Mont St Michel

Michael I just was there a few weeks ago, my second visit. My first visit was about 45 years ago, and frankly, alot more pleasant!

If you go, go as an overnight, not a day trip. The mont is insanely crowded and unpleasant during day, tour buses arrive and literally hundreds if not thousands of tourist crawl through the narrow streets. Elbow to elbow on a nice day.

I would go and stay the night if you have the chance. After all the tour buses and daytrippers leave it would be alot more special!

While there we saw no guides to lead you across the sands, however we enjoyed the walk ( there is a shuttle bus bit we chose not to take it so we could enjoy the views during our approach) to mont from parking lots, took us a brisk 20-25 minutes ..We did see a young couple trudging back on the boardwalk, covered in thick mud up to their knees, they did not look too happy!

I went in May in 2014, and it wasn't crowded at all! I think in the summer it is busier. We stayed in Bayeux and rented a car from there and drove to Mont St. Michel for a day trip which worked out really well. We didn't have a guide. We wandered around and used the guide book for information.

We also stayed in Bayeux and hired an all day tour (there were 8 of us) it was February and it was not too crowded at all.
But it was cold - Many years ago I was there in the summer and I don't remember it being too crowded, but our memories tend to dim over the years - don't they?

Pat, how was the construction going with the bridge? And where did you stay overnight? I would love to sleep on the Mont.

I visited in September 2013 and did not find the crowds to be troublesome. Also, if you want to avoid the crowds on the main street, there's a path that runs along the wall that will take you to the Abbey.

Staying on the island is definitely the best way to go. I stayed at Le Mere Poulard, which offers the advantage of being the first lodging you encounter when you go through the gate in the city wall. That means you don't have to truck your luggage up the hill. But just to set expectations – there is no modern construction, so the lodging on the island is very old, somewhat quirky, and relatively expensive. But it is worth it to stay on the island.

Do reserve as soon as possible, since there's a very limited number of rooms on the island. I reserved a relatively late and ended up paying more than I've ever paid for a hotel room in Europe – about $300 for a no-frills single.

We are doing MSM as a day trip from Paris. I used the Captaine Train website to book my combo TGV/Bus tickets from Gare Montparnasse to Rennes, where we then will board a bus that will take use to MSM. A full day for sure, but one we are looking forward to. The prices go up quickly for the TGV. I booked a few weeks ago for our late October trip.

In the RS book it recommends a tour company that will pick you up from a train station and take you to two other villages then the Mont, I was looking at close to $400.00 for two people with the cost of the tour and the cost of the TGV tickets. Too rich for us, and all we really want to see was MSM.

We stayed at Mouton Blanc last year and liked it just fine. The staff was friendly, helpful and spoke English (a clear plus in view of my fractured French). The room on Mont St Michel was the most expensive on our trip, including Paris. Nevertheless, I would strongly recommend that you spend the night on the Mont. It's definitely one of the places you want to splurge IMO. In the evening, after the tour buses leave, and again in the morning, before they arrive, it is a wonderful place to roam. Lots of different passageways and hidden staircases to explore. LOTs of stairs. We've been to the Mont three times and are looking forward to another visit whenever we get the chance.

It is one of our favorite places in France. I don't know anything about a guide to lead you across the bay, but it could be a wonderful experience to approach the Mont that way. (Unless you end up like the mud-up-to-their-knees folks mentioned above).

Years ago we stayed in Caen and did a number of sites in Normandy/Brittany. We went to the Mont in the late afternoon and it was empty of daytrippers and magical. There were candlelit sections of the abbey.

When I do it again, I would either stay on the Mont or nearby. We parked on the mainland and walked on the causeway. We did not walk on the mudflats, although it could be interesting.