Has anyone on this forum done a 1-:day trip from Paris to Mont St. Michel? If so, did you go through a tour? Or just take the train?
We won’t have a rental car so trying to explore options for our family (Including 2 teens). Also any tips about how to make the most of our experience there would be greatly appreciated!
If your trip is not coming up to soon you should book a hotel to stay one night on the island if you do it yourself taking the train. That way you are there when everyone is gone. Otherwise you and 1 million other day trip travelers from all points show up at the same time which is a no fun walking human traffic jam. I would not do or count on a daytrip there in August 2021 currently with the way Covid-19 is going on and all the restrictions France is imposing traveling between regions by train.
A quick look here -- https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Paris/Mont-Saint-Michel-Abbey
indicates a best case scenario of 5+ hrs EACH way, of travel time
I think an overnite stay is the only practical solution
In July joe i said that his trip was next month, which I presume is this month now.
Unfortunately you are heading into the teeth of the storm. I wonder if that day trip will be wise.
In addition to the expanding restrictions mentioned above you may know that no train service exists from Paris to Mont St Michel. You will have to take a bus from the nearest station which is neither particularly close nor particularly convenient. With the rapid spread of the virus as it now is you may find yourself with cancelled trains if there is insufficient traincrew, as is happening in the UK.
It is an awfully long day trip for a relatively small reward.
Actually the bus that takes you to Mont St Michel from the train station that you get off Pontoroson-Mont St Michel is timed to arrive at the same time as the train. At least that was my experience coming and going.
https://www.bienvenueaumontsaintmichel.com/en/preparing-your-visit/arriving-by-train
I stayed in Pontorson when I went to MSM. MSM was the worst food of the entire 6 week trip and IMO not worth the long trip from Paris. There are some decent restaurants in Pontorson.
We are actually heading back to Paris this Friday!!! Mont St Michel is a doable day trip - but can be tiring. We actually did it as a day trip from Paris 2 years ago on July 31, 2019 - I had to pull up my notes. We took the SNCF from Paris to St Malo at 8 am - got into St Malo at 11 am. Met our tour guide at the train station in St Malo - who showed us the the old walled city of St. Malo first, then on to St Michel and then to a small village Dinan which has a theater dating back to 1224. Our tour guide then returned us to Rennes to catch our train back to Paris. The tour was myself, my husband, and my sister. We booked it through LinkParis.com. Our tour guide was Marc Le Meur through Westcapades and he was fantastic! We had time to wonder through all 3 sites/cities. He gave background on the background of Mont St Michel and the disagreement on who claims its - Normandy or Brittany. We took the backroads. In 2019, the personal tour was just under $500 for all 3 of us and the train wound up running 270 Euros for the 3 of us. In 2019, it was crowded at St Michel and you felt like you were part of a moving river going through the monastry. But in this time of covid and the number of tourists down almost 40% - I am not sure of the volume of people now who might be going through Mont St Michel at one time. I would have enjoyed a bit more time on the coast - but not having our own transportation, I would not be comfortable trying to get around to the different sites we saw. If Marc is still giving tours - I would highly recommend him. Again, this is not a day trip for small children - but teenagers should definitely be able to handle it. If you go, the buttery cookies are wonderful in that part of France. The food - well, knowing we would be a bit rushed, we were not expecting to have a 2 hour lunch or dinner any place - so we did not mind sandwiches with real butter, cheese, and ham from a local shop. I don't believe we would have gone on our own to Dinan - so I am grateful we did with this tour. Mont St Michel has always been on my bucket list - so even if it happened with a very long day trip - it was well worth it to me. My husband, sister, and I are notorious for the long day trips - we try to visit France at least twice a year and always make a point of planning 1 or 2 day trips to either a place in France or other European country. We don't mind getting up early or coming back to Paris very late in the evening.
What does food have to do with the OP trying to go to Mt St Michel on a daytrip from Paris ?
If you go make sure to walk through the abbey after wandering the village below it; however, it's a lot of time and effort for a day trip from Paris. We visited there for 2 nights on a road trip from Paris that also included several stops in WWII Normandy as well as Cancale. Seeing MSM from the mainland and then walking the island is a cool experience! On the other hand, a day trip to Versailles is much easier, closer and as rewarding.
