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Day #8: Saint Malo and Mont-St-Michel 8/10/03 Sun | Home
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| On a clear morning you
can see the
Mont-Saint-Michel across the bay to the north of Saint Malo. It
will be a VERY short drive along the beach, to make up for yesterday. In the early
eighth century, the Archangel Michael appeared to Bishop Aubert of Avranges,
who started an oratory. In 966, a Benedictine monastery was established. In
1020, Richard II began the Abbey Church, and supported Abbot Hildebert's
construction efforts. Over time, the spiritual foundations of the abbey
waned, and in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries it was used
as a prison. In 1874, the French government assumed responsibility for the
abbey's upkeep and restoration. It is located on an island which, at high
tide, is totally surrounded by the ocean. At the top is the Abbey, complete
with stained glass windows, and a really cool military hideout with a system
of mirrors that allow you to see outside as with a video camera. Near the
middle is a classic oubliette, a huge hole about 50 feet deep, where
prisoners were thrown and left to die and rot. At the bottom is a huge
statue of the Archangel Michael, made of solid silver. Wear your hiking
shoes for this! I think 2 days on the seashore is not too much. We go back to the same hotel that night.
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Don't get there before you can get
in! High
Tide Schedule
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Ouvert mai-septembre : tlj. 9 h-17 h 30 ; Unaccompagnied visit : 7 € each.
Open
A little Flash presentation... You'll need Flash Shockwave for this, click here to download. |
 Mont-St-Michel
From Saint-Malo: exit n° 2, secondary
roads D 155 and D 797 towards Pontorson, then secondary road D 976 |
