Mont Saint-Michel: How to get from Paris, photos, prices, information. Mont Saint Michel Mont Saint Michel France History

(St. Michael's Mount), the Wonder of the West, as it is called. Today we will continue to get acquainted with it and take a walk through its territory and admire the surroundings. The spectacle is unforgettable. The sights of Mont Saint-Michel will not leave anyone indifferent.

... The car rushes us along a flat plain. All around is a typical Norman landscape: fields, copses, villages. And so, at some point, a point appears on the horizon that begins to grow rapidly. Then, to the right - the second one. The first is Mont Saint-Michel, the second is Tromblen Island.

The fields reclaimed from the sea, protected by dams and drained, begin - polders. Herds of sheep graze on the salty meadows, the meat of which, thanks to grass grazing, has a special, delicate taste.

Flocks of sheep graze on salty meadows

The picture of Mont Saint-Michel has a magical effect on all travelers. Maybe this is due to the enormous popularity of this place, or maybe it’s because the contrast between the pancake-flat plain and the high, lonely mountain is too striking.

On the way to Mont Saint-Michel, taken from the car

A yacht attracts our attention. She may have moored here during a high tide. Then the water went away, but she remained there. The wooden peg to which she is tied is especially touching. However, who needs it? There are a lot of yachts in Normandy, this won’t surprise anyone.

Yacht and abbey of Mont Saint-Michel

And here we are at the abbey. Dam connecting the island to the mainland is a huge parking lot. There are not just a lot of cars, but a lot of them. And new ones are constantly arriving. This is not surprising: Mont Saint-Michel is one of the most visited places in France. From Paris only 285 km.

Seagulls scream piercingly - where would we be without them?

Part of the parking lot on the dam is blocked off

We come closer and closer. There is a feeling that the fortress walls are a continuation of the rock; at times the transition from natural rock to man-made masonry is almost imperceptible.

Fortress tower of Mont Saint Michel

And here we will make a short stop and get acquainted with plan of the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel so that my further story is clear.

1. Abbey
2. Miracle structure
3. City
4. Watch terrace
5. External gate
6. Boulevard Gate

8. Royal Tower
9. Arcade tower
10. Freedom Tower
11. Low tower
12. Tower "Buckle"
13. Church of San Pierre
14. North Tower
15. Claudine Tower
16. Dam
17. Gabriel Tower
18. Strengthening warehouses
19. Chapel of Saint-Aubert
20. Saint-Aubert Spring

Mont Saint Michel is a symbolic representation structures of medieval society. The lower tier, where the village is located, symbolizes class "those who feed"- peasants, artisans and traders. Next follow the buildings intended for knighthood and kings - "those who fight". And finally, at the very top - the abbey where they live "those who pray"- monks. Mont Saint-Michel is crowned with a high spire and a gilded figure of the Archangel Michael - this is a heavenly world. Thus, Mont Saint-Michel connects the Earth, the Human World and Heaven. Maybe that's why he makes such a strong impression?

The "fortress of faith", as Mont Saint-Michel was called, can be reached by passing the External Gate, the Boulevard Gate and the Royal Gate with a drawbridge. Such an entrance is not accidental: in medieval fortification architecture, gates were considered as a “weak point.” And then we find ourselves on the main (and only) street - Grand Rue, which crosses the town of Mont Saint-Michel, located at the base of the cliff. It is full of shops, hotels, souvenir shops, there is a city hall, a parish church and even a cemetery. The peculiarity of this village is that its houses and fortress walls with towers are built on sand!

At the very beginning of the Grand Rue, almost at the Royal Gate, there is a restaurant "Mother Pulyar", famous all over the world. His story is like this. In the last quarter of the 19th century, when restoration work began at the abbey, Edouard Corroyer, who at that time held the post of chief architect of Mont Saint-Michel, settled here. Not a single inn was to his taste, and therefore he appointed his cook Annette Butio as the innkeeper. Soon she married a certain Victor Pulyar, and in 1888 she opened the “Mother Pulyar” tavern.

Despite the fact that delicious dishes were prepared here from a variety of products, Annette Poulard’s signature dish was omelette. This fact is easy to explain. It prepares easily and quickly. For tired travelers this is a snack while waiting for other dishes, for the poor it is the main meal. And during fasting and abstinence, it is a meal for everyone. Mother Poulard's omelet recipe is kept secret.

Tavern "Mama Pulyar"

Mont Saint Michel has museums:

1. Maritime Museum. Dedicated to the sea and the bay of Mont Saint-Michel. The exhibition presents the flora and fauna of the bay and grass meadows, as well as various sea vessels.

