This audio guide will reveal the soul of Mont Saint Michel to you. The mysteries that have allowed its construction for fifteen centuries. 45 minutes to understand the reason and the usefulness of each part of the incredible edifice forged by religion, wars and the will of men.

Access is not free.

Price

The Abbey Full price € 10

FREE

Under 18 (with family and outside school groups)
- 18-25 years old (European Union nationals and non-European regular residents on the territory of the European Union)
- Disabled person and his companion
- Job seeker, on presentation of a certificate of less than 6 months
- Culture Card - ICOM Card
- Education Pass completed, with the current year stamp, and photo. - The Mont-Saint-Michel abbey opens its doors free of charge on the first Sunday of November.

List of audio guide tracks

The audio guide can be used directly online, you do not need to load an application to use it. Don't forget your headphones, Mont Saint Michel is still a religious site.

1 Presentation

2 The origins of Mont Saint Michel.

3 The cult of Saint Michael.

4 Notre Dame underground.

5 the Benedictines on Mount

6 The perforated skull of Saint Aubert.

7 Crypt of the Big Pillars.

8 The abbey church.

9 The Labyrinth and the secret passages of Mont-Saint-Michel

10 Scriptorium or Hall of Knights.

11 La Merveille and its three floors.

12 The cloister of the abbey in a flamboyant Gothic style.

13 The choir, a true masterpiece of Gothic art.

14 Epilogue

A little history

In the middle of the 6th century, Christianity took root in the bay. At that time, Mont Tombe offered shelter to hermits who lead a contemplative life around two oratories. The first, dedicated to the first Christian martyr, Saint Stephen, is raised halfway up the rock. It is followed by a second in honor of the first martyr of Gaul, Saint Symphorien, raised at the foot of the rock.

It is in 710 that the "Mont Tombe" will become the "Mont Saint Michel at the peril of the Sea" following the construction, by the bishop Saint Aubert d'Avranches, of an oratory dedicated to the archangel Saint Michel. Aubert would have received three times during his sleep, the order of Saint-Michel to have an oratory erected on Mont Tombe.

A collegiate church was first erected on Mont Saint Michel in the 9th and 10th centuries, but it was in 966 that a Benedictine abbey was built.

After the Breton warriors set Mont-Saint-Michel on fire in 1204, King Philippe Auguste granted the monastery a large sum of money intended for its repair.

Rebuilt in the Norman architectural style, with circular capitals cutters, Caen stone spandrels, plant motifs, etc., the cloister of La Merveille was completed in 1228.

In 1356, the English took Tombelaine and began the siege of the abbey. Shortly after, Bertrand du Guesclin was appointed captain of the Mont garrison and won several victories which made it possible to ward off the English threat for several years.

In 1386, Pierre le Roy was elected abbot and ordered the construction of the Perrine tower, the Corbins tower and the Châtelet in order to defend the entrance to the monastery. After the battle of Agincourt, the new abbot, Robert Jolivet, had a rampart built to protect the city, as well as a cistern to supply the Mont with fresh water.