{"id":10128,"date":"2026-06-15T19:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T17:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/?p=10128"},"modified":"2026-06-15T19:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T17:45:08","slug":"north-to-normandy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/north-to-normandy\/","title":{"rendered":"NORTH TO NORMANDY"},"content":{"rendered":"

The day we left Saint-Malo and headed north to Mont-Saint-Michel was quite cloudy, but no rain was forecast. We arrived at the parking lot on the mainland just before noon, which was later than I would have liked, but we weren’t in any hurry. We knew there would be a lot of people on the island, but were hoping that because it was off-season that it wouldn’t be TOO crowded. You can either walk across the bridge that leads from the tourist center and the parking lots or take the free shuttle that runs every 12 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes to walk across but we took the shuttle since my knees and hips make me feel 80 these days. And we knew that it would be a lot of walking and a lot of CLIMBING once we reach the island. <\/p>\n

Mont-Saint-Michel has a population of 23. Most of them probably run establishments on the island or work in the Abbey itself. According to Wikipedia, it is visited by more than three million people each year, and is the most-visited tourist attraction in France outside of Paris. It’s a fascinating sight, and we actually saw it quite large (optical illusion) in silhouette on the horizon as we were approaching Saint-Malo two days earlier. There is not much around the island and it is an imposing sight as you cross the bridge. The tidal waters, which can vary as much as 14 feet in height, can now run freely under the bridge and a nearby dam help keep the silt from accumulating around the island. <\/p>\n

The shuttle stops some way from the island itself, and it was low tide when we arrived, so the sand flats were “dry” for a long ways out. There were a lot of people out walking around on them, braving the actual dangers of quicksand. We headed up to the gate and into the town. Despite its regal appearance, Mont-Saint-Michel nowadays is basically a giant tourist trap with a huge church on top. There is only one way up and around the base of the island, and we were squeezed between souvenir shops and restaurants as we ascended. It’s cobblestone most of the way, and then the stairs start, most often with no handrails at all. There are a couple of little history museums as well, but we didn’t have time for them as I had booked a guided tour of the Abbey for 3:15 pm. There are also not a lot of public bathrooms on the island, only one set at the entrance and one up at the Abbey (when we were there, only 1 of the 4 stalls was in operation!). <\/p>\n

The first monastery on the island was built in the 8th century, and it survived several sieges unscathed, after fortifications were added. It was converted into a prison during the 18th century, but the prison closed in 1863 and it was officially declared a historical monument in 1874. During WW2, it was occupied by the Germans, and became a major tourist attraction for Germans tourists and soldiers. Interestingly, after the D-Day invasion of Normandy that began on June 6, 1944, the island was liberated on August 1, 1944, by a SINGLE American soldier accompanied by two British reporters! <\/p>\n

We stopped partway up the ascent and grabbed a couple of (extremely dry) sandwiches and water for lunch and sat in the sun which had made an appearance. We were early up to the Abbey so we went on in and walked around a bit before heading back to join up with the tour guide and the group of English-speakers she was in charge of. It was super windy out on the terraces but we didn’t get rained on, at least. The tour wound around all the main parts of the Abbey including the terraces, the refectory, the cloisters, and the crypts and underground chambers which support the whole structure. There was a LOT of information about the construction and the history. \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n

I would have liked a little more time in the other parts of the island, but we had to get moving as we were driving north to Arromanches to spend two nights on the Normandy coast. Even though the reality of the tourist trap that the island has become was a bit disappointing, I was still really glad that we went and that I finally saw it in person. <\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"
\nCrepe cook<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"<\/p>\n

\"Mont-Saint-Michel\"
\nOur excellent tour guide<\/p>\n

NEXT UP: D-DAY AND GOLD BEACH<\/p>\n

Mood: happy
\nMusic: Morgana\u2014I’m Not Going Anywhere<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The day we left Saint-Malo and headed north to Mont-Saint-Michel was quite cloudy, but no rain was forecast. We arrived at the parking lot on the mainland just before noon, which was later than I would have liked, but we weren’t in any hurry. We knew there would be a lot of people on the island, but were hoping that because it was off-season that it wouldn’t be TOO crowded. You can either walk across the bridge that leads from the tourist center and the parking lots or take the free shuttle that runs every 12 minutes. It takes about...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14,27,7,16,3],"class_list":["post-10128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-goodthings","tag-holidaze","tag-obiterphotos","tag-thewaywewere","tag-wonderfulworld"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10128"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10150,"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10128\/revisions\/10150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lizardek.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}