Le Mont St Michel is an island commune on the northwest coast of France, 247 acres and 44 residents.
Since the 8th century, a monastery has been here. According to legend, the archangel Michael instructed the bishop of Avaranches to build a church on the rocky isle. In former years, pilgrims had to come and leave on low tide. Today, many still come that way, as their muddy feet attests. However, now you can park your car and take a tram across a boardwalk to the base of the mount. At the bottom are shops, restaurants and hotels, and at the top (the very top, reached by many, many stairs) is the abbey, a community of monks and nuns of the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem. We attended one of the vesper services while there, and also had a communion service in the small parish church, led by one of our leaders who is a priest.
We also were able to tour the abbey on our own with an audio guide. There are many, many rooms.
Views from every point are immense and beautiful, as you can see from the photos.
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