Normandy Region

When we began discussing spending 3 months in France, we all started to identify our “must see” attractions. Mont-Saint-Michel was at the top of Ellie’s list. Apart from monuments in and around Paris, Mont-Saint-Michel is the most visited tourist attraction in France. This incredible city, built upon an island rock, not only delivered on our high expectations, it gave us some wonderful moments and sights that we weren’t expecting. We also learned one important detail that will ensure we revisit this place again in the future!

First Impressions

After spending the last week or so in the Normandy Region, it was fitting that we would end with Mont-Saint-Michel. Nestled in the bay on the border of the Normandy and Brittany Regions, the famous landmark has been claimed by both. While the Normandy region claims the site itself, the bay in which it sits is clearly in the Brittany region. Both Normandy and Brittany proudly list the Mont in their tourism materials.

Ellie was overjoyed to learn that Kevin had booked a one-night stay on the island of Mont-Saint-Michel! She thought we were only planning to visit for a few hours. Instead, we would have much longer to explore and experience all the history and charm of this wonderful place! We arrived in the late afternoon, parked our rental car, and rode the shuttle bus to the drop off point. From there, we walked the rest of the way carrying only our backpacks for our one-night stay.

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We could quickly see that this beautiful medieval walled city, crowned by its stunning gothic abbey, was everything we imagined it would be, and more! The island and its surrounding bay were one of the first monuments to be classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1979. Le Mont-Saint-Michel is more than just a church on a rock, it is one of the few places in France to have preserved its medieval walls.

We walked through the surprisingly small gate and immediately felt like we had stepped back in time. We learned later that this island town provided the inspiration for the castle of Rapunzel’s parents in the Disney movie Tangled. Now that we know, we can’t believe we didn’t notice it before. The way that the buildings seem to twist higher and higher toward the abbey and the statue of the archangel Michael was stunningly similar to the renderings featured in the now classic Disney film.

We made our way to our hotel to check in and find our rooms. We couldn’t help but notice how the hotel hallways were structured around the very rock that the city was built upon. (This was not your typical rectangular and symmetrical building!) Like all of Mont Saint Michel, the rock island itself seemed to form the skeleton of every man-made structure. We were checked in at the front desk by a very friendly clerk who explained where we would eat our complimentary breakfast in the morning and offered to store our bags after checkout until we were ready to leave the island. All 3 girls and I ended up in the large bedroom, giving Kevin a night to himself in the smaller room just up the stairs from ours.

Once we’d settled into the space, we went out to explore and search for a place to have dinner. We ended up at Auberge Saint-Pierre where we had some delicious food in a beautiful, cozy atmosphere. The stone fireplace, wooden beamed ceilings, and half-timbered walls, mixed with the cheerful tinkling of wine glasses and soft murmuring voices of those at the tables around us, made us feel right at home. Sophie ordered Spaghetti Bolognese and was delighted to find that her meal included both a soup and an ice cream dessert. The adults and Rachel all split pizzas. We sampled the Régina (which featured tomato, cheese, ham, mushrooms, and oregano) and we just had to try the Chef pizza (which was tomato, mushrooms, chorizo, cheese, oregano, and topped with an egg).

After dinner, we decided to share a couple of banana splits (it was only fair since Sophie was getting dessert). This happened to be Rachel’s first-ever banana split and she was completely satisfied! Afterwards, we walked off our wonderful meal while exploring the town at night which we found to be a totally different experience.

Exploring Mont-Saint-Michel at Night

We had no map and no expectations; just bonus time after dark to do a little nighttime exploration of the medieval town. One of the benefits of staying the night on the island is the ability to explore at night. Unencumbered by the crowds of tourists that flock to the island each day, we were able to enjoy the cool fall air and quiet ambience after sunset. We enjoyed the cobblestone streets, narrow walkways, half-timbered homes, and stone stairways leading to any number of places. We walked up several staircases and meandered past homes where some of the limited inhabitants of this tiny city were sitting down for dinner or enjoying a glass of wine and a conversation. We explored a cemetery, listened to the choir singing at their evening church service, and found new vantage places from which to see the abbey, towering over the entire island.

