Mont-Saint-Michel: 8 things you probably didn't know about this French treasure

Rising out of the bay like a sandcastle on steroids, Mont-Sant-Michel has been attracting tourists and pilgrims for centuries. Thick fortress walls make up its base, above those rises the village. Climb up still further and you’ll reach the pinnacle of the rocky outcrop where the abbey and church loom over the sandbanks below. When the dramatic high tides roll in, the Mont emerges majestically out of the water. 

A UNESCO World Heritage Site set in a bay shared by Normandy and Brittany, it was founded as a religious sanctuary in 708 and in 966 Benedictine monks began work on the abbey. Added to over the centuries, it is an architectural wonder and its natural landscape plays host to a wealth of wildlife. But don’t be tempted to reach it alone, for the bay’s deadly secret is quicksand…

See a mysterious skull

Mont-Saint-Michel, originally known as Mont Tombe, is said to have been founded after Archangel Michael appeared in a dream to Aubert, bishop of Avranches, ordering him to build an oratory on the nearby island. It seemed like an impossible request so Aubert chose to ignore him. The archangel appeared again – Aubert was still not to be persuaded. By the third visit, the exasperated archangel poked the bishop in the head, burning a hole into Aubert’s skull. He finally took notice, and so Mont-Saint-Michel came to be.

Saint Aubert’s skull is normally kept in Avranches, but this year it will be on display at the Mont as part of the 1000th year anniversary of the abbey’s church. Various events will mark the occasion, including the exhibition The Archangel’s Home. Art, architecture and devotion in the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey’s church (1023-2023) which takes place from 20 May to 5 November. The skull is a mystery – some say it is that of a man who had been subjected to trepanning.

Witness high tide drama

The tides in the bay make quite a spectacle… the difference between low and high tide can be up to 15 metres and is at its most dramatic during a ‘spring’ tide just after every full and new moon.

Around the Mont, the sea withdraws by around 15 kilometres from the coast and then rises rapidly. The saying goes that the tide races in at the speed of a galloping horse – not quite, but it is fast!

The bay can be a dangerous place. You can book an official guide to walk the bay, safely see some quicksand and follow in the footsteps of pilgrims.

Don’t miss the ‘the tidal bore’ where a small but wide flood wave is formed when the incoming tide meets tidal waters from that of the rivers Couesnon, Sélune and Sée. It offers a thrill for kayakers.

It was once a prison 

Alcatraz, Rikers, Robben… Mont-Saint-Michel… the latter is not as famous for being a prison island but the harsh and unforgiving aspect made it particularly appealing when Napoleon I wanted somewhere to house those who opposed him. Some 14,000 prisoners passed through this “Bastille of the Seas” until it was closed in 1863.

Victor Hugo was deeply affected by the horror of the Mont’s prison. He wrote: "Around, as far as the eye can reach, infinite space, the blue horizon of the sea, the green horizon of the land, clouds, air, liberty, birds in full flight, ships with all sails set, and then all at once, on the top of an old wall above our heads, through a barred window, the pale face of a prisoner. I have never felt so strongly as here the cruel antithesis which man sometimes makes with nature.”

You can admire a reef of worm houses

Scattered across the bay, you’ll see rocky-looking mounds covered in tiny holes. These are the work of honeycomb worms, which have made weird homes out of sand and shell. Le Banc des Hermelles, as the reef area is known, stretches for more than 100 hectares and is the most extensive animal-made construction in Europe.

The biodiversity in the bay is incredible. Offering mud flats and salt-marshes, you’ll find a huge range of wildlife. The area is once again home to a colony of seals – they had been a presence for centuries but were hunted for their meat. They came back some 40 years ago and there are now around 80 seals in the bay. Their welfare is carefully monitored… if a mother is disturbed during birth she flees and leaves the pup, so a team of volunteers is in place to rescue any stragglers. The pups are then cared for until they are ready to be re-released. 

The island has more businesses than people

While not short on visitors (some 2.5 million a year, making it the most visited place in France outside of Paris) the number of actual permanent inhabitants is only around 40. Meanwhile, there are some 50 shops, restaurants and hotels. Residents include the monks and nuns from the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem, who came to the island in 2001.

You can get a really good feel for the place at night when the day-trippers have departed. Or go in the evening in summer when the abbey is open late and there is a light and sound show.

As well as the shops and restaurants, you’ll find the Maritime Museum and the Historical Museum, which has a reconstruction of the prison cells. There’s also Logis Tiphaine, which was once the home of knight Bertrand du Guesclin and his astrologer wife, Tiphaine de Raguenel: he had it built for her while he was away fighting during the Hundred Years’ War, with the Mont seen as the safest place to be. While he was off in battle, she would predict the fate of the world in the stars.

The Mont gave rise to a soufflé omelette 

In the late 1800s, young cook Annette Poulard would whip up an omelette over an open fire for hungry pilgrims coming to Mont-Saint-Michel. The soufflé-style egg dish became legendary, as did her hospitality, and her restaurant attracted royals, painters, presidents and other notables, with guests including Monet, Edward VII, and even exiled Trotsky. She would often ask her famous visitors for their autographs or a drawing: she barely left the Mont and this would be her link to the outside world. She is buried on the island with her husband. Their grave reads: “Here rest Victor and Anne Poulard, faithful husband and wife and excellent innkeepers. May the Lord receive them as they have always received their visitors.”

Later patrons of the restaurant included Ernest Hemingway who, as a war correspondent, pitched up there to refuel before covering the Normandy Landings. Tourists still dine at the restaurant today and the brand has become huge – you can pick up a pack of La Mère Poulard's 'pure butter' biscuits in stores around the world.

It almost stopped being an island

A build-up of silt and the 19th-century causeway were stopping the water flowing freely, so much so that Mont-Saint-Michel was in danger of losing its characteristic of being an island – some studies suggested that by 2040 it would become permanently connected to the mainland if nothing was done. Work took place between 2005 and 2015 to preserve its maritime aspect, including building a damn. Water now completely surrounds the island at particularly high tides.

The restoration project included building a new footbridge or if you don’t fancy the walk, you can take a 10-minute ride across in one of the free shuttle buses. At one time you could take a train. Between 1901 and 1938, a railway line linked Pontorson to the Mont. There were occasional trains after that, but the tracks were dismantled in World War II.

The Mont has a UK sibling

St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall is Mont-Saint-Michel’s UK counterpart and they have quite remarkable similarities – both have an Archangel Michael origin story – in Cornwall’s case, he is said to have appeared to fishermen to keep them away from danger, and the archangel popped up in Normandy to demand the building of Mont-Saint-Michel. Both became important pilgrimage sites. Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, St Michael’s Mount was actually handed over to the monks of Mont-Saint-Michel.

They both have their fair share of ghosts. Mont-Saint-Michel is considered one of the most haunted places in France and ghosts include military captain Louis d’Estouteville who defended Mont-Saint-Michel during the Hundred Years’ War and killed many. St Michael’s Mount has, among its apparitions, a Lady in Grey.

And they are both hugely photogenic – Mont-Saint-Michel inspired Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings films and the kingdom of Corona in Disney’s Tangled; St Michael’s Mount starred in Dracula and in the Game of Thrones prequel as the setting for Driftmark.