Maison de la Baie – Relais de Courtils (Bay centre – Courtils)

Birth of Bay

A short distance from the Mont Saint-Michel, the Maison de la Baie established at Courtils, is an “interpretation centre” which explains the formation of the Bay over the centuries and its progressive silting-up. It helps you understand the current work being done to preserve the insular nature of the Mont.


Nature has its history...
The bay of Mont-Saint-Michel is an incomparable site. Studied by scientists from all disciplines, it still hasn’t revealed all its secrets. To better understand this area where unpredictable nature rules, we suggest a journey through time.

The five stages of your visit are divided according to a "time scale":
- 500,000,000 years: from the depths the granite headlands that were going to become the Mont and Tombelain emerged; this was the genesis.
- 10,000 years: After the ice had melted, the sea flooded a huge gulf: the galloping sea.
- 1,000 years: man, fascinated by this place, settled on the site: legendary fears and mythical stories.
- 100 years: man-made polders reclaim land from the sea: man’s conquest.
- 24 hours: The tides bring m3 of sediment with them twice a day: a tide of sand.

At the end of a video tape guided journey, you will go into the heart of the amazing phenomena which brought about the creation and the transformation of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. Then a walk along the path outside, dotted with discoveries, leads to a point from which a viewpoint indicator reveals a magnificent panoramic view.

  Outside course