2. Archaeoscope. This is a spectacle of sound and light dedicated to the faith and magic of the abbey's builders. Here you can get acquainted with the history of the abbey and its philosophy, symbols and meanings.

3. Tiphena's dwelling, wife of Du Guesclin, who served at the court of King Charles V. Here you can get acquainted with the furnishings of a medieval home - simple, marked by the spirit of chivalry.

4. Historical Museum. The exhibition is dedicated to the history of the abbey and the people who lived here.

There are narrow alleys leading off the Main Street that only one person can walk through.

The road will lead up.

The main street leads to the entrance to the abbey. Here you need to climb the stairs Grand Degre, which is crossed in the middle by a gate located in the Claudine Tower, 15th century.

From here you can enjoy interesting views of the town and the sea bay.

Grand Degre staircase and small castle

Tromblin Island is visible in the distance. Daredevils walk along the seabed. This is very dangerous: you can get stuck in quicksand. In addition, you need to know the tide schedule.

The powerful walls are overgrown with moss and lichen, which makes it even more seem that this fortress-monastery is a creation of nature, not man.

The gate leading to the abbey is protected small castle, built in 1393 by Abbot Pierre Le Roy. Behind them begins the ascent up a very steep staircase, nicknamed "Abyss".

The higher you go, the wider the views of the surrounding area open up. The cars parked on the dam and nearby seem like toys. The Couesnon River winds like a ribbon.

Next we come to the place where Hospice, or the House of Mercy, where alms were given to everyone who needed it: the poor, the beggars, the outcasts, wanderers, widows, poor clergy and even lepers. Preserved cistern of the Hospice House, built in the 16th century, one of the four water reservoirs in the abbey.

The gaze is directed upward, where there is a sharp spire topped with a gilded statue of the Archangel Michael.

The facade of the monastery church was rebuilt in the classical style.

Facade of the monastery church and spire

We are at an altitude of 80 meters. It's scary to look down.

Mont Saint Michel, tower and spire

On the stones of the pavement you can see marks made by day laborers-stonecutters. This was a kind of stonecutter’s signature and information about the volume of work performed.

Stonecutters' marks on the pavement at Mont Saint-Michel

Next we enter monastery church, under the vaults of the nave. Here we see a mixture of styles. The nave of the early 11th century is made in the Romanesque-Norman style, with characteristic semi-circular arches. The vault, to make it lighter, was made of wood rather than stone. The transept contains an organ and seven chapels. In 1421, during the Hundred Years' War, the Romanesque choir collapsed. At the beginning of the 16th century, construction began on a new choir in the Flamboyant Gothic style.

Leaving the church, we find ourselves in cloister La Merveille(Miracle), an ideal place for prayer and reflection. It, like other buildings of La Merveille, was built at the beginning of the 13th century in a record 17 years for that time (I talked about La Merveille in a previous post).

From here there is a magnificent view of the tower and spire. The gaze involuntarily turns to the sky.

In general, in Mont Saint-Michel you constantly move from one room to another. Sometimes, in order to go lower, you first have to go higher. At some point you get lost in space and time.

Next we come to Wheel, installed in 1820, when the abbey was a prison. It was used to lift food for the prisoners upstairs. Similar wheels were used in the Middle Ages to lift various loads. Such wheels were driven by a horse, which actually lived in the wheel (horror).

Powerful chains and a “cradle” go down, on which everything needed was brought up.

After some time we find ourselves in Guest room, intended for noble pilgrims, including kings. Then - in Hall of Knights. It received its name in honor of the Order of the Knights of St. Michael, founded in 1469 by Louis XI. This was a workroom for monks. The hall was heated using two huge fireplaces.

Moving from room to room, we find ourselves in front of a figure Archangel Michael, a copy of the statue by the sculptor Fremier, installed on the spire. It turns out that this is what he is like!

From the halls of La Merveille we again emerge into the air.

Surprisingly, there is even a garden here!

The sun begins to set. And this means that the time has come to leave this amazing place. Low rays effectively illuminate the “fortress of faith,” the Miracle of the West.

And you realize that a day in Mont Saint-Michel is absolutely not enough to get acquainted with all its wonders and rich history. You need to come here for a few days to watch sunsets and sunrises here, stroll through the deserted night fortress illuminated by spotlights and absorb the spirit of this amazing place and the people who lived and worked here.

Goodbye, Wonder of the West! We will definitely come here again!

* When writing this post, materials from the guidebooks “Mont Saint-Michel” (Paris, 2006) and “Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel” were used.

