Chausey Islands

An Archipelago of Pristine Nature!  Heritage-listed Site

The Chausey Islands, located off the coast of the bay of Mont Saint Michel, form the largest archipelago in Europe. It is made up of a main island, Grand-Île, and 365 islets at low tide, 52 at high tide. The island accommodates a few houses, including one belonging to the famous Painter of the Fleet, “Marin-Marie”.

The archipelago, French for many centuries, has long been the cause of rivalries between the English and the French, as well as a site for piracy and smuggling, popular with sailor-smugglers. The archipelago, formerly exploited for its granite, was used to construct the abbey of Mont Saint Michel, rebuild Saint Malo, raise the docks of Dieppe, and London, and pave the streets and footpaths of Paris.
If the Chausey archipelago is renowned for its shore fishing due to its tidal movement – with a tidal range of 14 metres – it also benefits from favourable conditions for the creation of an ornithological reserve.  The entire Chausey archipelago is heritage-listed and constitutes one of the main seabird colonies in France. They come here to reproduce, sheltered from terrestrial predators: The Great Cormorant, European Shag, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Common Shelduck, Little Egret, Brent Goose, Razorbill, Common Murre, Northern Gannet…
Sometimes dolphins may be seen during the crossing, and may even come to accompany the boat.