In the tidal island of Mont-Saint-Michel, mainland commune in Normandy, France

 A magical island topped by a gravity-defying abbey, the Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay count among France’s most stunning sights.

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(in Manche departement, of the Normandy région in  France, off the coast of Normandy.) Mont-Saint-Michel, a rocky islet and famous sanctuary, lies 41 miles (66 km) north of Rennes and 32 miles (52 km) east of Saint-Malo. Around its base are medieval walls and towers, above which rise the clustered buildings of the village with the ancient abbey crowning the mount. (One of the more popular tourist attractions in France, Mont-Saint-Michel was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 (as was its breathtaking bay).

+ Mont-Saint-Michel is almost circular (about 3,000 feet [900 meters] in circumference) and consists of a granite outcrop rising sharply (to 256 feet [78 meters]) out of Mont-Saint-Michel Bay (between Brittany and Normandy). Most of the time it is surrounded by vast sandbanks and becomes an island only when the tides are very high. Before the construction of the 3,000-foot causeway that connects the island to land, it was difficult to reach because of quicksand and very fast-rising tides. The island was originally called Mont-Tombe but became known as Mont-Saint-Michel in the 8th century, when St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, built an oratory there after having a vision of the archangel St. Michael. It soon became a pilgrimage center, and in 966 a Benedictine abbey was built there. In 1203 it was partly burned when King Philip II of France tried to capture the mount. He compensated the monks by paying for the construction of the monastery known as La Merveille (“The Wonder”).

+ The island, which was fortified in 1256, resisted sieges during the Hundred Years’ War between England and France (1337–1453) and the French Wars of Religion (1562–98). The monastery declined in the 18th century, and only seven monks were living there when it was dissolved during the French Revolution (1787–99). It became a state prison under Napoleon I and remained a prison until 1863. In 1874 it was classified as a historic monument and restored. The abbey church that towers over the island has an imposing 11th-and 12th-century Romanesque nave and a choir in Flamboyant Gothic style (built 1450–1521). The church is built over three crypts. The exterior walls of the Gothic monastery La Merveille (built by 1228) combine the powerful characteristics of a military fortress and the simplicity of a religious building. The story of how the mount came to be a great Christian pilgrimage site dates back to the early 8th century. From 966 onwards, the dukes of Normandy, followed by the French kings, supported the development of a Benedictine abbey on Mont-Saint-Michel. Monastic buildings were added throughout the Middle Ages, one vertiginous wing in particular being nicknamed the Marvel. (The Abbey of the Mont-Saint-Michel became a renowned center of learning, attracting some of the greatest minds and manuscript illuminators in Europe.)