France
Above two images: Mont Saint Michel, France. Built in the 11th to 16th centuries, this castle served first as a religious abbey, then as a prison in the 18th century. Connected to the Brittany Peninsula by a causeway, Mont Saint Michel is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in France. In 1979, Mont Saint Michel and its bay were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The tides sweep in and out nine to twelve miles across the surrounding tidal flats twice every 25 hours. The tidal range can reach up to 48 vertical feet, one of the most extreme in the world.
Greek goddess Athena holds the head of god Zeus in the Louvre
Museum,
Paris. This museum also contains the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and
Whistler's
Mother.
Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of France 1804-1814, and later
exiled to the Island of Elba. Louvre Museum, Paris.
In this photograph, alpine ridges rise to about 13,000 feet from
Chamonix Valley, France. Gondolas carry people to this spectacular
viewpoint
on Aiguille du Midi at 12,600 feet. Behind the photographer is Mont
Blanc
(15,782 feet; not shown here), the highest peak in Western Europe. Mont
Blanc was first climbed in 1786 by two men from Chamonix. Today
Chamonix
is an important world center for mountaineering. [Published
in Wilderness Travel 1989 Catalog of Adventures.]
Aiguille du Midi (12,600 feet) seen from Chamonix (3,300 feet
elevation),
France. You can commute from France to Italy by taking a gondola over
this
mountain or a highway tunnel that cuts straight underneath. [Published
in Wilderness Travel 1990 Catalog of Adventures.]
See also: Switzerland
Photographs copyright 1981 by Tom Dempsey. Photographs may not be copied without permission.
