The Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey is the most visited tourist site in Normandy. This "wonder of the world" was built between the 11th and 16th centuries.
This major international pilgrimage site owes its origin to Saint-Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, who, in the 8th century, is said to have seen the archangel Saint Michael appear.
The Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey has undergone several alterations over the centuries, and this architectural ensemble comprises a pre-Romanesque church, an abbey church, and Romanesque and Gothic conventual buildings known as "La Merveille" (The Marvel). Transformed into a prison during the French Revolution and later the Second Empire, the abbey was entrusted to the Historic Monuments Service in 1874. Since 1969, a monastic community has maintained a permanent spiritual presence there.
