№ 684. Mont Saint Michel

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Nicknamed the “wonder of the Western world”, the Mont’s history goes back to the year 709 when a sanctuary in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel was erected on the rock. It became a sacred site which continued to evolve from the 11th to the 16th century.

The abbey has witnessed key moments of French history, notably becoming a fortress during the Hundred Years’ War of the 14th and 15th century and surviving a 30-year siege by the British.

It became a prison during the French Revolution of the 18th century. By 1863, 14,000 prisoners had spent time in the “Bastille of the Seas,” where tides and quicksand made escape impossible. Prisoners’ families replaced the pilgrims who had once strolled the village lanes.

It was during the Belle Époque prior to World War I that the monument gradually became the worldwide tourist attraction we know today. One of its popular landmarks is the famous Mère Poulard inn, named after its founder, the brilliant cook Annette Poulard, which has been hosting visitors since 1888.

In 1944, author Ernest Hemingway, at the time a war correspondent, reputedly sat at La Mère Poulard’s table to describe the exploits of the D-day landings, including one of the decisive battles for the liberation of France and Europe, which took place a few kilometers from Mont Saint-Michel, near the completely destroyed town of Avranches. 

 

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