4K Le Mont Saint Michel Walking Tour In Normandy 2024 (With Captions) – Dreams in Paris

4K Le Mont Saint Michel Walking Tour In Normandy 2024 (With Captions) – Dreams in Paris

Welcome to Mont Saint Michel! This tidal island is located in Normandy, about 4 hours from Paris! Visitors to Mont Saint-Michel have the option to walk across the bridge, enjoying stunning views of the mount and the bay, or to take one of the shuttle buses provided.

I opted for the former to be able to show you the Mont’s beauty in full! This walk takes about 30 minutes but I tried to summarize it in the video.

While it looks like a castle standing freely in the middle of an island from afar, with the tower of the Abbey soaring through the sky, when you go closer, you’ll realize that it’s actually a village with inhabitants and leaders just like any other community.

Before the construction of this bridge in 2014, Mont Saint Michel was connected to the mainland by a causeway! This meant that at hide tide, the Mont Saint Michel was inaccessible so people had to wait for the tides to lower to cross.

If you’re not sure why this place was constructed in the first place, legend has it that archangel Michael appeared to Aubert of Avranches, the bishop of Avranches in 708 in a vision and directed him to construct a church in his honor on top of Mont Tombe​ (now Mont Saint-Michel)​.

Although the bishop ignored the angel’s request in the first 2 dreams because he wasn’t sure whether the visions were real, in the 3rd dream, archangel Michael poked him in the head and this time, the bishop obliged.

It is believed that this push created a hole in the bishop’s skull which is still visible today. The skull is on display at Saint-Gervais Basilica in Avranches. Over the years, Mont Saint Michel became a pilgrimage place, a home for various monks who translated Aristotle’s texts,

And at one point a prison during the reign of King Louis XI and the French Revolution since it was perfectly fortified and a bit far from everything which was the perfect environment for prisoners.

The tides around Mont Saint-Michel are among the most dramatic in Europe, with differences between high and low tides reaching up to 14 meters (46 feet). Depending on when you visit, you can see one of them or even both if you’re lucky.

For this visit, the tides were low, but on my previous visit, I was lucky to see both! The video above shows the high tides. These changes in tides make it appear as an island at high tide and part of the mainland at low tide.

Mont Saint Michel also faced a number of sieges over the years but due to its strategic location and fortification, it survived them, including the Hundred Years’ War, French wars of religion, and the French Revolution.

In 1863, the prison was closed, thanks to writers like Victor Hugo who condemned the act of ruining historical landmarks by turning them into prisons. The following year, it was restored and opened to visitors!

Since then, it has grown into one of the most visited sites in France, receiving over 3 million visitors every year. In 1979, the Mont Saint Michel was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site thanks to its religious importance and architectural beauty. And as of 2023, it’s been enlisted as a heritage village.

This is the main street at Mont Saint Michel. It has shops, a post office (like any community), souvenir shops, and hotels. It took over 1000 years to construct the Abbey. At the top is the golden statue of Archangel Michael to whom the church is dedicated.

The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel has been home to various communities of monks since its founding. The initial establishment of a monastic community dates back to 966 when Duke Richard I of Normandy installed Benedictine monks on the mount.

In 1966, on the millennium of the abbey’s foundation, a small community of Benedictine monks returned to the abbey. However, this arrangement lasted only until 2001, when the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem from Paris took over. As of 2021, 25 people live on the Mont Saint Michel.

The Cloister is where prayer, meditation, and processions were held here during religious ceremonies. This big wheel known as La Grande Roue was installed in 1820.

It was used to bring water and food to the Abbey for the Prisoners. One or 2 prisoners would “ride” on it to bring the food and water. Like many Medieval cities around the world, Mont Saint Michel is also surrounded by Ramparts that were used mostly for protection.

Today, they offer stunning views of the bay. It’s possible to walk on the soft sand of the bay, although it’s recommended to go with someone or even a group because there is always a risk of the tides coming in fast and getting stranded.

But don’t let that worry you! If you ever visit, make sure you check the tides timetable to ensure that high tides are not expected.

And that’s it guys! I hope you enjoyed this video! Let me know in the comments below if you did, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe not miss any new videos. See you next time. Bye-bye

In this video, I am taking you on a walking tour of Mont Saint Michel, a tidal island in Normandy!

We’ll walk from the parking area (where cars stop) to the Mont, and even climb the Abbey! You’ll be able to see inside the Abbey and enjoy views of the bay from the ramparts!

I’ve visited this place before for a weekend, but this time, I took a day trip from Paris to film this for you! This is the tour I took ➡️ http://www.getyourguide.com/-t118750/?partner_id=9Q90TJ1&cmp=SPExperience118750

Let me know in the comments below if you enjoyed this Mont Saint Michel Tour😍

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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction
00:29 Village Walk
02:20 Pont-Passerelle
18:05 The Bay of Mont Saint Michel
18:27 Mont Saint Michel
20:55 La Grande Rue
27:21 Église Saint-Pierre
35:38 Mont Saint Michel Abbey
41:57 The Cloister
1:02:37 Mont Saint Michel Cemetery
1:04:48 The Ramparts

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