Castle and Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel (Normandy region)

The Chateau Saint-Michel is one of the most charming attractions France. Mont-Saint-Michel was once a center of pilgrimage for monks who dreamed of visiting here to venerate Saint Michael.

However, not all righteous pilgrim-monks managed to get to the majestic 80-meter rock, separated from the land by water at high tide.

Medieval pilgrims faced death in quicksand or death from rising tides. Natural disasters have claimed many lives. The first buildings appeared here in the 8th century. According to legend, Bishop Aubert of Avranches in 708, at the behest of the Archangel Michael, built a chapel on the rock, which later collapsed.

In the 10th century, a Benedictine abbey was founded here, and in the 11th century, work began on the construction of a new Romanesque church. Gradually new buildings were erected around it. Over the centuries, they were rebuilt several times in Romanesque and Gothic styles, and a fortification system was created around the abbey.

This religious site was never home to more than 40 monks until the Revolution, when the abbey's buildings were requisitioned and turned into a prison. In 1966, exactly one thousand years after the founding of the Benedictine Monastery by Duke Richard I, the monks returned to Mont Saint-Michel. And today a small monastic community lives here, following the traditions established by the Benedictines in 966.

For many years now castle saint michel(the mountain) is not an island in the truest sense of the word. Today Mont Saint-Michel is connected to the mainland by a dam along which an asphalt road runs. Due to the dam preventing the waves from rising, the bay began to gradually become polluted. In the near future, it is planned to destroy the dam and replace it with a pedestrian bridge. This will make it possible not only to easily control the number of tourists, but will also help prevent pollution of the bay, while Mont Saint-Michel will remain an island as before.

Abbey of Mont Saint Michel

The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is an architectural ensemble dominated by a church topped with a spire with a figurine of the Archangel Michael and a Gothic monastery complex known since 1228 as “La Merville” (the hall of the knights, the refectory, the covered arcade and cellars). It can be seen from all points of the strait, but as soon as you get closer, it begins to inspire fear.

Here's what Maupassant wrote about it: “I reached a large rock on which stands a small city with an outstanding church. Walking up a steep, narrow street, I entered the most remarkable Gothic building that was ever made for God on this earth. The building is as vast as the city, full of rooms with low ceilings and high galleries, supported by pillars.

I found myself in an amazing gigantic room made of granite, which is so skillfully made that it resembles lace work. Towers and slender bell towers, crowned with chimeras, devils, fantastic animals and monstrous flowers and interconnected by an intricate network of arches, direct their peaks high into the sky.”

The highest point of the mount (château) Saint-Michel lies below what is now the transept of the church, where the transition from Gothic to Romanesque style is particularly evident in the naves. To create a church in the traditional form of a cross, with crypts, it had to be built on a hillside, and the entire structure, made of granite from the island of Chozet, had to be completely consistent with the terrain. Space was limited, but the building grew over the centuries with an architectural ingenuity that is especially surprising for its geometry. The construction of the monastery began with the gloomy Great Hall.

It is not surprising that the building of the monastery is not particularly smooth: the church, choir, nave and tower were completed and remodeled. Along with the architecture, the style of decoration also changed. IN medieval era the walls of public rooms, such as the refectory, were decorated with tapestries and frescoes, but now you will see bare walls. To get an idea of the abbey's history, look out for its curious models at the entrance, which depict four different eras.

Rest of Saint Michel Island

The fortifications of the abbey can be penetrated through the Royal Gate, which leads to the Grand Rue. Souvenir shops with overpriced goods are randomly scattered along its sides, which is a continuation of the ancient tradition of leaving pilgrims without money.

Grand Rue ends with a wide staircase with steep steps leading upward. On a plaque next to the stairs it is written that Jacques Cartier was presented here to Francis I on May 8, 1532, and was entrusted with the exploration of the Canadian coast. The Maritime Museum will introduce you to the underwater flora and fauna of the Bay of Saint-Michel, while the Archaeoscope will take you on a 15-minute journey through space and time.

Behind the 11th-century St. Peter's Basilica is the Grevin Museum. Its exhibitions are dedicated to the history of the monastery. Here you can see scenes from the life of former times, recreated using wax figures. Both museums are open from February to mid-November. Huge crowds gather every day at the North Tower to view the strait. Flocks of seagulls, despite the late hour, are mincing along the sand, but soon they will have to fly up to escape the rising water.

