Mont St Michel France

Mont St Michel in Manche department of Lower Normandy, France is connected to the mainland by a narrow road. It is located approximately one kilometre off the north coast of France, at the mouth of the river Couesnon near to the town of Avranches. By 2012 under a new development by the French Government it will become an island again.

The tides – reputably the strongest tides in Europe – have silted up the area around the “island” but under the new proposals to build a hydraulic dam, the silt will be removed. Le Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979 and is visited by an estimated 3 million visitors per year according to the official website.

The abbey is built around the granite apex of the Mont. The abbey features medieval architecture from the XI to the XVIth century. The exterior walls of the splendid Gothic monastery La Merveille ((Marvel)combine the powerful characteristics of a military fortress and the simplicity of a religious building.