Mont St. Michel Visit

Jean -- start writing and have EVERYONE you know do the same!

There's an existing spot just made for an elevator: the shaft in one of the walls where a pulley system was used for hauling up supplies.

Mt. St. Michel (at this time) is certainly not handicap accessible or ever friendly. Perhaps the new plan will include some type of trolley -- but I don't imagine there could ever be an elevator.

It's a shame but a reality when a place is that old! Not everything can be retrofitted. But, If it can be...they'll find a way!

When we took a friend to see Mont St-Michel in 2004 I took a book with and sat in a café while my husband and our friend made the climb up, feeling grateful that I had done so before my knees decided to become unpleasant. It's definitely not for anyone with a disability that makes walking, and especially climbing, difficult. Too bad that some people will never have the chance to see the Abbey.

The only other thought I might add is that the climb up to the abbey, when we went there in the early 90's, is not very easy for the handicapped or infirm. Being in good condition, we didn't think of that when my wife's mother was along with us and had to stop half way up when she saw the series of steps and steep paths ahead. She had a hip replacement 7 months before, and we had no easy way to get her up to the top. My sons were not big enough at the time to help me carry her the rest of the way, and I couldn't find any place that might rent a wheel chair. I don't remember there being anything in the literature as a warning about the climb.

Jean,

I hadn't thought about it that way. This is just a 21st century version of what it was in the Middle Ages.

I did truly appreciate the abbey and feel fortunate to have been able to visit it after years of waiting.

Absolutely!!!!! Been there twice with no regrets.

The village at MSM is an outgrowth of the Mount's being a long-time pilgrimmage site. There have been shops there for many centuries, offering all sorts of goods. Today is really no different; the problem is that many more people can now come to see the wonderful abbey buildings, and come they do! It's too bad that that crowded "street" puts many people off; the fact that one can go up the walkway along the ramparts is a well kept secret.

Anyone with a knowledge of history and an appreciation for architecture will enjoy Mont St-Michel regardless of the crowds.

It's as though it's two separate venues; the abbey and a cheap shopping area with a few restaurants thrown in. It's too bad the beautiful monument has to be cheapened by what they've done to the village below. Maybe the restoration will address that.

The bottom line should be what Karen has just said. Can you imagine anything else for the most visited "monument" in all of France.

As far as the other commentary in this thread goes.....it's apparent that you're damned if you do or damned if you don't.

Joe: as far as I'm concerned, it's already a Disney Land with nothing but "shopping opportunities"......and some pretty crummy stuff at that.

Each time I've gone, I timed my visits for sun up or sun down. Too many tourists fighting for space on the narrow cobblestone paths, if not. BUT -- Mont St. Michel should be preserved as a National Monument.

Considering that the land that was once mudflats was once a forest or pasture, and the land subsided to submerge it by the sea, it is interesting to think about how far back in time you want to restore the environment. If you want to go back to, say Roman times, then the land is restoring itself to an obove-water environment. If you want to have a Middle Age environment, when it was surrounded by sea, then yes you need to get rid of all the water. However, think how ugly a bridge would be, totally contrary to the Middle Age environment. Maybe Villepin's next thought is to make the lower village into a Middle Age Asterix Park !!

More coverage of the efforts to save Mont St. Michel

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6062301690.html

Al -- guess I am reading and writing too quickly these days. Plus, I do need to have my eyes checked.

thanks,

Karen

KARIN........the estimated cost and length of construction is right there....190,000,000 bucks and about 6 years.

Al: French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is ever so correct. I didn't see the article and thank you for the update. Was there a reference to the cost and how long this project will take? No one can find fault in preserving this national treasure before it's no longer.

Changes going on at Mt. St.Michel. The following was noted in the Saturday Arts section of the NYTimes.


Restoring Mont-St.-Michel

At Mont-St.-Michel, the rocky tidal islet off the Normandy coast that is crowned by a medieval Benedictine abbey, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin opened a vast engineering project yesterday to remove centuries of silt, Agence France-Presse reported. The picturesque abbey, founded 1,300 years ago, is the most-visited tourist attraction in France outside Paris. For centuries it was accessible by land only during low tide, but the encroachment of surrounding mudflats has kept it cut off only at very high tides. With the new project, which is expected to take six years to complete and cost $190 million, a 19th-century dyke linking the mount to the mainland will be replaced by a bridge, and a sophisticated new dam on the Couesnon — a tidal river that flows into the bay — will be used to flush mud and silt out to sea. While climbing the 360 steps leading to the summit of the mount, Mr. Villepin said, "It is a small piece of eternity you can touch with your finger."

Chuck-

I'm with you. Each way has its benefits and negatives.

Sam, no question you can make it cheaper that way, but the bus is more convenient, as you have to tqake the bus anyhow from the train. In addition the bus will bring you back home, in many instances right to your hotel. And for people who are not as experienced in Paris as you are or maybe I am, this is also worth a few €-s.

BP Chuck

It may ruin the view, but it will more people into the island! And I guess that watr they want?

BP Chuck

Chuck,

The parking lot is marked for areas of high tide: very useful!

Eventually there is to be a bridge replacing the causeway, which in my opinion will ruin the view of the Mont from the mainland.

Teresa......I'm getting a bit confused. I don't understand how your one day trips out of Paris involve your Paris hotel reservations. On a one day trip (no matter which day it is) you'll be back at the hotel to sleep that night. If not you are really planning for 4 days out of Paris and changes the complexion of how you explained the trip.

Both Cityrama and Paris Vision charge around 150E for a one-day Mont St. Michel trip. While that includes lunch, it's more than twice the 66E SNCF fare and you could get a heck of a lunch and guided tour for 85E. My preference would be the train for the 6 or so hours of travel since you can get up, walk around, and likely get a drink or a sandwich, and with SNCF arranging the connection to the short bus ride, it seems pretty easy. Also, one unknown with road travel is the amount of traffic delays you'll encounter.

Jean, this is a newer development. It used to be that ALL motorised vehicles stayed in the parking lot, on the main-land, and you walked across or took a shuttle. Obviously I was behind the times on this issue. Sorry, and thank you for correcting me!

BP Chuck

Chuck,

I'm confused when you say that the causeway from the mainland to the Mount is "not for motorised vehicles," as we drove across it into the parking lot last September.