Useful information about the castle and abbey of Saint-Michel

On Mount Saint-Michel there is a tourist office below at the entrance to the monastery. A regular bus service connects Mont Saint-Michel with the train stations of Pontorson, Rena And Saint Malo. Although the island has a surprising number of hotels and restaurants, there are still not enough of them to cope with the real influx of tourists. Obviously, most of these establishments offer expensive services, however, almost every hotel still has cheap rooms.

Best known hotel La Mare Poulard. The legendary omelets that Leon Trotsky and Margaret Thatcher enjoyed (at different times) are prepared here, which justifies their extortionate prices. The cheapest option is Du Guesclin, where there is a TV in every room, and the Crois Blanche and Mouton Blanc hotels are of a high standard. It's sad but restaurants It's worse here than anywhere else in France, making it quite difficult to recommend anything.

Additionally, it is worth noting that large hotels and motels are lined up along the D-976 highway closest to the island, each of which has cafe or a restaurant. Among them are Motel Vert, Hotel Formule Verte and Hotel de la Digue. There is even a three-star campsite, Mont Saint-Michel, which is also on the mainland just off the road.

Most visitors to Mont Saint-Michel stay in Pontorson, which is 6 kilometers from the island and has the nearest train station with regular buses to Mont Saint-Michel. The hotels here are not particularly special, but, for example, Montgomery, which occupies an old ivy-covered mansion (13 rue du Couesnon), and Bretagne (59 rue du Couesnon) have very good restaurants. The recently renovated boarding house is located near the cathedral, 1 kilometer west of the station, in the Du Guesclin Center (21 rue du General Patton).

Visiting the Chateau Saint-Michel

Access to the island of Saint-Michel is free and unrestricted. There is a €5 fee for parking either on the highway or in areas that are underwater at high tide. If you come here by car in the summer, it is better to leave your car on the mainland somewhere near Saint-Michel and enjoy a walk (this way you can avoid possible traffic jams).

The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is open daily: May-September 9.00-19.00, entrance until 18.00; October-April 9.30-18.00, entrance until 17.00. Closed: December 25, January 1 and May 1. A standard ticket (9€, 6€ for 18 to 25 year olds, free ticket for under 18s) entitles you to visit all accessible places on the island and join one of the excursions, which are conducted in different languages (mid-June – mid-September excursion lasts 45 minutes, mid-September – mid-June – 1 hour).

A daily tour schedule is posted at the entrance. There are also more detailed tours that last a full two hours, but only in French (July and August daily 10.30, 11.30, 14.00 and 16.00; September-June Saturday and Sunday 10.30 and 14.00; 5 € extra).

Only in July and August is the Abbey of Saint-Michel open in the evenings. During this time, visitors can take a walk in the gardens (Monday-Sunday 7.00-21.00; admission is free if you have a basic ticket purchased at any other time of the day). Also, when music and video equipment is reinstalled in the abbey, you can stay here until midnight (Monday-Saturday 21.00-00.00, entrance up to 10 €, for persons 13-24 years old - 7 €).

December 10, 2013

Mont Saint Michel is an island-fortress, striking with its medieval buildings and picturesque location. A huge piece of conical granite, rising almost 80 meters above sea level, has long merged with the powerful walls of the Benedictine abbey, which have withstood storms, tides, Viking raids and religious wars. Mont Saint-Michel is considered one of the main attractions of France, and for me it is also one of the modern wonders of the world.
Mount Saint Michael (this is how the name is translated) is located on the border of Normandy and Brittany, therefore it is a bone of contention between these two historical regions, although it officially belongs to Normandy. In the bay of the same name you can observe some of the strongest tides in the world - fluctuations in water level can reach 14 meters. In this case, the water can recede or, on the contrary, spread deep into the coast for a couple of tens of kilometers.
Before this spring trip, I had already been to Mont Saint-Michel several times, but I had never seen it surrounded by water. This time I planned the trip to coincide with one of the highest tides of the year. See what came out of this in the continuation of the post.

In 1874, the island was recognized as a historical monument, and soon after that a flood-proof dam was erected in the bay (connecting Saint-Michel with the mainland), along which until recently a parking lot for tourists was built. But a few years ago, they decided to demolish the dam, as it posed a threat to the unique properties of the island and the bay - sand sediments delayed tidal waters. A pedestrian bridge is currently being built here, and a shuttle runs along the preserved path.

It is now impossible to get to the abbey itself by car, but you can live very close to the island, and on a very budget. Double room in hotel Formula Verte cost me only 50 euros per night (although they say that this hotel has recently closed). The shuttle stops almost under the windows, runs every 10 minutes, and the journey doesn’t take even five.

