Travel Tips - Visiting Mont Saint-Michel France

Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, France
{mohn-san-mee-shel'}

This Magnificant Monument Is A Must See!
Located 150 miles northwest of Paris: Mont Saint Michel is not only an important place of
worship, but is also a fortified site.

Mont Saint Michel is a monastery built over the course of 1000 years following the Archangel
Saint Michael appearing in a dream before the bishop of Avranches. The first small chapel on
this rocky, cone shaped islet was built in the early 8th century. The present Benedictine
Abbey that you see today has buildings in the Gothic style that date from the 13th century.

Sometimes the Mont is in Brittany and other times in Normandy: Brittany and Normandy are
separated by the River Couesnon, the river has changed its bed several times during past
centuries, leaving Mont Saint Michel sometimes in Brittany, sometimes in Normandy.   Today,
Mont Saint Michel is officially in Normandy. There is a saying: "The River Couesnon in its lunacy,
has gone and left the Mont in Normandy"! Nobody knows for how much longer...

The statue of Archangel Saint Michael towers 560 feet above the English Channel. Mont Saint
Michel was an island until a causeway was built at the end of the 19th century. It was
separated from the mainland by one mile of sand at low tide, or by water at high tide. The
range in tides is one of the greatest in Europe: it can be 46 feet between high and low water
marks. The bay around the Mont is absolutely flat and the rising tide is said to sometimes
match the speed of a galloping horse.   Many a pilgrim died trying to walk across the sand
during low tide, only to be sucked under by quicksand.

From the year 1000 on, and for 6 consecutive centuries thereafter, the Dukes of Normandy
and the pilgrims financed the construction of additional structures despite the difficulty of
building on an island only accessible by foot. During the French Revolution, the fortified abbey
became a prison for political opponents. Mont Saint Michel was designated an official French
National Heritage Site in 1872 and is restored on a yearly basis by the French Government,
much to the delight of its visitors

QUICK FACTS
Phone: 02-33-89-80-00. Fax: 02-33-70-83-08.
E-mail: hochet@monuments-france.fr
Abbey hours: May 2 to August 30: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. (last admission at 6 p.m.).
October 1 to April 30: 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. (last admission at 5 p.m.). Closed on January 1, May
1 and December 25.
Web site: www.monum.fr

Tours & Admission: Various rates for adults, reduced-rate admission, groups, and students
— based on whether visit is unaccompanied, led by a guide, or with audio commentary
provided. Prices start at 8 Euro for adults.   Please refer to web site for list of rates.

Access by car: From Saint-Malo — exit n° 2, secondary roads D 155 and D 797 towards
Pontorson, then secondary road D 976.
From Caen — exit n° 8, main road N 175 towards Rennes, up to Pontaubault, then secondary
roads D 43, D 75 and D 275 to the Mont Saint-Michel.

Access by train: From Paris you can take the train to Rennes and then go by bus to Mont
Saint-Michel. www.sncf.com. The train journey takes approximately 2 hours from Paris
Montparnasse to Rennes, then 90 minutes by bus to Mont Saint-Michel. You can leave Paris
at 9am and be in Mont Saint-Michel by 1pm.

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