Very interesting place. I liked one of the founding stories,
and enjoyed seeing the 'gerbil cage'.
Go to citation to see the video and pictures.

from
https://www.cnn.com/travel/mont-saint-michel-1000-years/index.html

The 1,000-year-old citadel that rises out of the Atlantic Ocean
Aurore Laborie, CNN
Updated 10:57 PM EDT, Wed June 14, 2023

One of France's most impressive monuments turns 1,000
00:54 - Source: CNN
CNN
—
Exactly 1,000 years ago this month, construction started on a
magnificent island building off the coast of France that, as it rose
improbably from the choppy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, would become a
lasting symbol of national fortitude.

The medieval abbey atop Mont Saint-Michel, a cascade of walls and
buttresses descending from a lofty central spire, was a spectacular
creation which has played crucial roles in French history over the
centuries.

Today, as it marks a millennium since work began, it’s one of the
country’s most popular tourist attractions outside of Paris – at times
overwhelmed by its own popularity to such a degree that its custodians
have urged people to stay away.

The abbey, which lies off the coast of France’s Normandy region, west of
Paris, has pulled in legions of pilgrims over the centuries. Today, it
attracts 1.3 million tourists each year.

“In the span of 1,000 years, its silhouette has become an emblem of
French universalism,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter
on June 5 following an official visit to the site. “Its abbey, the
symbol of what we are: a people of builders.”

To celebrate the abbey’s birthday, the Mont is hosting concerts,
conferences and a visual show called the “Millennium Solstice” on June
23 that will feature an unprecedented light show. Visitors can also
enjoy an exhibition about its history and architecture until November 2023.

A witness to history
France, Normandy, Manche department, Bay of Mont Saint-Michel Unesco
World Heritage, Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel during low tide, aerial view
Mont Saint-Michel was once one of the West's biggest pilgrimage sites.
Tuul & Bruno Morandi/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Rising out of a bay flanked by the regions of Normandy and Brittany,
surrounded by quicksand, the gothic Mont Saint-Michel abbey towers over
its village and thick fortress walls.

When the tide rolls in, the Mont emerges out of the water like a French
Atlantis, an architectural wonder set in a beautiful natural landscape.
It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

A “marriage of human genius and nature,” President Macron commented in a
speech celebrating the abbey’s millennium.

Nicknamed the “wonder of the Western world”, the Mont’s history goes
back to the year 709 when a sanctuary in honor of Saint Michael the
Archangel was erected on the rock. It became a sacred site which
continued to evolve from the 11th to the 16th century.

The abbey has witnessed key moments of French history, notably becoming
a fortress during the Hundred Years’ War of the 14th and 15th century
and surviving a 30-year siege by the British.

It became a prison during the French Revolution of the 18th century. By
1863, 14,000 prisoners had spent time in the “Bastille of the Seas,”
where tides and quicksand made escape impossible. Prisoners’ families
replaced the pilgrims who had once strolled the village lanes.

It was during the Belle Époque prior to World War I that the monument
gradually became the worldwide tourist attraction we know today. One of
its popular landmarks is the famous Mère Poulard inn, named after its
founder, the brilliant cook Annette Poulard, which has been hosting
visitors since 1888.

In 1944, author Ernest Hemingway, at the time a war correspondent,
reputedly sat at La Mère Poulard’s table to describe the exploits of the
D-day landings, including one of the decisive battles for the liberation
of France and Europe, which took place a few kilometers from Mont
Saint-Michel, near the completely destroyed town of Avranches.

Overtourism concerns
La Grande Rue, architecture and facades and shops, Mont Saint-Michel
At peak times, thousands of visitors throng the island's streets.
Pierre Longnus/The Image Bank RF/Getty Images
Mont Saint-Michel has always been extremely popular, attracting millions
of pilgrims throughout its history. “It was the biggest pilgrimage site
in the West, centuries ago, ahead of Santiago de Compostela,” Thomas
Velter, managing director of Mont Saint-Michel National Public
Establishment, told CNN.

Nowadays, around 3 million people visit the site every year, with some
weekends busier than usual. Ascension weekend in May saw the site
overwhelmed by visitors between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. – a number which
alarmed officials usually only expect in peak summer.

“We sold 10,500 tickets at the abbey, which is a record,” Velter told
CNN. “Ascension weekend is usually quite busy but in this case, it was a
lot of people all at the same time.”

In total, there were around 33,000 people on site, not a record in
itself, but still a lot for the Mont, which usually expects this amount
of tourists in August, the time of the high season.

“It’s primarily the visitor who suffers because the visit of the Mont is
less comfortable,” Velter told CNN. “Ever since Covid, tourists have
less tolerance for packed days like this because they were able to taste
the joy of visiting sites with barely any visitors.”

Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island 247 acres (100 ha) in size,
and is a commune in Normandy, France. The island has held strategic
fortifications since ancient times, and since 8th century has been the
seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The island is
France's most recognizable landmarks.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the island as a “marriage of
human genius and nature.”
Arthit Somsakul/Moment RF/Getty Images
With millennium celebrations, initial figures for 2023 suggest that
Mont-Saint-Michel will remain a very popular tourist attraction, which
poses some problems for its dozen inhabitants, shops and natural landscape.

“I don’t think it’s a good thing for the shopkeepers, hoteliers and
restaurants because they simply can’t keep up with the customer demand.
Mont Saint-Michel is a square kilometer in circumference, and one
shopping street. When you put more than 5,000 people at a specific time
on the street, I don’t think it’s very pleasant,” Velter said.

In efforts to increase sustainability, buses connecting the site now
run on biofuels rather than diesel. Meanwhile, visitors are urged to
explore the wider bay area during the peak 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours, and
to capitalize on free parking after 6.30 p.m.

“Take advantage of the nature and boat tours we’ve set up, for example.
There are seals, eels and Atlantic salmon here,” Velter said. “What we
often forget is that there is the largest colony of dolphins in Europe
so it’s also a chance to discover Mont Saint-Michel differently.”

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