In a kind of buffer zone in front of the former dam, there are several hotels and restaurants for every taste. If you stay at one of the hotels, they will send you a code with which you can raise the barrier and enter the territory in your car. Moreover, the code can only be used once: if you want to leave this zone and then enter again, you will have to buy an additional code for a couple of euros. The system is a little strange, but that’s what the company decided Veolia- owner of a new parking lot.

The shuttles are free, gray buses with wooden trim. It’s warm inside, they walk quite often (every five to ten minutes) and practically all day - from half past eight in the morning until midnight. Even if it is very late and the shuttle is no longer running, you can call a special number and they will personally send a mini-bus for you, again free of charge. This is incredibly convenient if you want to take a romantic walk around the abbey by moonlight.

Mont Saint-Michel is always full of Japanese people who appreciate beauty. And in the summer there are no crowds of tourists of all nationalities, so the best time to travel is late spring or early autumn. In winter there are few people because it is quite cold and gloomy.

To find out when the highest tide can be observed, I used the site http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/en/horaire-marees/mont-saint-michel.htm. Here are the coefficients for the highest tides in each month. The higher the coefficient, the higher the water rises, and the more spectacular the views of the island. I decided to come at the end of March, when a tide of 104 was expected - the sea level in the bay rose by almost 14 meters. In the near future, the most favorable months are February, March, August and September 2014. Be sure to check the exact tide dates and times (twice daily).

The Couesnon River, which flows into the bay opposite Mont Saint-Michel, serves as the border between Normandy and Brittany.

In recent years, the Association for the Rescue of Mont Saint-Michel has carried out a lot of work to clear the bay of sand deposits, as the tides have become less pronounced over the years. At the same time, the dam at the mouth of Couesnon was reconstructed.

Directly opposite the island there is now a wonderful observation deck made of glass and wood - convenient, beautiful and environmentally friendly.

The water level in Couesnon is regulated by a dam. Heavy shutters protect populated areas upstream from tidal waves and floods. This is what the dam looks like when open:

And so in closed. The water level has risen slightly compared to the previous photo.

On the first day I observed the evening tide, which reached its peak at half past eight, that is, after sunset. The day was rather gloomy, and in the evening it became even colder and more uncomfortable. In addition, the next morning it turned out that a little snow had fallen during the night. In general, the weather was naturally wintry.

About an hour and a half before the peak of the tide, I dressed warmly and left the hotel to watch the rising water in the gradually thickening twilight. Here's how it happened:

Only three minutes passed from the first to the last photo in this series. The water level rises surprisingly quickly, because the tide can reach 6 km/h.

Since I couldn’t see anything new from the observation deck, it was decided to take a shuttle and head to the island. I had never been to Saint-Michel in the evening before. Not everything here has been improved yet, since the construction of a pedestrian bridge is in full swing, but when they finish it, it will be just a sight for sore eyes, judging by the visualizations

Something like this:

Mont Saint Michel at night is something incredible. There are almost no tourists, silence, waves, wind, seagulls... It feels like the medieval city is completely at your disposal - you can climb steep stairs, look into empty chapels, walk along thick fortress walls. Taking photos without a tripod turned out to be a waste of time, so I won't show you the rest of the evening walk. Let me just say that it was very atmospheric.

Not getting enough of Mont Saint-Michel due to the cold and cloudy weather, I went to Brittany, and on the way back I decided to stop by here again. This time the day turned out to be just right - very sunny and positive.

It's a completely different matter. The photo was taken at half past eleven - the peak of the tide. True, the coefficient is lower than on the first evening - 83 versus 104.

The abbey is covered with a light haze, like a veil, but you can still see the details.

On the first evening I only heard the splashing waves, but this time I saw it with my own eyes. The water came close to the stone walls. All that remains is to dismantle the dam, and Saint-Michel will become a full-fledged island.

A shot from a personal archive: this is what Mont Saint-Michel looked like in 2001. At first glance, little has changed, but you can notice a large parking area under the abbey walls. The water level is much lower - these are large “puddles” left after the tide. I couldn’t see the tide itself then, since I had to leave before dark.

Another shot from the archive - this time from 2005.

But this spring I finally saw an incredible picture - the deep Bay of Saint-Michel from the heights of the abbey. The whitecaps of the slightly chaotic tidal waves are clearly visible.

From the archive: the bay at low tide.

Flooded salty meadows where real lambs graze.

From the archive:

The second large island in the Bay of Saint-Michel is Tombelen. At low tide this bird sanctuary can be reached on foot.

Bird Island.

From the archive:

The tranquil cloister of the abbey.

