Tourist information on Mont Saint-Michel, France

Mont Saint-Michel is a small granite island lying just off the coast of Normandy in northern France. Surmounted by an incredibly well-preserved medieval citadel, it is one of France's most iconic tourist attractions. Located 37 km to the east of the popular holiday resort Saint-Malo, it can be reached by bus from the train stations at the nearby towns of Rennes and Pontorson. Visitors are advised not to deviate from the marked access routes as the area around the base of the rock is riddled with dangerous quicksands.

In pre-Christian times, the rock was known as Monte Tombé and may have been a place of worship for Celtic druids. Its position made it a natural fortress, and it served as such from the Gallo-Roman era right through to the Middle Ages. In 708 AD, St Aubert, the Bishop of Avranches, built a small church dedicated to St Michel on the rock, thereby giving it its present name. A Benedictine monastery was founded on the island in 966, and over the following centuries this developed into a substantial fortress that would serve both a religious and military function during the Middle Ages. Mont-St-Michel was so well fortified that it resisted persistent attack from the English throughout the 100 Years War.

Even before the monastery had been built, the island was a place of pilgrimage. Today, it attracts half a million visitors each year, all eager to ascend the steep Grande Rue towards the abbey to marvel at a true architectural achievement. Enclosed within seemingly impregnable buttressed walls are huddled a collection of buildings which showcase the finest in Gothic and Romanesque architecture. The centrepiece of this extraordinary citadel is the church itself, dominating the view with its soaring 157 metre spire which is topped by a statue of St Michel. Other attractions include the Musée Grévin, illustrating life in the abbey with waxwork displays; the Archéoscope, presenting the history of the island; and a maritime museum with curios going back to the 16th century. Viewed from a distance, Mont-Saint-Michel is a dramatic spectacle, a fist of rock and stone thrust from the sea, defiantly facing down the forces of nature and the ambitions of man with its indomitable aspect.