Mont St. Michel and D-Day beaches in 2 days

I'd do the Abbey that first evening so you are not pressed for time the next day -- I don't think you can enter the Abbey twice on the same ticket.

Make sure you have a list of places you want to go to regarding D-Day. There are a lot more than just "a few beaches", each of which requires driving and a parking lot, then a walk to the view or attraction. With the drive from MSM you will have a busy day. Check rental car depot hours carefully.

I would go to the abbey the evening you arrive and definitely extend your stay in the rest of Normandy. 4–5 hours simply isn't enough unless you just want to walk on a beach and take a selfie. Personally, I find that disrespectful. It is almost a two hour drive from Mont Saint-Michel to Omaha Beach, and you are basically saying you have one night in Normandy. To me that is either MSM or a very abbreviated D-day visit—not both.

I also suggest visiting the abbey late on your arrival day, as well as spending some time in the evening (golden hour, blue hour, dark) strolling and enjoying the view. We visited late and didn't feel rushed. While still relatively busy, the crowd was also thinning out nicely. We were never in a sea of people at any point during our tour.

I found early morning there to be peaceful, even with the clatter of deliveries/sanitation etc. It was fun watching the birds surf the rushing tidewater. I recommend taking your time in the morning rather than trying to fit in the abbey. Crowds start arriving quickly. Make your escape to your next destination when ready and without obligation.

I see that the abbey is open until 7PM in May, last admission at 6. We had to wait in a line to enter, but I forget the details. Assigned ticket times, I think. This seems do-able, but note that the last three miles of the drive are like approaching a US mall at Christmas-time, past the frozen custard stands and alligator farm! See whether your hotel has dedicated (free?) parking, and see how far it is from that parking to the hotel, and then to the abbey. No stops until you get to MSM.

Sounds like you have booked a hotel on the island. You cannot drive onto the island. There is a large parking lot off of the island. You then catch a shuttle to the island. Once you arrive, you are in front of the only restrooms (that I can remember) before touring the Abbey. Instead of going to the right of the restrooms (up the main street), go left and into the tourist office. They sell abbey tickets right there. From here it's a fairly short walk to the abbey entrance where you get in line and decide whether to rent headphones. You are then on your own. When you exit the abbey (it's a very long tour), you will be on the main street which is full of touristy stuff and restaurants. I decided to walk the ramparts before having dinner. Too many people at the restaurants. Since you're staying on the island, you can walk the ramparts and street when the crowds are gone and enjoy listening to the waves and sea gulls. Enjoy!

In reference to the D-Day beaches and Normandy, really do your research on what is your priority to see and do. It will take you 2 hours just to drive there from Mont St. Michel. I arrived at the American Cemetery just before the museum and the grounds were closing. I spent a short time in the museum before walking some of the grounds amongst the white crosses and was there when taps was performed which was very moving for me. I then went to Pont du Hoc. The museum was closed, however, you can walk on the hill and see the bunkers--again, very moving. I made my way to Omaha Beach and had dinner overlooking the large expanse of the beach and imagining what happened here. There are a LOT of museums in the area and I had to decide whether to be inside a museum or be out where it all took place.

There could be an elephant in the room.

You say you're going "in May". When exactly in May? I ask because, as many folks know, this year is the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. So, serious big time crowds, ceremonies, etc. will be happening on and around the anniversary date of June 6.

Oh, yeah, and the Olympics are going to be in Paris - that's later, but still. You picked a busy time to visit France, so a lot of what passes for business as usual may be disrupted to varying degrees. Best to have an awareness of that.

If you are going in early May, probably not a train-wreck for your plans. If you were planning to be there in the last few days of May...hmmm.

Presumably you have already booked all your accommodations and any other things that will be greatly in demand.

I hope no one minds my asking this question, but will 3 days be adequate to see both the D Day beaches and Mont St Michel? We are going there this June as part of a trip to France to celebrate my 60th birthday. Thanks in advance!

Stephen, although you are adding on to someone else's discussion, I think your question is directly related to the subject of the discussion. Having read the previous posts, can you ask some personal questions that would add to your understanding of what your best plan might be?

For example, will you have a car? Where will you rent the car? Do you wish to spend the night at MSM? What are your priorities at the D-Day sites? Will you be using a professional guide at the D-Day sites, or independent travel?

Hi, @Tim. Thanks for your reply. I'm glad my post wasn't off topic. I was a bit scant with the details, sorry about that! So:
1. Yes, we are flying to Paris June 8 and arriving the 9th, then renting 2 cars at CDG (I reserved them a few weeks ago).
2. We are spending 3 days in Normandy (Longues-sur-mer, to be exact), we have already rented an Airbnb for our stay (it'll be a total of 6 people).
3. My plan was to drive to MSM for a day and spend the other two days visiting the Normandy beaches and exploring Bayeux, which is very close to our accommodations.
The one thing we haven't discussed yet is whether to visit the beaches DIY or get a professional guide. Do you have a suggestion?
My sister and brother-in-law spent some time there in 2022 and recommended viewing the series "WW II in Colour" before going, which I've done. That should help put some of the locations in context. As it happens, we'll be there June 9-12, which is just days after the 80th anniversary of the Allied landing, so I imagine it'll be busy.