From the archive (walks along the bay):

Thus, another little dream came true - to see how the waters of the Atlantic Ocean wash the walls of the Abbey of Saint-Michel. It seems to me that every traveler should see something like this in his life.

If possible, I will return here in a couple of years, when the pedestrian bridge is completed and the Mount of the Archangel Michael becomes an island again, and then it will be impossible not to include Mont Saint-Michel in the list of modern wonders of the world.

How to get there: by train from Paris (train station Montparnasse) to Rennes(2 hours 20 minutes), then by bus to Mont-Saint-Michel(1 hour 15 minutes). Or by car from Paris in 3 and a half hours.

Tell me, dear readers, do angels often visit you in your dreams and give you tasks? Does it happen that when you do not fulfill the demands of the angels, they hit you on the head, so much so that in the morning a dent remains on your head? No, no, everything is fine with me, it’s just thanks to such a miracle that we owe the appearance of the most beautiful place in France - the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel. And this is not a medieval pious legend at all, because... British scientists actually discovered a dent on the skull of the founder of the monastery. But first things first.

On an early and pleasantly warm August morning, we rode out on bikes. On this day we needed to get to the island of Mont Saint-Michel. The distance from the famous abbey is approximately 45 km, and after yesterday, when we strained ourselves a little on the shorter route from , I decided not to rush and save energy.

Fortunately, the road was very conducive to this. Almost immediately, a wonderful bike path began from Fougères. In general, there are quite a lot of them in Brittany. I provided a link to a map of cycling roads in Brittany. The fact is that previously there were many railway tracks that crossed the entire region in different directions. But at the end of the last century they fell into disrepair, and the authorities decided to demolish the rails and in their place create such a gift for cyclists. Because They try to make railway tracks with a minimum slope and as straight as possible, so traveling along such a route is a pleasure. Some of them stretch for tens of kilometers; on our route we coincided with the path for a little less than 10 km, but still I received extremely pleasant emotions, even on such a short section.

When the path ended, or rather, we turned off it, because... she went west towards Saint-Malo, and we had to go east, towards the border with Normandy., then the road still remained very pleasant. We passed picturesque villages.

This time I tried not to drive, but to stop in beautiful places, relax and take pictures. Isn't that great?

There were no strong slopes, then when I checked the tracker, it turned out that the balance had shifted towards the descent. Those. We rode downhill most of the time. The landscapes on the sides of the road looked something like this.

How can you not stop here?

Finally, we reached the Brittany border with.

It would seem that the regions are very close, but it seemed to me that the villages in Normandy looked richer. Many houses are interestingly decorated, for example, someone obviously lives with connections to the sea, there is a lighthouse and a ship’s propeller in front of the house.

Even the churches began to look different, although they moved only a few kilometers from Brittany.

In general, this time the 40 km to our hotel flew by unnoticed, although we made many stops and drove for almost three hours according to the tracker. But we hardly got tired.

And when, on the horizon behind the next field, I saw a tiny mountain, I was wildly delighted! It was a real state of catharsis when, after two days of torment, I finally found my little paradise.

We checked into the hotel Le Beauvoir in the village of the same name, about 5-6 km from Mont Saint-Michel. You could, of course, book a hotel right on the island, but for our dates the most budget option started at 250 euros per night. Even taking into account that we divided all expenses between two (i.e. it turned out to be approximately 9 thousand each), I still decided that, taking into account that we were on bikes, a very decent hotel for 70 euros just 5 km away was much more reasonable. Just think, it’s a 15-minute drive, so there’s no point in spending money on housing on the island.

Hotel Le Beauvoir turned out to be quite worthy (7.5 rating on booking). The most important thing is that they had their own parking lot and even a garage for motorcycles and bicycles. Great! In general, the question that worries many people is where to spend the night relatively inexpensively, but at the same time decently, in Mont-Saint-Michel has been successfully resolved.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/le-beauvoir-beauvoir.ru.html

By the way, the photo was taken just from the hotel. The location is great.

Of course, we couldn’t wait to get to the island faster. I lay down a little in the hotel... and slept for almost two hours, the angels in my sleep did not bother me. After which we wanted to have lunch, so we left for Mont Saint-Michel only around four o’clock. On the way from the island I made one mistake. I should have ridden my bike straight to the entrance, but I was afraid that there would be no place to leave my bike there. So we tied our bikes up in one of the parking lots and walked the remaining couple of kilometers. So, I will say that it is quite possible to leave bicycles right on the island, everyone does so. More precisely, they tie them to the railings of the bridge that leads to Mont Saint-Michel. Well, oh well, but we had a great walk. Maybe it even worked out better. Because We had enough time.

