Would anyone be able to provide specific instructions on how to go about booking train travel from Paris to Mont St Michel? My husband and I will be traveling for one night- leaving on 11/26, spending the night on the Mont and returning to Paris on 11/27. I am not able to make sense of the SNCF website - as it then sends me to a RailEurope site? I imagine there is going to be a connection and a bus involved. And I'm not sure if my destination should be Rennes or Pontorson?
Thanks in advance!
You can buy it through Rail Europe or www.voyages-sncf.com does offer an option to stay on that site. You may have to say that you live in France or will pick up tickets in France. (They'll be e-tickets.) You can later change the language to English.
[edited] For a route that's primarily by train, start by requesting a schedule to Pontorson, since Rennes is not the only possible connection point, and some schedule results will show both legs by train. For instance, the 10:10 Mon-Fri departure connects at Lison and some weekend schedules connect elsewhere. However, it's too soon to book or see confirmed schedules for the regional trains on this route for your travel dates. You could try again around October 1.
Or, searching to Mont St Michel will give you different schedule results, usually including a bus connection at Rennes that goes all the way to MSM instead of just Pontorson. If you prefer those, they are for sale now. The portion by TGV to Rennes is the more expensive and reserved leg of the trip, with the greatest advance-purchase discount, but you can purchase the bus connection as part of the same ticket.
You can book through SNCF, http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers. From Paris to Mont Saint Michel. You get out at Rennes, then you take a bus to the Chateau, the bus departs about 20 minutes later, it will be included in the price of the ticket. It ranges from 3 hours to 3 plus hours, depending on what time you take it. It can run about $100 round trip (2nd Class), depends on what time you book. Its cheaper if booked a few months out and first class can be cheaper as well when book a few months out. You are able to select your seat, window, aisle, if offered facing the direction the train is moving.
Thanks so much for the advice! I actually also have a follow up question- I went to the SNCF website to book the travel and to pick up tickets it says to bring the card used for purchase. I was unsure though if my credit card would work in Paris? I have read about chip and pin cards. I have an AMEX with a chip but don't think that's the same as they mean in Europe? Would I be okay using my american AMEX to purchase and pick up the train tickets in Paris?
Thanks!
US chip-and-signature cards generally work fine in Europe with the exception of some vending machines; unattended gas pumps and highway toll booths have been mentioned as potential problems. I've personally not had any difficulty with bus or train-ticket vending machines in England, France, Spain or Italy. You will already have paid for the ticket, so you'll be using the credit card essentially as ID, and I'd be shocked if the machine had a problem with it.
Thanks all of the help! I have hopefully one last question! In trying to book the ticket- where there should be a seat reservation it says "without reservation" ...I'm not sure what that means? Would that indicate open seating or that I would need to make a reservation at a later time?
Thanks again!!
Just remember that AmEx has a foreign exchange fee (3%?) -- check to see if your other cards do as well.
When we went to Mont St. Michel this last time, we stayed a couple nights in Bayeux and did the D-Day beaches one day and Mount St Michel the next.
We were a larger group of friends, so we did an all day tour to each place (had a nice large new van) We booked through Viator, but they actually put us on an and Overload tour for each day. It was really perfect and nice relaxing way to go.
We took the train from Paris to Bayeux via a short train change in Caen.
Happy Travels.
Which Amex, Laura? We have a gold and a Delta Platn neither of which has fees.
Before US credit cards had chips, they definitely did not work to pick up French train tickets in the machines. I don't know if they work now that they have chips.
If you can't get your ticket from a machine, you can pick it up from a ticket window, or from an SNCF Boutique. These are "train ticket stores" found all over Paris, and in every other French city as well. You take a number like at a bakery, and sit in the semi air conditioning until your number is called. You then go to a desk where you are seated for the transaction. Much nicer than standing in a line at a station.
You do indeed need the credit card you used to purchase the ticket. It only takes a few minutes; they enter your reservation number, insert your credit card, print the tickets, and you're done.
We were just there last weekend. We stayed outside of Pontorson, at La Rose [we loved it], and were in easy walking distance from the Mont. We caught a taxi outside of the Pontorson train station [8e] to the hotel.
Hi Anjali,
I hope you had a wonderful time in Europe. If you made the trip to MSM from Paris, could give my husband and I some advice? We are going to Paris in August of this year and want to include a trip to MSM and Normandy/Bayeux. Like yourself, I'm having a terrible time trying to get information on a train from, well anywhere, to Pontorson/MSM. We would like to avoid renting a car and a long bus ride. We are open to coming from Paris via Rennes and return through Bayeaux before heading back to Paris and our flight home. Or from Paris via Bayeux to MSM. Any help that you or anyone else could give us would be much appreciated. Thank you and Bonjour.