We were awestruck by every structure we encountered. Each was literally built into the massive rock of the island. The contours of the rock were evident in the winding, narrow staircases and walkways. Crowning the entire city was the beautiful gothic abbey, lit up like a glorious palace. Ellie said later that she could’ve stayed up all night exploring.

The Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel

After a good night’s sleep, we stored our backpacks at the hotel and headed out to breakfast and a full day of exploring the abbey and the shops. We ate a wonderful buffet style breakfast where Sophie discovered a new love…Nutella! Stuffed full of delicious French food, we began the arduous task of climbing ALL the steps leading to the abbey. We arrived at the entrance and showed our passe sanitaire at the ticket booth and then continued the climb up even more steps to enter the abbey.

We walked through so many interesting rooms and areas throughout the tour. The abbey and its structures represent several different periods of architecture, as is common in old cathedrals and abbeys, particularly those that have experienced wars and natural disasters. Those different eras can be observed as you wander through both the interior and exterior of the building. In the late nineteenth century, the building was extensively renovated by French architect Violet Leduc. (Structural renovations were underway even during our visit.) We ended the tour in a room filled with treasures telling the history of the building and its various purposes over the centuries. Weapons, crowns, and jewelry were all on display along with interesting background stories about each item.

Exploring the Shops and Boutiques

We wandered through the cobblestone streets and into some of the shops and boutiques to see what merchandise was available and maybe find a souvenir. Rachel loved the weapons and begged for a real sword or dagger but gave up on her quest when she realized there was no way to pass through airport security with it. She is very into period costumes and weapons so she definitely enjoyed looking at the costumes and armor on display in a few of the shops. Ellie found a fabulous scarf in one shop. It was an item that she needed anyway and she used it many times during the remainder of our trip. Now, it serves as a great souvenir and a reminder of one of her favorite days during our time in France.

We also went in search of some lunch and ended up at a little open air restaurant near the entrance to the city. Most of us ate Croque Monsieur sandwiches while Sophie feasted on a Nutella gaufre, or waffle. It was all delicious and helped stave off the “hangry” that was beginning to settle in.

Outside the City Walls

Once we were finished with our lunch, we headed outside the fortified walls to take a look at the amazing city from a different vantage point. Since the tide was out, we had the opportunity to walk on the soft silt and roam around outside the exterior wall. (We do recommend caution if venturing onto the silt. Quicksand areas are abundant so keep an eye out for wetter areas that could be dangerous and don’t stray too far unless you have a trained guide familiar with the Bay.) From this view, we could see how this fortified city remained impenetrable during almost a century of war. This wasn’t always the case. Its monastery served as one of the great places of learning throughout the twelfth century and then became a place of symbolic importance during the tumultuous medieval period of history for western Europe.

During the period after William the Conqueror had conquered England, he set up his court at the Mont and thus it became a property of England. The town was captured and burned down by the French in 1204, after which they then rebuilt and refortified it. Later, during the 100 Years War, it was besieged by the English but never recaptured.

Why We Will Definitely Be Returning to Mont-Saint-Michel

When we arrived at Mont-Saint-Michel, we were surprised to see no water. We just assumed we would see the island surrounded by water when the tide came in later in the evening. What we didn’t realize is that, over the course of centuries, the Bay has gradually silted up. The process was accelerated by successful attempts, over the years, to claim flat fertile wetlands for agricultural use. This means that Mont-Saint-Michel Bay is several square miles smaller than it was in the Middle Ages when the first Benedictine monastery was built.

The Bay is one of the most variable tidal points in Europe with a variation of almost 50 feet. The highest tides occur in the spring in the day or two following the new moon and the full moon and, most particularly, at the spring and fall equinoxes. On these occasions, the sea can completely surround the Mont, except for the causeway. During periods of low tide, the Mont is not surrounded by water at all, even at high tide. We were there during a period of low tide. It was still stunning to see the island (and have the benefit of getting the views from outside the walls) but we would really like to see it surrounded by water. For this reason, we will be making a point of returning to Mont-Saint-Michel during one of these high tidal seasons to create even more amazing memories at this iconic location!