Mont Saint Michel, a tiny granite rock island off the coast of the border between Normandy and Brittany, is one of the most famous and enchanting sights in France. It is home to a preserved Benedictine Monastery that dominates the summit with surrounding village houses.

Its humble beginnings were in the 6th century when Christian hermits settled there and by the 10th century it had evolved into a Benedictine Abbey. It has had a dramatic history of ups and downs and now has evolved into a national monument that attracts almost a million visitors a year. It really is a must see if you are touring the west coast of France.

When we arrived on the island by bus along a raised road, we climbed the steep steps up to the monastery in the rain and then toured the medieval monastic buildings circling and climbing up to the abbey church. The interiors were at once monumental and spare, grand and gray. There was certainly an eerie almost transcendental quality that impressed and oppressed.

Relief from the gray stonework that dominated the interiors and exteriors were the outside pockets of green. The cloisters around a garden created an emerald jewel in the gray and cold stonework.

The views of the bay from the windows, cloisters and other outdoor spaces were amazing. You felt as if you were viewing the bay from the eyes of a sea bird.

*First photo is from the Mont Saint Michel guidebook cover.