Overnight in Mont St Michelle for non-religious traveler

You don't have to be religious to appreciate the history and architecture of MSM. And the views at sunset and early morning, unencumbered by the day trip hordes, are really lovely.

Similarly, I've been able to appreciate the history and beauty of churches, cathedrals, mosques, temples, and shrines all over the world without believing in any of the respective religions

Thank you! That is exactly the info I was looking for.

Overnight at MSM was a highlight of our trip. We arrived in the afternoon and were entering the abbey as most of the day travelers were leaving the island (around 3 or 4 in the summer). We had enough time (a couple of hours) to walk through the abbey and look at the vaulted ceilings and the human hamster wheel lift and so on and there were 0 to 10 people in any room with us. (If it had not been enough time, we could have gone back the next morning.) In the long summer evening, it was wonderful to walk through the narrow streets and along the walls and watch the sun set. My 12 year old described it as being in a stereotypical fairytale village. If you are interested in walking out on the mudflats, finding a guide or a guided tour through the tourist office is recommended. Depending on the tides, that tour might be in the morning and then you are leaving as the larger numbers of tourists start to arrive. The really big tides that bring water around the causeway only happen a few days a month.

For practical stuff, you will have to maneuver your luggage in narrow crowded streets and up stairs. The sandwich and ice cream places will close when the day visitors leave - we were lucky to get squeezed into a restaurant for supper and were sharing the table with two retired Frenchmen on a motorcycle trip (which was a fun conversation between our limited French and one of them knowing some English).

We are planning an overnight in MSM next spring. I thought we might just pack an overnight backpack and leave our luggage the car. Hopefully our car will have a trunk where our luggage cannot be seen. How much of a problem is break-ins?
And to your question, we are spiritual - but not Catholic. But that doesn't stop us from enjoying the wonder of the cathedrals and abbeys we have visited. We will also be there next April!

Most tourists to Mont St Michel are not there for spiritual reasons. Mont St Michel is very special, very magical and well worth spending the night there so you can enjoy it before and after the daytime hordes leave.

I would not leave anything of value in a car in the parking lot, even in a trunk. Mont St Michel is at the top of the Must See Tourist list and a logical target for car break ins - although i haven’t Googled for the stats.

I just wanted to mention how much I respect your recognition that this place was designed for religious reasons. So many people simply ignore the reason so much effort was put into these buildings. That said, as long as you behave within expected norms ( modest) at the Abbey, no one will mind that this is not a spiritual experience for you or expect you to have one. Tourism long ago became the supporting industry here.

We were at Mont St Michel about 10 days ago as part of a bicycling tour through Brittany and Normandy. It was packed with people. If our tour had been offered in the offseason that would have been much better for Mont St. Michel but for everything else we did it worked out great. My thoughts while we visited were that an overnight stay after the crowds had subsided for the day would have been the way to go. That said, there are so many other interesting things to see in the region that I didn't feel our short visit at peak season to Mont St. Michel marred our trip. However, I found the cathedral in Bayeux to be a much nicer and calmer experience. I also really enjoyed the Fort La Latte near Cap Frehel and the nearby lighthouse so if you have time check them out.

Thank you all for your helpful responses. Susan

Given your interests I would recommend staying across from MSM in one of the hotels just across the bridge. We stayed there a few years ago and enjoyed not only the easy access from the shuttle bus that has a stop but the incredible views of it lit up at night.

I also suggest doing what RS suggests in his book, spending much of the day elsewhere and then arriving in the afternoon. There'll be plenty of light left to visit but the buses of daytrippers will be leaving and it will be less crowded. Cancale, Dinard, St. Malo, are just a few of the locations relatively nearby. The Michelin Green Guide for Normandy is a great guidebook for this area.