I realized that Mont Saint-Michel produces the main effect on tourists due to its surprise. All around stretches an absolute flat plain, some colorless sandy plains, withered grass, an endless expanse of water, and suddenly in the middle of this melancholic landscape, like an atomic explosion, a mountain with a city and a monastery forms. The eyes don’t believe it at first, but as you get closer, Mont Saint-Michel turns from a miracle and a mirage into a real and fleshy mass of stones.

This year, Mont-Saint-Michel completed the reconstruction of the entrance to the island. And now, instead of a stupid dam, an elegant bridge leads to the island. What’s nice is that all parking lots have been removed from the immediate vicinity of this miracle and now you can enjoy the views to the fullest.

It is no coincidence that I put the tag, Mont Saint-Michel is also an impregnable fortress. During the Hundred Years' War, it withstood more than 10 years of siege by the British.

We arrived at low tide, so it was possible to walk around Mont Saint-Michel. The main thing is not to fall into quicksand, hehe.

Well, it's time to go inside. Now my regular readers are waiting for me to begin, as is my habit, to be indignant at the deliberate touristicity of Mont Saint-Michel. How I did it, for example, in the equally beautiful . Ah, no! More precisely, yes, there are crowds of tourists here, this is still the most visited place in France by tourists after Paris. In the tiny Mont Saint-Michel, there are 20 thousand people a day during the season. But for some reason this time it didn’t spoil the impression. Apparently the fact is that the main tourist artery, Grand Rue, is very short and you can get through this traffic jam of people, countless souvenir shops and barkers in cafes in just a couple of minutes. And then here you can easily find a huge number of almost deserted places. And enjoy the peace and beautiful views there.

Or maybe I liked the crowded streets of Mont Saint-Michel because there are half-timbered buildings. Who knows!

Mont Saint-Michel is the point in Europe with the strongest tides. At low tide you can walk around the island, which people willingly use. Those who walk with official guides are given rubber boots, because... this “sand” is actually barely distinguishable from mud, and after such a hike, your feet are knee-deep in loam and silt that is difficult to wash off.

This is a long staircase leading to the abbey.

I compare my pictures with at least last year’s reports from other tourists and see that the new bridge fits very well into the surrounding landscape. We chose the right time. The buses you see on the bridge are electric, so they don’t create any noise or stench.

Fantastic! Do you see a long slope on the left? They used it to lift loads into the monastery; there is an interesting medieval lift there.

And here is an image of the very scene that led to the founding of Mont Saint-Michel.

According to legend, the Archangel Michael appeared to Bishop Aubert from the neighboring city of Avranches in 708 and ordered to build a chapel on the island. The bishop thought that he had imagined it and decided to wait. The Archangel appeared again with the same order, but the bishop turned out to be too slow to move and disobeyed again. The third time, the archangel burned a hole in the bishop's head, which was finally able to convince him to begin building the church. This legend formed the basis for the name of the island.

There are plenty of deserted corners here, you just need to be careful and move away from the Grand Rue.

The entrance to the abbey opened at seven in the evening, which was great, everything was open until 23.00. I don’t know what it’s like here on other days, but we were lucky to get to the show held within the walls of the monastery. I didn’t quite understand the plot of the performance, but it seems that the ancient Eagle was imprisoned in the dungeon of the castle, and he was trying to get out of there.

It was complete psychedelia, I’ll tell you, I almost didn’t take pictures, because... everything happened in twilight. But it was interesting, in each hall there was a light and sound show, art objects, etc. Great, because... All the premises themselves are very ascetic and are of no interest to non-specialists.

Abbey Church.

It's not hot at all even in summer, so take some kind of jacket with you.

The interior of the church is very modest, with virtually no decorations.

In the neighboring building adjacent to the church there is a “Miracle”. This is the name of this complex, in French La Merveille.

Inner courtyard of the monastery.

Graceful columns of the cloister.

Knight's Hall.

At the exit from the abbey, everyone was asked to depict their impressions. We were given a sheet of paper on which, using numerous stamps, we could print the main character of the show - the giant Eagle. In general, cool.

Chapel Saint-Aubert.

Gabriel Tower.

It turns out there is even a cemetery here.

Typical street of Mont Saint Michel. More precisely, not a street, but rather a set of interconnected stairs.

In some places you have to squeeze through.

Church of Saint-Pierre.

Favorite half-timbered building.

Well, well, the sun is starting to set. We must hurry to see the sunset.

