2. MONT ST MICHEL—A FRENCH ICON
We drove to Mont St Michel during the terrible transport strike in November in Paris—we needed to get out and do something other than sit at home, go to a special place, and Mont St Michel sure is that, one of THE top sights in France.
Mont Saint-Michel is special for so many reasons.
Mont Saint-Michel is a geographical wonder. As you drive closer, you see flat fields and then quite suddenly there’s a hill in the distance, rising offshore, with an amazing town atop its own island. It looks like an enormous, sculpted, thousand-year-old birthday cake rising from the sea. Layer upon layer of buildings constructed in different styles at different times. As we arrived it was misty, then pouring with rain, so the hill and its buildings were indistinct, but after we found a hotel at the end of the causeway, a miracle: the sun came out just as it was setting and lit up the island. Magic. Shimmering, warm golden light.
Mont St Michel is an island, or at least it used to be. It’s now connected to the French mainland by the causeway, built in 1878. This land link caused much of the bay to silt up, but the French government has initiated work on a new bridge instead of the causeway, and dams on the river allowing the water to circulate and to restore Mont Saint-Michel as an island.
Mont St Michel is a pilgrimage destination. Archangel Michael appeared to St. Aubert in A.D. 708 and ordered him to build a church on the island and since then it’s been an important pilgrimage center. Now it’s more of a tourist destination, but there is continuity and there are still around 100,000 pilgrims each year who cross the bay on foot. (This is allowed only with an approved guide). It’s still a pilgrimage for some of the tourists—one Japanese girl got off her bus, stood there speechless, and prayed!
When you arrive, don’t be too quickly turned off by what you encounter at the bottom after the drawbridge entrance and along the only road up to the abbey—tacky museums, and tourist shops full of mass-produced “souvenirs”. You’ll also find several rather expensive, touristy restaurants that aren’t nearly as appealing as their menus imply. Remember that even in the Middle Ages this was a commercial street with vendors selling souvenirs, candles and food to the thousands of pilgrims. (The restaurant at the Relais du Roy Hotel on the land side of the causeway is wonderful).
Past the shops and services you climb up the spiraling road to the top to visit the Abbey. As you walk up notice narrow walkways, stone stairs and hidden side alleys, but also many lookouts over the causeway and bay, with its mud flats and distant polder land. The reclaimed land is covered with salt-loving plants that are grazed by sheep—their meat is a delicacy—and you may be lucky enough to see sheep grazing next to the causeway.
The Abbey on Mont Saint-Michel is an architectural wonder. It’s so multi-layered with so much more than meets the eye from the causeway, and is quite justifiably called the “Merveille” (the marvel).
—the timeline is so long, more than 1200 years. Today’s abbey is built on the remains of a Romanesque church, which stands on the remains of a Carolingian church.
—think of the design and construction. The monks built this church on the top tip of the rock to be as close to Heaven as possible. But, there wasn’t enough level ground to support such a church, so they had to construct 4 huge supporting crypts under the church, to support each wing.
—the whole abbey is not just the church, but three levels of buildings, for all the living necessities of the time: living, feasting, meditating, learning. In fact, as you wander around you realize that it’s like a whole small town, with cloisters, passageways, halls, refectory, crypts, ossuary, gardens, walkways.
—the buildings are made of granite stones, quarried from an island 20 miles away, and transported here by barges using tidal power. Stone-cutters were paid by the piece and carved their number onto each stone—we can see many stones with numbers on the now-exposed West Terrace.
—imagine the complexity of finding people at that time to do the actual building. Many were not trained, but followed orders. Most important was the architect, who had to design the buildings, not only for safely but also taking into account all kinds of symbolism, especially using combinations of shapes and numbers.
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1. PROVINS: A MEDIEVAL FAIR TOWN
A World Heritage Site (from December 13th, 2001)
This pretty medieval town is easily accessible from Paris (a 2-hour drive), so is perfect for an overnight stay.
The initial approach to Provins doesn’t look that inspiring, although you can see the tower and the cathedral high on the hill, and doesn’t prepare for what you actually find: a wonderful, partly walled Medieval town. Follow the signs to Old Town, which take you first up the hill around the back past the Visitors Centre, a very friendly place where you can get a good map, lists of restaurants and hotels etc. We found a great “gite” that way. (www.provins.net ).
More than a mile of crenellated ramparts circles the haute ville (upper town), which we entered through the Jouy Gate. Restoration work is being done on one of the old 13th century entry gates—St-Jean’s Gate—plus on parts of the walls and ramparts but that doesn’t detract from how spectacular they are.
Provins was famous in the 12th and 13th centuries for its huge trading fairs, or foires, after the Counts of Champagne introduced a passport of safe passage across their territory for merchants. Carts and wagons full of goods from all over Europe and further thronged the streets—cloth merchants from Flanders, Lombardy money-changers, spice merchants from the Orient, poets and intellectuals.
The center of the upper town is the Place du Châtel, a large square (with easy parking) surrounded by half-timbered buildings and several cafes, including some good creperies. In the center, the well and the Exchange Cross date from the 13th century. The cross was used as a public notice board for the edicts of the counts.
The upper town is crowned by the 12th-century Tour César (Caesar’s Tower), a turreted, fortified keep that overlooks the fertile countryside. We also visited the domed Saint-Quiriace Collegiate Church, erected in the 12th century, but never completed due to the French kingdom’s financial difficulties. The dome was built in the 17th century following a fire.
Of note is also the Grange aux Dîmes (Tithe Barn), a huge 13th-century building used by merchants during the fairs to sell their wares. If you have time (we didn’t) you can also visit the Underground Galleries.
A stroll the following day took us down to the ville basse (lower town). Walking on the narrow cobble-stoned streets, lined with grey stone buildings, or lovely half-timbered houses painted in different colors, brings alive the atmosphere of long ago—it’s easy to imagine the folk in the previous centuries walking around and living here, as the atmosphere and surroundings are very evocative of the past. Peer up or down very narrow alleys, marvel at huge stone doorways.
The presence of history is very strong. But, it’s also a modern town, living in the present, and celebrating its past. Typical boulangeries, boucheries, charcuteries are busy and stand next to modern ATMs and banks, and a Monoprix store was bustling that Sunday morning. It’s interesting how a supermarket and all the small speciality shops seem to co-exist quite happily. The section of old town down the hill has a very pretty pedestrian street, both it and the Mairie (Town Hall) gorgeous with thousands of brightly colored ‘mums. The Mairie is literally draped with ‘mums, all carefully tended and trained on wire frames.
The old Saint-Ayoul Church was busy that Sunday morning—families with small kids talking and romping, even a dog sitting patiently at the door. People are going about the business of daily living in this amazing historical town. The square in front of this church was one of the earliest commercial and trade fair areas and has been rebuilt many times since the 11th century. The portal is modern, by sculptor Georges Jeanclos.
One of the counts of Champagne—Count Thibaud IV— brought back the ‘Damascus rose’ from the crusades. This ancestor of present-day rose varieties was formerly known for its medicinal properties. The Damascus rose, which features in Provins, as part of their heraldry, is sweet-scented and sweet-tasting and rose petals are used in wines, jams, honeys, icecream etc.
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You can also catch a train from Paris’s gare de l’Est (80 minutes each way). Make sure you get a map of how to get to the old town from the more modern train station.
