In early April will be spending time in Bayeux to visit beaches, museums, etc. Also a short overnight visit to MSM. We are Americans in our late 70's. We can rent a car. We have driven in France before. We have 2 full and 2 half days in Bayeux and then a half day with overnight at MSM. We both love history and museums. Also, architecture. (FYI: we are not spiritual or religious) We have time to change plans a bit and I am wondering about whether an additional day or 2 in Bayeux would be worth dropping Mont St Michel from our itinerary. This may be our last visit to France, so it is probably now or never for these sites. I am interested in opinions of people who have visited this area. Posters on this forum have always been helpful. Thank you for input.
Posted by
USA
401 posts
I think MSM is beautiful and it is an icon of France. If this may be your last time in France then I would recommend keeping it in your plans. The only shift I might make is the time there. We visited a few years ago and arrived later in the afternoon, probably 3-4pm. That gave adequate time to visit the Abbey. After dinner we went to see it again all lit up which is spectacular! We were staying across the bridge which let us park right at our hotel (if you stay on MSM you need to park in the shuttle lot).
So IMO no need for a half-day at MSM, just a few hours before closing. Since you have a car perhaps lunch in Cancale (amazing oysters!) and a visit to other attractions in the area?
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1327 posts
susan,
If this is your last trip to France, I would definitely visit Mont St Michel. It is unique, and though it is often put down for the tourist hordes, it is also well worth the time spent to get there. And since you are spending the night, you will get the most out of it. Go!!
Two whole days and two half days in Bayeux will suffice unless you want to spend multiple days on WWII sites. I have been there three times. Do not miss the Bayeux tapestry and church. You could do each one on your half days. That leaves you two whole days for Normandy WWII sites. I find that after even one full day, I am starting to burn out on the experiences. Many on this forum recommend several days to cover WWII, but that becomes repetitious and muddled to me after a while. DDay burnout, I call it. But do what calls to you. And don't forget to sample the cider, camembert and calvados while there. Normandy is more than DDay history.
Oh yes! The flag lowering ceremony at the American cemetary is very moving. Try to be there for it.
Posted by
106 posts
I was just in Bayeux for some shopping yesterday and I think you’ve got plenty of time allocated to Bayeux. More than enough, in my opinion. So, I definitely would go to Mont Saint Michel. Consider stopping at the American cemetery near Saint James as you go to or from Mont Saint Michel.
I don’t find the flag lowering ceremony particularly different than those I grew up with on various military installations, so it’s not that distinctive to me. I did notice when I was at the Colleville-sur-Mer cemetery one time that several visitors kept walking and talking as Taps was being played, which is definitely not how I was taught to behave growing up.
Posted by
Chicago
8550 posts
IMHO if you only could do one, it would be MSM which is a singular sight.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/mont-st-michel-is-that-a-real-place/
The beaches look like beaches. Of course the history makes visiting them powerful and Point du Hoc is particularly impressive and moving. But there is just nothing like the view of MSM across the fields. Since you can do both and have plenty of time for touring the beaches, I would absolutely not drop MSM. Two days in Bayeux is plenty to visit the landing beaches and the Tapestry.
We did a night at MSM, staying on shore (mistake) and visiting in the evening for dinner and then in the morning for the Abbey before heading for Bayeux where we spent two nights, using the full day for an Overlord tour of the beaches and airborne museum and American cemetery. We then headed for Honfleur and visited Etretat on the full day. It was all quite wonderful. But two days is more than enough for Bayeux and the beaches.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7884 posts
There is nothing wrong with spending the night on or near MSM, but I'm not among those who reveres a chance to walk on uneven cobblestones "without the crush of those pesky day-trippers." It is true that MSM has been re-configured (ten years+- ago) for massive tourism, with giant parking lots and electric shuttle busses. So it's important to consider the time "overhead" of a short visit. But we were happy to combine MSM with a nearby place or two, like Dol de Bretagne or Dinan. We had a rental car, and we correctly paid for parking before exiting, unlike the people fumbling with the machine at the exit, delaying multitudes.
I mean, since you have to drive past billboards advertising the "Alligator Farm Experience" and dozens of fast-food places (near Pontorson, I mean) to get to MSM, it's pretty hard to pretend you're a pilgrim walking on your knees. I'm not at all slamming MSM, I'm just making some realistic comments. I'm really glad we went, walking both "the walls" and the street. We had no interest in walking on the mudflats, so we ignored the tide tables.
You could use the search box here to find some reports of tiny on-island rooms and mediocre food.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/travel-to-mount-st-michel
Posted by
OP
lake forest park, washington, usa
121 posts
Thank you all. This info is very helpful. We will stick to original schedule of April 4 (train from Paris, then rent a car at Caen) - April 7 at Bayeux. Drive to MSM for mid-afternoon. Stay overnight, then train back to Paris 4/8. The rest of the trip includes several days in Marseilles, Nice, Bordeaux and a car trip through the Gorges with overnight at Moustiers Ste Marie between Marseilles and Nice. Our trip is all of April, and we are really excited about it. I'm likely to post more questions. I've already used this site for lots of info in my initial planning. Thx again!! Susan