Mont Saint-Michel

Mont-Saint-Michel: it always surprises. There are so many things to say about it: a place that is both mystical with its “wonder” (the cloister at the top of the mountain) and the golden statue of the Archangel Saint Michael slaying the dragon overlooking the bay. The authentic with Mother Poulard and her famous omelette, her narrow streets. The shifting sands of the bay. It is an ancient place of pilgrimage which attracts crowds but also a place which finds peace once night falls.

Since the new pilgrimage jetty "Jetée du Mont-Saint-Michel" was completed in 2014, the way to the famous monastery island has been an experience in itself. The gradual rapprochement is perhaps even nicer than the hustle and bustle in the alleys under the church.

However, the footbridge is not only used for access. Together with a new tidal dam, which retains flood water and drains it again when the opportunity arises, it serves to sand the bay and counteract the gradual silting up.

The architecture of Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay make it the most frequented tourist site in Normandy and one of the ten most visited in France - first site after those of Île-de-France - with nearly two million and a half visitors each year (3,250,000 in 2006, 2,376,000 in 2018).

A statue of Saint Michael placed at the top of the abbey church rises 157.10 meters above the shore. A major element, the abbey and its outbuildings are classified as historical monuments by the 1862 list (60 other constructions were subsequently protected); the islet and the coastal barrier of the bay appear since 1979 on the list of the world heritage of UNESCO as well as the mill of Moidrey since 2007. In addition the mountain benefits from a second world recognition as a stage of the Paths of Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in France for "the pilgrims of the North of Europe (who) passed by the Mount when they went to Galicia".

In 2018, the town had 30 inhabitants, called the Montois. The islet of Mont Saint-Michel has become over time an emblematic element of French heritage.

Source: Wikipedia