Mont Saint-Michel

About

Mont Saint-Michel is a granite rocky island about 960 metres in circumference located east of the mouth of the Couesnon River, in the Manche department of Normandy. His name refers to the archangel Saint Michael, who would have demanded the construction of a sanctuary, according to a legendary account. Before the year 709, he was known as "Mont Tombe".

Throughout the Middle Ages, he was called "Mont Saint-Michel at the peril of the sea". On the mountain is the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel. The islet is a small part of the territory of the commune of Mont-Saint-Michel.

The mountain bathes in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, open on the Channel and rises in a large sandy plain. The island reaches 92 meters above sea level and offers an area of about 7 ha, the essential part of the rock being covered by the right-of-way to the ground of the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel and its estate. The monuments of the Mont and its bay are the most popular tourist site in Normandy.

The mountain is the third most visited cultural tourist site in France after the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles, with nearly 2.3 million visitors a year, bringing a reflection...