Mont St. Michel, France

Up until a few years ago, quirky Mont St. Michel, a tidal island (tides vary as much as 50 feet) located off the coast of Normandy, France, was in danger of losing its maritime identity. In the 8th century, a bishop established a small chapel there. A Gothic abbey, used during the French Revolution as a prison, followed a few centuries later. Then in the 19th century a causeway connecting the island to the mainland was built, preventing the sea from washing away silt that collected around the island. A dam that rose in 1969 had a similar effect. Land slowly crept up on the island. Now Mont St. Michel, which receives almost two and a half million visitors a year, is undergoing a face-lift aimed at turning back the accumulated sands of time.

For more than a thousand years, the distant silhouette of this island abbey sent pilgrims' spirits soaring. Today, it does the same for tourists. Mont St. Michel, among the top four pilgrimage sites in Christendom through the ages, floats like a mirage on the horizon — though it does show up on film. Today, 3.5 million visitors, far more tourists than pilgrims, flood the single street of the tiny island each year.

Drive in slowly on the causeway, watching out for fine views and crossing sheep. Park in the pay lot near the base of the island. Very high tides rise to the edge of the causeway, which leaves the causeway driveable...but any cars parked below it are left underwater. (You'll be instructed where to park under high-tide conditions.) There's plenty of parking, except midday in high season.

Around the Bay of Mont St. Michel is polder land, farmland reclaimed by Normans in the 19th century with the help of Dutch engineers. Today, this reclaimed land is covered by salt-loving plants and grazed by sheep whose salty meat is considered a local treat. The river below Mont St. Michel marks the historic border between Brittany and Normandy, who have long vied for Mont St. Michel. (In fact, the river used to pass Mont St. Michel on the other side, making the abbey part of Brittany. Today, the river's route is stable and the abbey is just barely but thoroughly on Normandy soil.)

The five-sided Boucle Tower was crafted with no blind angles, so defenders could protect it and the nearby walls in all directions. While the English took all of Normandy, they never took this well-fortified island. Because of its stubborn success against the English in the Hundred Years' War, Mont St. Michel became a symbol of French national identity.

In 2009, a new dam was completed. This one pushes sediment back into the sea. In April, the parking lot that rested on the causeway was closed and a new lot on the mainland opened. Construction on a bridge connecting the island to the mainland is underway. After it's completed in 2014, the existing causeway will be demolished, allowing water to flow around the island.

Looking for that uniquely different vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

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