Things to do
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Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel
Benedictine monks built upward on the rock from the tenth century, stacking a Romanesque church over crypts and adding the Gothic cloister and refectory known as the Merveille. The route climbs through the village and a long stair to the west terrace, then loops down through the halls. Evening opening in summer adds music and low light, and misses the coach hours.
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Other
Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel
Quicksand, fog and a tide that moves fast across a shallow bay make the sands a guided walk and a serious one. Licensed guides lead crossings from Genets and from the causeway, three hours or so, through channels that shift with each season. Booking is required and the schedule follows the tide table, not the clock.
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Grande Rue
One narrow street climbs from the town gate to the abbey stair, lined with creperies, souvenir shops and the omelette house that made the reputation of the island for food. Stairways to either side skirt the worst of the press and reach the ramparts. Crossing the village takes ten minutes when empty and far longer between eleven and four.
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Mont-Saint-Michel Bridge
Opened in 2014, a low curving causeway on stilts replaced the earthen road that had silted the bay and let the sea run around the rock again. Walking its length takes about half an hour, with the silhouette changing all the way, and shuttles run the same route. At the highest spring tides the far end floods and closes for a while.
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Ramparts of Mont-Saint-Michel
Fortified walls and towers ring the village on its seaward side, raised during the Hundred Years War, when the island held out against English siege. A circuit of the walkway takes a quarter of an hour and gives the bay from every angle, with far fewer visitors than the street below. Steps are steep and unrailed in places.
