Tokyo/NY, 2025 Silver Dawn

Today, we have an 8.5-hour excursion to Mont-Saint- Michel, the tidal island.

Amazing experience to see the majestic tidal island, to walk the streets, and to explore the castle and Abbey. We walked through the narrow streets: many people, shops, and eateries.

The legend of Mont-Saint-Michel begins in 708, after the archangel Michael appeared to a Catholic bishop three times in dream. Saint Michael asked him to build a sanctuary in his honor on an island called Mont-Tombe. The construction of this first oratory echoes the rise of Christianity in the West.

In 966, the Benedictine monks came to the mountain, and the construction of the abbey church began in 1023. The Mount became a place of pilgrimage for the entire Christian West. It welcomed pilgrims including several kings of France and England.

Strategically situated in the heart of the bay, the abbey was also a fortress during the Middle Ages. During the Hundred Years War, Mont-Saint-Michel resisted every siege thanks to the powerful ramparts, which made it an impregnable city, but undoubtedly, also thanks to the ceaseless coming and going of the tides. It became a symbol of victory for the kingdom of France.

In the 17th century, the abbey was gradually transformed into a prison, nicknamed the Bastille of the Seas. During the French Revolution, the State nationalized the property of the clergy and the monks were expelled from the abbey.

The abbey became a "central house" in the 19th century, and most of its spaces were refurbished to accommodate prisoners.

The abbey was classified as a Historic Monument in 1874.Read more