Since you said the rental is for three nights, I can figure out that you are NOT planning to spend the night at Mont St. Michel. While Longues-sur-Mer is a great spot for visiting D-Day sites, it's not very close to MSM. So you'll be spending at least four hours in the car that day. I suppose CDG is one of the best places for a reasonable assurance that you'll be issued a car that's comfortable for six people.

We stopped (by car) at MSM for about four hours, on the way elsewhere. It was just right for us, but many posters here would consider that an insufficient time to spend at MSM.

Here are some links for considering your questions. You can find more using the Search box top center. I mention that because your questions come up at least once a month here. It's not that I mean "Did you do a search?" Rather: In order to see the largest possible number of Normandy D-Day tour guide suggestions, for example, you simply can't rely on a single discussion thread.

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

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/day-trip-from-paris-to-d-day-beaches-acf8ace3-7773-4e57-b464-b178dcd45e1f

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/d-day-sites-tour-or-self-guided

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/bayeux-or-mont-st-michel

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/normandy-brittany-thoughts

Thank you very much for the links. The drive from our Airbnb to MSM is just under an hour and a half, so we should be able to spend a whole day there. (For context's sake, I live in the Washington, DC area, and it takes me nearly an hour to get to a weekly rehearsal I have in the city, so 90 minutes is nothing). I think we will be fine just doing a day trip. Also, our trip to France is just under two weeks and I am trying to minimize the amount of packing/unpacking at Airbnb's, hence I didn't want to do an overnight at MSM. The cars we rented are considered intermediate size, which I don't normally do, but there will be 6 of us plus luggage. I will check out the links for more info, thanks so much for that!

@Stephen

You should be good with three days (barely), but here are some comments re: your schedule.

First, as you can see from a search of this forum, MSM is absolutely mobbed mid-day. Anything you can do to make your visit late, or very early in the day will contribute to your visit there. "Spending the day" at MSM is in my opinion the worst way to experience this wonderful place. Unfortunately, this might come at a cost to your visit to the D-day visits to your visit there's detriment. Mont-Saint-Michel is really best visited when it isn't totally mobbed by the tour busses.

You say "3 days" in Normandy. Does that include your drive to/from? If so, you only really have two days. Do you plan to drive on arrival day to MSM? if so, you'll only get there fairly late (which is good), but don't really have a full day there. Also, arriving on an overnight flight, and driving to a sight will likely wipe you completely out. Don't underestimate this!

Since you will be there during the anniversary of to D-day landings, I hope you are aware that the Normandy battle areas will be very busy and as such, if you don't already have a guide, you are likely too late. You should be glad that you have booked accommodations.

Your start at learning as much as you can about D-day and the Battle of Normandy is well advised—tour or not. Since it is likely too late for an organized guide—and you have cars—learn all you can before hand and have a plan of what you want to see and when, and a basic understanding of the lay of the land and routes between sites. Also research what events, ceremonies, and commemorations will take place while you are there. There will be a lot more traffic than normal, but not unbearable. The Normandy Battle area is very large. But while there will be some major events during your visit that will complicate traffic, there will alsoe be plenty of places and events to visit if you are very careful in your planning. Enjoy and Bon-journey.

Recommend watching Longest Day for some.great.perspective on the area.and what went on that June of 44. We.had a great tour with HQCompany tours and would take it again..see.if they are.available. The tour was well worth the money.

@PharmerPhil

Thank you so much for your comments and suggestions. At the risk of potentially boring others with the fine print, I'll be a bit more detailed. We arrive in Paris in the early afternoon of Sunday, June 9 (flight scheduled to land at 12:35 PM). We plan to pick up our rental car right afterwards, then drive to the Loire Valley for 5 days. We then depart on Friday morning, June 14 to drive to Normandy (Longues-sur-mer). I may have put the wrong dates down in my earlier post, sorry! At any rate, we will then be driving to Paris on the 17th (actually to CDG airport to drop off the rental car-we're spending 4 days in Paris and I've no interest in having a car in central Paris). So we will likely be arriving in Normandy at around 2 o'clock PM on the 14th. We could potentially drive to Mont St Michel that afternoon, or wait until Saturday the 15th. I appreciate your comments about not planning a long drive after an overnight flight. Perhaps it would allay your concerns to know that I've probably flown to Europe 100 times since 1984, and the last time I was in France (2015), I picked up a car right after we landed and drove 3 hours east to the Champagne area with no jetlag whatsoever. I travel to Europe at least once a year and I'm always raring to go. It helps that we fly business class so I'm able to sleep on the way over. I know we are going to have a lovely time in France. It will be the first time for some of my relatives, but probably my 15th trip to France. I've even been to Mont St Michel before. The D Day beaches were on the agenda for a planned trip in 2020, but Covid canceled that one. I'm sure it'll be a delightful time.

Just an FYI, the organized tours are NOT sold out. I just booked one, and it turns out it's the same one my sister and her husband took while in France in 2022. There are other tour companies (such as Overlord, recommended here on RS) that have availability. So fortunately it is still possible to book organized tours for this June. I'm glad I booked today, however. The closer we get, the harder it may become.