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Located in the northern part of France, Normandy is named after the Norman people who settled the area in the 10th century. Featuring a renowned sea resort along the English Channel coastline and bordered inland by Il de France and Loire, Normandy consists of the departementsof Calvados, Manche and Orne in the west and Seine-Maritime and Eure in the east. Many creations by impressionist artists such as Claude Monet who were enchanted by the Normandy landscape remain to this day, and many towns, including Honfleur were selected as the motif of these works of art. Mont Saint-Michel is a “tidal island” (being an island half the time and connected to the mainland the other half), located at the border of Normandy and Brittany. According to legend, the Archangel Michael appeared to Aubert, the Bishop of Avranches in a dream in the year 708 and instructed him to build a church. Since then, it has flourished as the sole center of pilgrimage in France. Designed in the Romanesque-style during the 11 and 12th centuries and in the Gothic-style in 13th century, the church displays an amalgamation of medieval architectural styles. Its geographical attributes allowed it to serve as a fortress against Britain. It also carries the history of being used as a prison during the French Revolution with guard towers and other artifacts of the period still intact. The 1870 completion of a thin natural land bridge which would not become submerged provided easy access to the island that at one time was secluded by the ocean at high tide. A roughly 2 hour train ride from Montparnasse Station in Paris to Rennes station via TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse, the French bullet train, reservations required). A 1.5 hr non-stop bus service from Rennes to Mont Saint-Michel runs 3 times a day. Alternatively, take a local train to Caen at Rennes, get off at Pontorson Mont Saint-Michel and take a bus to Mont Saint-Michel, which overall requires roughly 4 hours from Paris.