Mont Saint-Michel & the Bayeux Tapestry

In a bay in Normandy that sees some of the highest tides in Europe, an abbey with a supporting village grew on a rocky outcrop. The tide varies by 14 metres (46 ft) between high and low water marks, turning the land into an island twice a day.

We drove there from London via the Eurotunnel. Taking a car on a train is an unusual experience. You drive in at the back of the train and continue all the way through, parking in single file on either the top or bottom level.

You stay in your car for the duration of the crossing, which takes around 35 minutes from start to stop. When you arrive on the other side, you drive out the front of the train, up the ramp and directly onto the motorway, making it the fastest and most efficient way to cross the Channel.

We then had quite a long 4-hour drive to reach our stop for the night, B&B Hotel Avranches. This is a no-frills hotel that doesn’t even have a reception! Instead, there’s an electronic panel where you enter your booking reference number and it prints out a receipt with your room number and a door access code. It’s a very clever system and a quick way to check into the room after a long day of driving. It’s certainly not a glamorous hotel, but it’s perfectly good and one I’d recommend.

The next morning, after a breakfast stop at a village boulangerie for a fresh almond croissant, it was only a short drive to Mont Saint-Michel.

The original church was founded in the year 708 and has been modified and enlarged over the centuries. It’s been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979.

Entering the gates to the village, you’re transported back to medieval times. Tourist boutiques and restaurants have replaced the tradesmen and women, and on a summers day you need to have your wits about you navigating the dozens and dozens of bus loads of tourists.

The single road through the village leads up the hill towards the Abbey at the top. We caught a glimpse of a savvy tour guide, who revealed a secret shortcut through some residential alleys and yards up to to the top of the hill and bypassing the log-jam of tourists on the main road.

Can you see the alley to the right?

Short cut to the Abbey

The alley leads to a small cemetery. Keep following the path uphill.

Look out for signs of the giant golden eagle on the climb to the Abbey.

The new walkway across the bay, completed in 2014.

10th Century

20th Century

The Abbey was fortified in the 14th century, enabling it to hold out against a siege lasting 30 years.

The village is free to access and tour around, but the Abbey at the top of the mount requires a ticket that can be bought on the day. I’d strongly recommend taking the audio tour to learn more about the dozens of rooms you’ll pass through.

The Abbey Church, built in the year 1000 on top of the rock 80 metres above sea level with a gilded copper statue of St Michael at the top; the complex is once again a working spiritual site with monks and sisters living on site.

The cloister, a place of prayer and meditation, with access to various rooms and stairways

The refectory where monks took their meals in silence whilst one of them gave a reading from a pulpit (see the stairs on the wall on the right)

Huge fireplaces in the guest hall

The route through the different levels of the Abbey seems never-ending. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a small doorway leads to a whole new section you never thought was there. Underground crypts and additional chapels abound, providing essential foundation support to the building above.

The wheel installed around 1820 in order to winch a sled up the side of the Abbey to restock supplies. This was during the time the Abbey served as a prison.

Sled track

The Knights Hall, the work and study room of the Monks. The pillars support the Cloister above.

The exit from the Abbey tour is back at the top of the main road to and from the lower village. Follow this road back down and you’ll see all the shops you missed by taking the shortcut earlier.

Jan enjoying some of the local Normandy Apple Cider

Mont Saint-Michel partnered with Miyajima in Japan, collaborating as the iconic spiritual structures representing France and Japan respectively. We got to visit Miyajima a month later on our trip through Japan.

The Bayeax Tapestry

Nearly 70 meters long and 50 centimetres tall, this embroidered cloth depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England and culminates in the Battle of Hastings. The design consists of fifty scenes embroidered on linen with coloured wool yarns, so technically it’s not a tapestry. Nevertheless it’s an exceptionally large piece of art. It’s estimated to have been made in the 1070’s and the fact it survived for more than 9 centuries and remains in such excellent condition is remarkable. The tapestry has survived numerous wars, including almost being used as a wagon cover in the French Revolution or Himmler’s order for the SS to remove the tapestry from the Louvre. It is listed by UNESCO as a “Memory of the World” and since 1945 the tapestry’s home has been in Bayeax.

It is stored in a customised display in Bayeux, Normandy. Viewing the tapestry is a pleasant experience and credit must be given to the museum for it. Visitors receive an audioguide that starts automatically upon entering the gallery and playback can’t be paused or stopped as it describes the scenes in sequence along the length of the tapestry. This keeps everyone moving in sync and prevents congestion in front of any one scene. It makes you wonder why more attractions don’t do something similar.

The tapestry itself is made with four types of embroidery stitch, using 10 shades of wool yarn obtained using 3 vegetable dyes: red, yellow and blue/green.

The second and third floors above the gallery contain further exhibits about the origins of the tapestry and the events it describes, including a film that lasts about 20 minutes in alternate languages throughout the day. The whole experience exceeded both of our expectations, and it’s highly recommended. Don’t be like the elderly New Yorker couples we saw who went all the way there and said “I’m not paying to go inside, I’ll just look at it online.”

Links

B&B Hotel Avranches – hotel-bb.com

Mont Saint-Michel – ot-montsaintmichel.com

Bayeux Museum – bayeuxmuseum.com