From a distance, it looks like a castle resting in the grey ocean. When you set foot on the island, you're greeted by winding cobbled passages, unexpected steep staircases to hidden enclaves, and breathtaking views. (And for this one, I can speak from personal experience — it's definitely worth a visit.)
Originally known as Mont-Tombe, Mont Saint-Michel is a medieval village and ancient abbey in Mont Saint-Michel Bay off the northwestern coast of France. Surrounded by vast sandbanks, the spot is an island at high tides. Though the ragged rocky island is stunning in of itself, Mont Saint-Michel is even more notable as a vital pilgrimage site with a long, colorful history to tell.
Legend says that in the eighth century, Aubert, the bishop of nearby Avranches, was instructed by the Archangel Michael to build a church on the island. A Benedictine abbey was founded in 966, followed by the construction of a Romanesque abbey and monastery buildings in the 11th century. From there, the spot flourished into a major spiritual, commercial, and intellectual center, and a strategic fortress. For centuries, Mont Saint-Michel was one of the key pilgrimage sites in medieval Europe, and the monks there produced many manuscripts and books. Over the following years, the mont was both built up and battered. It endured a siege during the conquest of Normandy by Philip II of France in 1203 and a 30-year siege during the Hundred Years War, and the monastery was dissolved during the French Revolution and turned into a state prison under Napoleon I until 1863. It wasn't until 1966, at the 1000th anniversary of the abbey, that a Benedictine community returned, and monks and nuns remain at the abbey today. In 1979, Mont Saint-Michel was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Perched at the very top of the rocky island, the towering monastery is a patchwork of architecture from different eras, including an 11th/12th century Romanesque nave, a Gothic choir, and 8th-10th century crypts. The eclectic houses climbing up the hill beneath the monastery date in some cases back to the 15th century, now hosting homes, shops, hotels, and museums. Though it's now a major tourist attraction, if you stray from the main street it still feels like wandering back in time through a hushed ancient labyrinth.
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Visiting info: http://www.bienvenueaumontsaintmichel.com/en