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Can't decide between night at Mont St. Michel or St. Malo... thoughts?

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My father, husband, and I will be spending 6 nights in the Normandy region before heading to Paris for 6 nights in early June. We have a free day on June 7 that I can't decide what to do with... in that 36 hour period, I had hoped to leave our B&B in Ver Sur Mer, drive to MSM, tour the abbey and walk around, drive to St. Malo, drop off our car and take an afternoon TGV to Paris on the 8th.

I can't decide which site to spend the night at, thoughts? At first I thought MSM might be more of an "experience" but is there really much exploring to be had after dark? Spending several hours in St. Malo is definitely important to me too, and I assume there will be more shops/restaurants to explore, not to mention the Grande Be and Fort National sites. Help!

Posted by
3696 posts

I love both MSM and St. Malo... I did spend the night on MSM and have to say that while there is not a lot to 'do', just the experience of having the place virtually to yourself, wandering around, looking out over the water, is one of the most memorable nights I have had. I was there in Nov. with my 15 year old grandson and he still thinks of it as one of the greatest experiences. So... for us it was well worth it. Even though it was winter, there were still a great number of people there in the day,, so I can't imagine what it is like in the summer... must feel like Disney. So, for me, I would want my 'alone time' there and stay on the island. St. Malo was great for a few hours, we ate, shopped and wandered around, but I did not regret having time to spend the night there.

Posted by
383 posts

The RS book suggests arriving at MSM in late afternoon to miss the crowds, staying the nite on MSM or nearby, and then another visit in the morning if you want before crowds arrive. We did this, and it worked out great! We stayed in one of the hotels just across the bridge so MSM was just a shuttle-bus ride away. And at nite the lit-up view is incredible.

So I'd suggest driving to St. Malo , spend a few hours there if you want. I thought 2 hours was enough for me, you walk the ramparts and then thru town. But if you poke into shops and have lunch I could see it stretching to a longer time. And it sounds like you already have some ideas for the area. Also could take the ferry ride across the river and walk around Dinard, a nice beach town with some interesting architecture. Or visit some sights along the road back to MSM such as Pointe de Grouin or stop at Cancale for oysters, perhaps drive thru a bit of the Calvados countryside. I like to have more things planned out in advance than I can do and then adjust based on the weather, energy levels, etc.

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