For once and for all, is MSM worth a massive detour?

While I haven’t yet been to Bordeaux, Mont St Michel was one of the highlights of a month long trip to Paris pre-covid.

We took the train from Paris, spending two nights in Bayeaux to see the tapestry, and to take a tour of the D-day beaches. Took the train and bus to La Caserne, arriving early afternoon. Stayed at Hotel Vert for one night. Quick shuttle ride across the causeway to MSM, which we were able to go to mid-afternoon, and stay for dinner at La Mere Poullard. As we were spending the night, we avoided the crowds. We were able to return the next morning and wander around for a few hours before the day trippers arrived. The views were incredible.

We had very full days and had no regrets about the trip. We returned to Paris for a couple of days before heading to the south of France.

For me and my family it is. We love Mont-St-Michel. Everyone is different though. Being there overnight is a much better experience than just going for a few hours during the day.

It is singular -- an amazing sight. Never have seen anything quite like it:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/mont-st-michel-is-that-a-real-place/
I'd make room to do it if you are this close.

I only actually went there once, but have driven within eye shot many times. For me, it is grossly overrated, and would not warrant a special trip.

I do think it's worth it, and it's worth spending the night there, on MSM itself.

You have to make the effort to not just do it, but to do it right. Then it's worth it.

Tocard, have you spent the night there?
Growing up in France i first went there when i was 5 yrs old, been back many times since and it’s always been magical… if you spend the night and aren’t rushed.

But like everything, it’s not for everyone.

Well, I didn't spend the night on the mount but in a motel/hotel nearby, and I still think it was very worth going to. I was on a tour so didn't go out of the way to see it but I think I would if I had the chance to go back again. It was a singular travel experience and I wouldn't have missed it.

I have not spent the night on MSM. The first/last time I was there was some years ago, before there were hoards of tourists. If someone has the time, MSM is on the itinerary along with other locations, it should definitely be included.

As a day trip from Paris, it will be a long, miserable day on a bus for something that takes very little time to see and visit. As a day trip from Paris, I would definitely give it a miss. There is too much to see in Paris rather than spending hours on a bus.

Well, I would not combine extreme southeastern and extreme northwestern France on the same trip. I've been to France eight times and have still not been to Rennes. I'm not bragging (!), just speculating that you have a personal travel style that already requires "massive detours" without complaint. Month of year might be helpful. Is this a food trip? Oysters, cider?

The fact that you are already in Rennes is decisive for MSM. I would not sleep there, but if it makes you feel like the visit is better, okay. I would see a second stop, like Vitre, neolithic stones, St. Malo, or a nice public garden. And I (personal special interest) would hope for an appointment at Le Vasterival.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/travel-to-mount-st-michel

Comparing Dijon to MSM is like comparant apples and oranges. They each bring something completely different to the table. MSM is indeed beautiful and magnificient, but the "town" area is completely touristy. With Dijon, you could get a more authentic French experience (and really good food). Regarding Toulouse to Avignon - you could use those "extra" days instead to see some pretty cool stuff enroute. LIke the Gorge du Tarn, the Millau Viaduct, etc.

All said and done...you can't go wrong. So much beauty, culture, architecture, food....

First of all it’s beautiful, however I’m not sure I would take much more than a three hour detour to go there. I also would not stay on the island again the hotel room we stayed in was teeny tiny and you can’t see the island at night so if you’re going to go and stay there stay at one of the hotels near the island but not on the island. That’s my two cents.

We spent several hours at MSM. It was really thrilling to see the sight I’d looked at in picture books my entire life. Once on the island, unless we saw the water, frankly, we sort of lost sight of where we were …I guess that’s a pun..and could have been in any pretty French town. It was en route for us and no detour was required. We had no regrets leaving without spending the night. Safe travels.

If I’m reading your post correctly, you wouldn’t be going to Rennes except to see MSM. If that’s the case I definitely wouldn’t go that far out of the way for it. Your options are all over the map. What is the order of your itinerary? Just looking at where you will be without knowing that information I would choose Dijon, or Beaune, for the proximity to Lyon.

If the choice is between Dijon and Mont Saint Michel ... I pick Mont Saint Michel. While Dijon is an interesting stop between Lyon and Paris, there are at least 10 French cities that are better to visit, in my opinion. If you are able to throw in Beaune and some excursions in Burgundy wine country, then it becomes more interesting, but with just one night to spare you would not have time for that.

I eliminate Bordeaux; you'd need to fly from Lyon so it is no less of a hassle than going to Mont Saint Michel.

Hi from Wisconsin,
MSM, skip it. We were in the neighborhood when we visited and I still felt like it wasn't worth the time. Now Bordeaux...that is a great place.

Let me back up to MSM. I would say one of the things that spoiled it for me was the road out to it. In the good old days....blah, blah, blah. Having cars and busses parked next to the wall takes some of the specialness away. Then the souvenir shops inside the gate...yech. More tourists means more revenue to pay for maintenance.

