We visited an incredible place in Brittany France……Mont Saint Michel. My photos really do not do the place justice. If you google Mont St Michel you will see some amazing photos. Mont St Michel is a monastery built on a rock tidal island around 1 kilometre off the northern coast of France. The island itself is less than 1 km in diameter. Nowadays there is a causeway which connects the island to the mainland.

This place is characterized by the highest tides in Europe (up to 14 meters high), steep rocks, and quicksand. Its surrounding waters can move 18 km away from the island and 20 km deep into the coast. For centuries all these features made Mont Saint-Michel an impenetrable fortress.

First inhabitants of this 92-meter tall mountain, ancient Celts, didn’t have any illusions about it and called it Mont Tombe (Mountain Tomb). Back then Mont Saint-Michel wasn’t an island: it was surrounded by the forest that was later washed away by ocean waters.

While the mainland was ravaged by wars, and captured by the Vikings, the Normans, the Bretons, the British, and other nations – the island-fortress remained untouched. Mont Saint-Michel is a Benedictine abbey. It occupies an area of about 55,000 square meters and it is regarded as a unique example of a fortified medieval French monastery. The top of the Cathedral’s spire is 170 meters above the sea level!

Mont Saint-Michel is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.