France: Mont Saint Michel

After spending a night in Honfleur, we continued our journey in reaching our destination which was in Bretagne (Brittany), France. But again, me and my husband did something we actually did not plan of going at all. On the way, I saw this island. From afar it looks like there’s a big castle in the middle of nowhere. I instantly looked at tripadvisor for “nearby places” it shows that we were 10kms away from the fortress that we saw. It was called Mont Saint Michel. I showed my puppy eyes at my husband and told him that I wanted to try and see the place. He said yes and our journey continues!

This view made me wonder, “what is that?!!!”.

Getting closer to the island clearly shows how beautiful the place was. It makes us more curious on what we can actually see and do in that island or if it is even available for public viewing. The closer we get, the more excited we’re to explore this wonderful island. To begin with, we first thought that we can just drive through the island, but instead, we were directed to their huge parking lot. After that, we walked near the reception area where there are free buses or the horse-drawn carriage for transport. You can also walk there, but we did not do it because it was too cold during our visit.

The bus tour was short and it was like touring you around their little village where it consists of hotels, restaurants and shops, and it was the fastest way to reach Mont Saint Michel.

After the short ride, we were brought to the bus stop and have to walk some meters to Saint Michel and finally reached our awesome destination! It looks even better when you are near the said island.

One thing that I have learned about this tourist spot was that, there are some seasons of the year or even in a day where it is inaccessible for public transportation because the sea level rises and Mont Saint Michel is again a floating island.

Upon entering the island, I would say that it felt like I’m walking at the Diagon Alley, or should I say the wizard world of Harry Potter. It welcomes you with a shopping street, restaurants and hotels. It is busy and alive even on a cold day, tourists can’t just get enough of this location.

The whole street will lead you to go up the Abbey. During the climb, you will be directed to different locations where you can get a panoramic view of the whole sea.

There are also people walking in the middle of the sea barefoot and in groups. We asked at the reception what is the reason for doing that, well they said that the visitors just liked it and for whatever reason it could be, it seems to be therapeutic.
There’s an entrance fee if you want to go further and see the inside of the Abbey. The line is crazy full that we have to wait at least 20-30 minutes before we can enter the whole place. But we would say that it was worth the wait.

Going inside the Abbey, it was actually what we’ve expected, it is majestic! Spacious, big and a lot of things to do and see.