The most stunning Castle in Brittany, if not the whole world, sits on the border of Brittany and Normandy at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. Mont St. Michele is an island fortress built to keep out the English. Rising tides made the island impossible to invade half of the day.  Multiple tiers of defenses were created to deter would-be invaders struggling along their confusing ascent toward the inner keep. You can see that as you make it inside the massive walls it is a steep upward maze to the top. Most people visit for a few hours, but the site is a small village in itself and warrants an overnight stay to get the full charm and feel. It really is a different city at night and early morning, before tour buses flood the site with tourists and modern scenery. Stay the night and climb up the empty narrow alleys and wind through the streets imagining what it was once like to inhabit the grounds. Exploring the place without hundreds of tourists brings out sights that could be overlooked when rushed on a tour…