Between Granville and Cancale, the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel forms a 193 sq. miles (500 km²) low-lying area, home to the highest tides in Europe. At low tide or during high tides, the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel reveals all its secrets: the fauna, the flora, the lights, the reflections... For nearly a thousand years, the Mont has been a major place of pilgrimage in Christianity. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims had to cross the shoreline by foot at low tide. After overcoming the traps of the tide and the quicksand, they were at last able to pass through the ramparts and ascend to the abbey.