Over 300 Steps to Wonder of the West

Legend has it that Archangel Michae with a gilded figure, perched on the vanquished dragon and crowned the tip of the abbey’s spire.

Conceptualised from the above dream, Bishop Aubert of Avranches built a chapel on the summit of the island in 708. Richard I, Duke of Normandy, gave Mont St-Michel to the Benedictines, who turned it into a center of learning in 966; and turned it into an ecclesiastical fortress in the 11th century, with a military garrison at the disposal of both abbot and king.

During the Hundred Years War, the English blockaded and besieged Mont St-Michel three times. The fortified abbey withstood these assaults, being the only place in western and northern France not to fall into English hands. After the Revolution, it became a prison. The abbey was returned to the Benedictines as part of the celebrations marking its millennium symbolically in 1966.

Known as “La Merveille”, this Gothic-style Benedictine abbey was built with elegance: high walls, soaring masses, open volumes, airy pinnacles, as well as a sharp silhouette of rock. The cloître is surrounded by a double row of delicately carved arches, resting on granite pillars. Don’t miss the Chapelle de Notre Dame sous Terre, its oldest room which was rediscovered in 1903.

The masonry used to build the abbey was brought by boat and pulled up the hillside using ropes. It used to be one of the most important sites of Christian civilization for pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. Today, souvenir shops, eateries and a forest of elbows are gathered in the “Grand Rue”. Leading up the slope of it to the star attraction, a stunning ensemble crowning the top: the abbey. 

In comparison to the millions of annual tourists, who crowd the winding streets that ascend to the pointed top, a handful of inhabitants actually live in Mont Saint-Michel. Perched on a rocky islet in the midst of vast sandbanks exposed to powerful tides, “Wonder of the West” stands at the limit between Normandy and Brittany. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

Whether to participate in a tour is a personal choice, but I highly recommend joining one to discover more in this maze-like abbey. How the 800 kg statue of Archangel Michael was placed by helicopter in 2016. It is not only decorative, but as the main lightning rod of Mont St. Michel. The seven religious sites dedicated to him are nearly a sacred straight line as his sword.

For a millennium now, the majestic views of Mont St-Michel and its Bay metamorph with the tides, capturing the imagination of anyone who crosses its sandy paths…