Hi everyone--We are planning a trip to France in late May, visiting Paris and Normandy, and are trying to decide on an ideal itinerary. Logistically, I think it would work best for us to have Paris first and the Normandy days at the end of trip, but in looking at the tide chart for Mont St. Michel here: https://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/HORAIRES-DES-MAREES-2023-1.pdf , only the first few days of our trip are coded in orange, which I gather from my extremely limited French means tide phenomenon visible from MSM. So my question is this--how impressive is the "tide phenomenon seen from MSM" when it's not the really high tides that surround the island, and is it worth taking a less optimal itinerary to see it? (If we do Normandy first, my plan is to take the train straight from CDG to Rennes, pick up a rental car, and drive to MSM, meaning we would be touring MSM late on our arrival day, so will probably be quite exhausted. Alternatively, could take the train to Caen and spend the first night in Bayeux and go to MSM on the second day, but looks like that train involves transfers, which I was trying to avoid). Thanks!
Posted by
London, UK
414 posts
Subject to correction by our French forum readers, I think the ‘phenomenon’ is what’s known as a tidal bore. This is a wave that forms when the tide is coming in strongly but the wave moves in the opposite direction to the incoming tide. It seems to be on the coast visible from MSM but not actually at the Mont itself. There are similar bores elsewhere in the world, one on the river Severn in England and another on the west coast of Canada, I think. I’ve seen the Severn bore and it was interesting but not spectacular so unless you are particularly interested, I would just go to MSM when it suits you and if you happen to see the bore, great.
Posted by
Phoenix, AZ
333 posts
I can't answer the question about how impressive the "orange" tide levels are at MSM; the day we went it was barely a tide and we thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. Although I would love to see the dramatic tide change, too and if you can work your trip around that it sounds like a great idea.
But I can say it's typically better to save Paris (city you're leaving from) until the end. And yes, it would be far too much to arrive in Paris (esp if you're coming internationally), take a train, do a drive and then tour MSM. I don't know how many days you have planned, so that info would help with the full itinerary. But it seems best for several reasons to go straight to Normandy, then next day at MSM, then save Paris till the end of your trip.
Posted by
11569 posts
We are going to be staying in Brittany but near
MSM for a few days and appreciate having these tide charts. We have already been to MSM on our trip to Normandy so may just do a drive by on the coastal road.