The day after Île de Bréhat we visited Mont St. Michel, which is a iconic landmark (and, thus, super touristy, but for good reason). It was amazingly, freakishly windy the whole time we were there. I wore sunglasses just to keep the grit out of my eyes, and had my jacket hood up most of the time, just to keep my hair under control. It was intense!
We parked near some fields about a mile from the Mont, and then walked towards it, with the Mont growing in size every minute as we got closer. The tide was out as we got there, so it looked like it was surrounded by vast expanses of salt flats. It used to be that when the tide would come in, the Mont would be totally cut off from the mainland. Since that didn't work out so well with tourists, they built a causeway, which then hindered the natural movement of the tides and caused the bay to silt out. They're currently building a new and improved bridge that will allow for free movement of the water and that will hopefully return the bay to its original state.
Once inside the Mont, we headed straight for the top to tour the abbey. To be honest, for me the tour was nothing to write home about. I realize that may be scandalous, but we were pretty much just wandering through some old buildings that were similar to lots of other old buildings I've seen before. The views were spectacular, though, and the building were grand, so I was quite content to wander around.
After our walking tour was completed, we watched the tide come in from the walls. The Mont experiences some of the largest tidal changes in the world, I think (?), and you can watch the water move in, each wave taking it further across the sand. We also had time to do a little souvenir shopping before heading out for the day.
After we said goodbye to Mont St. Michel, we headed back to St. Malo for dinner and were treated to a beautiful view of the harbor at sunset.
Mont St. Michel is beautiful in a fairy tale sort of way and the setting is truly dramatic. It was amazing to see it in person!
We parked near some fields about a mile from the Mont, and then walked towards it, with the Mont growing in size every minute as we got closer. The tide was out as we got there, so it looked like it was surrounded by vast expanses of salt flats. It used to be that when the tide would come in, the Mont would be totally cut off from the mainland. Since that didn't work out so well with tourists, they built a causeway, which then hindered the natural movement of the tides and caused the bay to silt out. They're currently building a new and improved bridge that will allow for free movement of the water and that will hopefully return the bay to its original state.
Once inside the Mont, we headed straight for the top to tour the abbey. To be honest, for me the tour was nothing to write home about. I realize that may be scandalous, but we were pretty much just wandering through some old buildings that were similar to lots of other old buildings I've seen before. The views were spectacular, though, and the building were grand, so I was quite content to wander around.
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| View back over the bridge construction project. |
After our walking tour was completed, we watched the tide come in from the walls. The Mont experiences some of the largest tidal changes in the world, I think (?), and you can watch the water move in, each wave taking it further across the sand. We also had time to do a little souvenir shopping before heading out for the day.
After we said goodbye to Mont St. Michel, we headed back to St. Malo for dinner and were treated to a beautiful view of the harbor at sunset.
Mont St. Michel is beautiful in a fairy tale sort of way and the setting is truly dramatic. It was amazing to see it in person!
