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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Strategies For Visiting Mont-St.-Michel

Jean Allen Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Q. My son, daughter-in-law and I hope to go to France next spring, and in discussing itineraries (we will rent a car) I keep including Mont-St.Michel, one of the places I most want to visit. Is it feasible to visit this mountain in the ocean by car? Is it hard to reach from Paris, where we will begin our drive? How long should we stay to see it all? - A.T., Lake Worth, Fla.

A. It’s neither far nor difficult to get to the great mountain in the sea from Paris, so definitely keep it on your must-see list and plan a full day there or, better still, an overnight stay.

Mont-St.-Michel, on the Atlantic coast about 210 miles from Paris, is reached on good highways including some toll autoroutes, and the only way to get there is by road (or train then cab, bus or rental car).

During a visit last spring, I stayed at the St. Pierre. The hotel was built on the medieval ramparts that surround the mountain, far below the 11th- to 16th-century monastery that perches on a granite rock and soars into the sky at the summit. A statue of St. Michel (Michael) the archangel wields a sword atop a spire that rises to 515 feet. Michael’s sword was once knocked from his hand by lightning.

Some three million persons a year visit Mont-St.-Michel, and believe me, if you’re there in tourist season you’ll think they are all there that very day, shopping in the maze of souvenir shops and snacking at the umpteen restaurants.

But evening, when the daytrippers have left, is much better. The sunset and sunrise are memorable. After dark, the abbey and church are bathed in light, and the lighted ramparts are filled with promenaders taking evening strolls.

You get the feel, at night, of Mont-St.-Michel’s location, on a granite island at the border between Normandy and Brittany, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean at high tide (except for a built-up causeway), with huge shifting sand bars.

You see how the mountain’s only street - the “Grande Rue” - winds through a maze of corridors and stairways, bordered by medieval houses; once used by the devout on pilgrimages, the street is now the haunt of souvenir hunters.

At the mountain-top abbey, the few remaining monks hold services and authorize tours that take visitors through a maze of corridors and stairs, floor by floor.

According to the legend, St. Michael appeared in the 8th century to a bishop, who founded an oratory on the island. That was replaced by an abbey, and a series of increasingly splendid buildings succeeded one another on the mountain until the 16th century. Pilgrims poured in and hotels and souvenir shops flourished even then. As the abbey became dilapidated, it was looted during the French Revolution and used for a time as a jail, then a prison. In 1974, it passed into the hands of the Historic Monuments Department and became a tourism gold mine.

My room at the St. Pierre, with private bath, was reasonably priced, 430 francs (about $85) in high season, April through October, and 330 (about $65) the rest of the year. The St. Pierre, small and cozy, is a remodeled 15th-century half-timbered house. Sheep graze in the salt flats that surround the mountain at low tide, and my dinner at the hotel was lamb from that flock, tangy with salt and delicious. Most visitors try the famous fluffy omelets that were first served by La Mere Poulard, a restaurant and hotel down the Grande Rue from the St. Pierre. Several other cafes now offer their own versions of the omelet.

For people who don’t want to stay on the mountain itself, a cluster of motels and restaurants has grown up at the mainland end of the causeway. Some prefer to stay there and view the illuminated mountain from afar.

When driving around France, outside of Paris and other big cities, I seldom make reservations. But reservations are suggested if you want to stay on Mont-St.-Michel. The Pierre is a Logis de France. The Logis are family-owned places that emphasize comfort, tradition, quality food and service. Prices are modest.

Some bookstores have guides to Logis. But you can request brochures listing the Logis in the area you’ll be touring when you phone for a free copy of the France Discovery Guide at 1-900-990-0040, the French Government Tourist Office’s information line that costs 50 cents a minute. In addition to Logis listings, ask for a list of U.S. reservation numbers (most are toll-free) for French hotels, and hotel booklets offered by the Normandy Tourist Board. Other inexpensive choices are Chambres d’hotes, the French term for bed and breakfasts, and Gites, which are farm or rural cottages.

If you are uneasy about taking off on your own in France, Marketing Ahead, 1-800-223-1356, will create a choice of five driving itineraries and a selection of hotels in any area of France. Call for fees and specifics.

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