Anger over changes at Mont-Saint-Michel

THE powers that be at Mont-Saint-Michel look as though they are slowly killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

The 20minutes.fr website highlights how changes to the parking facilities for visitors has seen people decide to walk across the bay to Mont-Saint-Michel instead of taking the buses provided.

Using the parking costs €8.50 per car, pricey enough as it is, which allows you to use the bus service as well, but as visitors mention in the article there is a problem.

From the parking area to the bus departure point is a distance of just under a kilometre, and there is a walk at the other end to the monument itself of around 500m.

Some people, especially those with younger children or older family members believe this is too much during the hot summer months, but visitors are also unhappy at having to walk through a collection of shops to the buses.

A visitor says that the feeling is that commercial interests have been put before the appeal of Mont-Saint-Michel itself.

Unesco, who recognise the monument as a world heritage site, has even raised questions about accessibility, and the number of visitors compared to last year has fallen in both June and July.

And although the authorities have said they will look into the problems the changes have brought, it really shouldn't surprise them that creating a feeling of being 'ripped off' is not the smartest marketing move.