From Bayeux or Caen with a driver licenced guide, your journey will take you in a luxurious minivan Mercedes Class V or a saloon BMW serie 5 with A/C to explore the island of Mont-Saint-Michel with its medieval village and famous abbey overlooking the bay, whose foundations were laid in 708 by Bishop Aubert in honour of the Archangel St Michael.
In the 10th century, the Benedictines settled there and the place became both a major place of pilgrimage in the West and a centre of medieval culture with the writing of manuscripts by the monks.
The building of the abbey was done over a period of 1300 years from the simple construction of a sanctuary through the periods of Romanesque and Gothic architecture punctuated by destruction and reconstruction following fires, collapses, military and political conflicts. The greatest technical feat of the period was the construction of the Marvel, a three-storey Gothic tower representing the three states: the third state, the clergy, and the nobility.
From the 14th century onwards, successive conflicts during the Hundred Years' War between France and England made it necessary to build new powerful fortifications. The Mount was defended by knights sent by the King of France, who managed to resist the assaults of the English army for almost 30 years.
In the 17th century, the abbey tried to revive monastic life and pilgrimages. At the same time, the monks had to welcome prisoners sent by order of the king. The abbey was nicknamed the “Bastille of the Seas”.
The Revolution chased the monks off the island and the abbey housed refractory priests, common law or and political prisoners.
In 1863, the prison closed but the monument was severely deteriorated. Under Napoleon III, tourism development involved the construction of a road dike and a tramway line at the dawn of the twentieth century. In 1969, monks returned after leaving the place during the French Revolution. 10 years later, Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay were classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the village, stroll through the narrow, cobbled streets to visit the church of St Pierre, see half-timbered houses, the oldest of which dates back to the 15th century, or the house of one of the most famous knights, Bertrand Du Guesclin.
