Mont Saint Michel: A French Tourist Destination That Still Inspires

Mont Saint Michel (Jean-Christophe Dichant)

With four feet of snow piling up around my New England home, it’s no wonder I’m dreaming of Paris. This happens a lot. New England snowstorms are perfect for daydreams about somewhere else. Anywhere else, really.

France just so happened to be my last trip, so I keep drifting back to a little rendezvous just two hours north of Paris. We were three ladies in a rental car, armed with iPod, rain boots and a destination: a little-known spot called Mont Saint Michel. I knew virtually nothing about the cultural significance of this big pile of granite on the ocean. I just wanted one night in the country, in the dark, away from the dazzling Paris lights. (Sometimes we need a break from all the dazzle; it makes us miss it and eventually appreciate it more upon our return.)

The view from the top of Mont Saint Michel (Maggie Battista)

Two hours later, glowing from a cidre and mille feuille tasting (though both didn’t occur in the same place because that would just be too dreamy), a chance encounter with the sweetest apple orchard puppy, and barrels of rain falling around us, we came upon this rock with its abbey and elegant spire in the far-off landscape. My mouth went permanently agape and I just snap, snap, snapped photos.

Mont Saint Michel in the distance (Maggie Battista)

Now, I realize Mont Saint Michel is a huge tourist destination, like a French Disneyland if there weren’t already a French Disneyland. But actually seeing the abbey in person — from the first glimpse miles away, to the towering view from its base to the view of what feels like all of France and England from the very top — is fairly amazing and I’m so glad I saw it first-hand.

So now, as that snow keeps on falling outside, I thought it’d be fun to revisit my photos, all fantasy-like, and a few from some others across the Web. I hope you enjoy them too!

The garden at the top of Mont Saint Michel (Maggie Battista)

Our B&B in Normandy looks like a small Mont Saint Michel (Maggie Battista)

Mont Saint Michel in the distance, across a sheep field (Rudy Denoyette)

Related Links:

• Ice-Skating dance party this Friday at the Patinoire Pailleron
• Paris Food and Wine events February 3-10 (Paris by Mouth)
• Just how cold is it in Paris? (Carams)

Written by Maggie Battista for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris – and remember, we’re still offering up to 30% off our luxury properties in Paris this February.