leave your car out there too long, you won’t be able to get to it or drive it away. 

Many people go for walks across the flats, but are warned of the changing tide and the quicksand! From the top, there are great views across the flats which run for miles (right). When the tides come in, they come quickly, described as moving as fast as a galloping horse.

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