Visitors down at Mont Saint-Michel

TOURIST visits to the Mont Saint-Michel have dropped by a quarter compared to last year after changes were made making it less easily accessible.

Formerly people could park their cars right next to the famous landmark, along the wide causeway leading to it.

Now, as part of agreements with Unesco aimed at safeguarding the setting of the World Heritage Site, people have to park on the mainland two kilometres away and take a shuttle bus.

However the car park is at some distance from the bus stop (and past a parade of souvenir shops). Parking costs have also risen, from €6 to €8.50.

According to the tourist office at the Mont, there were 24% fewer visitors this July compared to last year, though this differs from figures from the office for national historic monuments, which puts the drop at 9%, following a 16.5% fall in June. Unesco states the Mont usually attracts about 3.5 million people a year.

The head of the site’s tourist office, Emmanuel Villain, has said there could be several factors including the new shuttle, the economic crisis and poor weather. The departmental tourism body for the Manche estimates tourists were down 7% in general in July.

However the administrator of the abbey, Jean-Marc Bouré, said the Mont was not usually affected by the ups and downs of the economy, and bad publicity about the shuttles was mainly to blame.

Photo: b3rny