Mont-Saint-Michel from Saint-Malo

Explore this island with its medieval village and its famous abbey overlooking the bay, whose foundations were laid in 708 by Bishop Aubert in honour of the Archangel St Michael. In the 10th century, the Benedictines settled there and the place became a major place of pilgrimage. The building of the abbey will be done over a period of 1300 years from the simple construction of a sanctuary through the periods of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. From the 14th century onwards, successive conflicts during the Hundred Years' War between France and England made it necessary to build new powerful fortifications defended by knights sent by the King of France. In the 17th century, the abbey became a prison that closed in 1863 under Napoleon III trying to develop the tourisme industry. In 1969, a religious community returned after having been chased under the French Revolution. 10 years later, Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.