Bordeaux has a nice vibe about it. A more hip affectation. Get in the college-hang-out district come sundown. And this city has great food.

wayne inWI

The fact that you are getting opinions saying yes and no really shows that this is a personal decision with no one right answer for every traveler. I've been but I was traveling through Normandy at the time and had never heard of MSM but my sister-in-law suggested I go and she has been everywhere and seen everything so I pay attention to her suggestions on sights to see. If I were otherwise in Rennes, I would certainly go but I probably would not go to Rennes from Lyon just to go to MSM unless my travel companion/friend really wanted it. Friends sometimes do things that they do not want to do to let a a friend have what they really want. For some people getting the chance to see MSM is major -- a good friend did a dreaded day trip from Paris to see it because he had wanted to see it since childhood and the day trip was the only way to fit it into his itinerary.

this is a very good documentary on the rock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZEXDbfrdJ0

MSM has been on my list a long time. I went this past December on a cold and windswept day. Very few tourists made the visit more enjoyable. I combined it with Bayeux and the Normandy beaches. For me it was well worth it! A stunning place! I will go back soon.

I was flying an American fighter jet at about 500 feet over the bay, offset by 1/2 mile. That hooked me to go see it in person,

My opinion is never let anyone talk you into or out of seeing a place. It has to be what you and your friend want.

I personally think MSMis one those must do places and I would have enjoyed it just to get the view of it from a distance. But I did enjoy my time there.

Just to add, many people think Pisa is a must see and I loathed every minute in that town. So it just goes to show that only you can decide. Maybe you won’t like MSM, but you can say you have been and never have to go again. Or you can see some other things elsewhere and leave it. Beaune, as mentioned above, is really worth seeing.

My first point stands though.

I have been to Mont St. Michel twice. I hope you decide to go! The first time (2012) was magical -- we were travelling independently and went at night on the recommendation of our BnB host. It was a rainy summer night and there was music playing and candles glowing. I don't know whether they open up at night anymore. It was a wonderful experience and we drove back the next day to see it from a distance. Totally worth it!

We went again during the day in May 2019 as part of a tour. It felt a bit hokey once on the island, but the view from a distance is still stirring. My husband and I were hot and tired on this trip and since our first experience had been so spectacular, we decided to rest our legs and have some food at a restaurant there. If you haven't been there, I think it is a must-see.

We enjoyed our day there years ago. The place is one huge tourist trap with everything geared to separate tourists from their money, but it was worth visiting. We bypassed the gauntlet of tourist shops and restaurants and visited the abbey. We left before the tide came in.

@Andrea we will be visiting Toulouse (flying in from either Porto or Lisbon), then exploring Provence based in Avignon, Lyon and then we would be flying or catching the train to Rennnes, hiring a car and going to MSM before returning to Rennes to take the TGV to Paris.

It certainly is quite far out of the way though we are very far from Europe (Australia - it will take us 24 hours to get there) so I am not sure just how soon I will be back in France so as to be able to see it hence I am torn - take the illogical route for the sake of seeing something we both do want to see, or hoping to return to see it another time.

That is always the dilemma. Best of luck making your decision and I hope you enjoy your trip wherever it takes you.

Stop making yourself crazy and just decide you're going to do it.

You never know when the next world-altering event might take place -- the next pandemic, next Russian invasion of a peaceful neighbor, an unwelcome medical diagnosis, closing or shutdown of something you've taken for granted. If something or someplace is on your bucket list, and you can get to it, don't put it off. Yes, "I shall return", you can get to it someday and all that....but "someday" might not come. You're there (more or less), you clearly have enough interest to justify the trip (just look at how much you are agonizing over the question...). YOLO. Go see it (I'm in the "spend the night there to make it worth it" camp, that guarantees a quality experience rather than the grotesque tourist-trap that some posters above have called it).

Last point: Travel is not getting better with the passage of the years -- certainly not travel to popular places. Too many places now are overrun with crowds, require reservations and timed-entry tickets booked months in advance, have been commercialized and monetized to an extent that was hard to imagine just a few years ago. I've been to MSM twice -- first time back in the 1980s, and again in the 21st century. I've been to many of Europe's most popular tourist attractions over the past 35 years. Here's an inconvenient truth: things are not getting better for starry-eyed tourists. With each passing year, it requires more hassles, more hoop-jumping, more tolerance for crowds, more willingness to overlook the crass and seamy aspects of mass tourism. I'm NOT saying it's no longer worthwhile to go see these places, quite the contrary. But back in the day, those of us who were lucky enough to experience now-popular places back when you could just walk up and enter with little or no advance planning or even waiting in a line never realized what the ensuing decades would bring. It's hard to predict the future with any certainty, but I'm pretty sure that at Europe's most iconic, most popular places, visiting them is not going to get any better for you if you wait 5, 10 or 25 years.

You have a chance to see MSM on your upcoming trip. You want to go. Stop torturing yourself about whether "it's worth it" or not. Go, see it. You won't regret it.