I saw this iconic pyramid for the first time about 12 km away, from the small road that leads from the motorway to the entrance of Mont Saint-Michel. Its visible impact on the horizon was exactly the same as I had experienced a few years ago at Uluru in Australia: it’s like a magnet, you want to get there as soon as possible. As the thing has been there for ages, there’s no need to rush.

When I arrived (at about 9.50 a.m.) the car park had already some 100 cars in it. This is just a fraction of what it can hold – the facilities are gigantic, a bit similar to parking at a large airport. One can take a free shuttle bus from there to the foot of the hill, but I decided to walk the 3km so I would be able to take pictures. I looked in envy to the group and a few individuals that were hiking the surrounding mudflats: they must be able to enjoy the natural surroundings more ànd have views of the Mont Saint-Michel from different angles.

The whole visiting experience is in the process of being changed: a dam has been built a few years ago to prevent the site’s sands from growing over with vegetation and making it impossible for the mount to ever become an island again. It’s a bit of a construction site at the moment, a large boardwalk is in the final stages of being put together and becoming the main way to enter the site from the parking lots. This distracts a little from the unobstructed views.

These views are the site's best feature anyway, as I did not really fall for what has been built on top of the island. The village is small, full of souvenir shops and best-to-be-avoided restaurants. The abbey is worth entering and I especially liked the Grand Western Terrace (more views of the sand flats!). Its interior is nothing spectacular though on the scale of monasteries around the world.

Somewhat surprisingly this WHS consists of another location too: according to the Unesco website, the windmill of Moidrey is part of the core zone too. It lies about 5km from the Mont Saint-Michel, and is said to have great vistas of the mount. I had planned to visit it on my way back, but although I had written down the address I could not find it as my car navigation did not recognize it.