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Come and discover the Mont-Saint-Michel and its abbey on the border between Normandy and Brittany, one of the first sites to obtain UNESCO World Heritage listing. Be amazed by the prodigious accomplishments of medieval architecture, by the forces of nature, and the ever-changing light.
Visiting Mont-Saint-Michel
• A complete overview of medieval architecture. At the foot of the abbey stands the village with its fortified enclosure - built on sand! The abbey is built around the granite apex of the Mount. In addition to the Romanesque crypts and nave there is a Flamboyant Gothic choir. The ‘Wonder' (13th century) is a masterpiece of monastic architecture with two sets of buildings on three levels of the slope.
• Breathtaking viewpoints. The entire bay, with the strongest tides in Europe, lies spread out around your feet from the abbey.
Understanding the Mont-Saint-Michel
• A major place of Christian pilgrimage. The worship of Saint Michel was introduced on the Mount in 708, and it became one of the most important places of medieval pilgrimage. Benedictines started building an abbey here in the 10th century.
• Holding out against the assaults of man, time and the elements. The heroic resistance of the Mount to English attacks during the Hundred Years' War (14th and 15th centuries) made it a symbol of the French national identity. Monks left the abbey in 1790, and it was listed as a historic monument in 1874. The whole site has been returned to its former glory thanks to constant restoration work.