La Mère Poulard is not only a souvenir shop (on the right in the photo), but also the most famous and delicious omelette in France.
http://www.merepoulard.com/
This restaurant cooks Aunt Annette's omelettes over an open fire. Auntie is quite greedy, so one hundred grams of the famous omelette will cost you at least 25 euros. We decided to ignore this attraction.

There was an idea to have dinner in Mont Saint-Michel, but we decided to choose spiritual food.

In the form of an unforgettable spectacle of a local sunset.

I almost didn’t scoff at the photo here; indeed, the picture was grandiose.

Well, the sun had set and it was time to head back to the hotel. I strongly recommend checking the tide schedule for Mont Saint-Michel, I think you can easily find it online. You can experience a unique natural show when the surrounding area is flooded with water before your eyes. But in our case, nothing like this was expected, so we went back to our village with a clear conscience.

Mont Saint-Michel (Le Mont-Saint-Michel) is a unique architectural complex consisting of a medieval abbey and a tiny commune near its walls, located on a small rocky island off the northwestern coast of France in the English Channel department.

Foundation and first centuries of history

The first buildings on the island of Mont Saint-Michel date back to 708. According to church traditions, their construction began after the Archangel Michael appeared three times to the Bishop of Avranches, St. I will give orders to build a temple on the island. According to archaeological data, it was built in the form of an artificial grotto on the site of even earlier chapels of the 6th century.

Since 933, following the Norman capture of the Contentin Peninsula, Mont Saint-Michel became an important fortress remaining in Breton hands. Around 966, the abbey became the property of the Benedictine Order. The construction of the Romanesque church of Notre-Dame-sous-Terre dates back to around this time.

In 1022, under the leadership of Abbot G. de Volpiano, construction of a new temple in the name of St. began on the upper platform of the island. Petra is 70 m long, partially based on earlier buildings. The church is crowned with a statue of St. Michael, rising to a height of 157 m. A dormitory was built near it, where the monks and the abbot lived.

Age of Prosperity

In the 12th century, the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel became one of the main centers of pilgrimage in Western Europe, and its wealth increased every year. Around 1184, Abbot R. de Torigny added two towers to the western façade of the church.

In 1204, the Breton soldiers of Philip Augustus were able to capture the island and burn most of the abbey's buildings on the northern slope of the cliff. After the restoration of the abbey, during the heyday of the monastery, up to 60 monks lived in it.

In 1211, the next stage of construction work on the island began. Over the course of 17 years, a new monastery complex was built. In its eastern part there is a Romanesque style refectory with excellent acoustics. Next to it there is a kitchen room, and a level below there is a hall for receiving guests.

In the western part of the monastery, a chiostro courtyard surrounded by galleries was built. Later, three large windows were cut into the wall overlooking the bay. Under the pavement of the courtyard there was a scriptorium and workshops, and even lower there were rooms for chaplains and basements.

From the citadel of the spirit to the prison casemates
Signs of the abbey's decline appeared during the Hundred Years' War and became especially obvious after its unsuccessful siege of 1424-1434 by the British. Despite the construction of a royal residence in 1470 and then a new central building in late Gothic style in 1520, its “golden years” were already behind it.

The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel was completely abandoned during the French Revolution of the 18th century. Most of the monastery buildings until 1863 were used as a political prison with the ironic name “Mountain of Freedom”. In some of them, before the ensemble was declared a historical monument in 1877, there was a straw hat factory.

Tourist route

In 2014, the architect D. Feuchtinger designed and built a new pedestrian bridge from the continent to the island. The abbey's bastions were built during the Hundred Years' War. Their first line is designed to protect a small town on the island. In 1524, the engineer G. du Puy built the Gabriel Tower at the entrance to the city, providing a wide view and a large field of fire for the besiegers.

On the square at the entrance to the fortress there is a fountain in the shape of a scallop shell. A staircase leads from it to the next courtyard to the “guard house” near which English bombards of the 15th century are installed. Through the gate, built in 1435 by the architect L. d'Estuville, tourists enter a tiny square and the Grand Rue street, flanked by 19th-century houses. There are museums of the history of the island and the archbishopric here.

Protected by the barbiken behind the bridge and the canal is the Court du Boulevard. One of the buildings located on the square housed the residence of the royal representative on the island. Next, a narrow path between two rows of houses leads to the gates of the abbey. It is situated between two towers, and the courtyard beyond is dominated by the east front of the abbey and the silhouette of Corbyn Tower. Built in the XI-XVI centuries. it covers an area of about 55 thousand m2 and is an example of a fortified monastery.