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Mont Saint-Michel, France
Mont-Saint-Michel is one of the places that impressed us the most during our tour in France. It's a magical place and the surrounding views are breathtaking.
What we consider important pointers
- Plan an early visit to the 'island' as it gets crowded very quickly. We visited in April and expected very little tourists. Boy were we wrong!
- Expect delays. We arrived first thing in the morning and still had to wait around 30-60 minutes to get inside. This was because of tourists and security checkpoints.
- Interesting point, accessing the Mont is free! You will need some money for souvenirs, food and the Abbey entrance fee (roughly $10 euros for adults). We don't entirely recall, however there might be price reductions for groups and seniors.
- Please consult the Mont Saint-Michel website for up to date information.
- Check out the self-guided audio tours or feel free to join in with an actual guide. They have specific times for French and English tours.
- We saw people going for a walk during low tide. So if that looks like something you would like to do, feel free to book one of the activities in the 'images' 👇🏻
Human guide instead of the multimedia
As for the Abbey, we recommend the guide since it's more of a human touch and there is much to be explained about Abbey's history. For example, there have been several changes in the decorations and structure since its construction. Many changes have taken place since the French Revolution affecting the art decoration inside. It was quite sad to see the inside stripped of its colours and decorations. The guide tried to get the tour to visualize this in our minds, well that kind of worked.
The church, reminiscent of a medieval castle, is huge with several halls and secret rooms to visit and there are beautiful views in every window that you have the opportunity to snoop around.
Our Ratings
We both really enjoyed our visit so here are our ratings.
Serge: 5 Eli: 5
Do we recommend ?
Yes, one of the most impressive places we visited in Europe. There is a lot of history and we truly recommend the guided tour.
Fun fact
Did you know the Mont acted as a prison back in the days ?
Tips:
- There are many hills and stairs to climb, so bring comfortable shoes.
- The winds and sea rapidly change in this area. We visited during spring and it was really cold. Make sure to bring some layers, just in case.
- Follow the rules, it's not an amusement park so be courteous and mindful of others.
