I want to arrive in Mont St. Michel in the afternoon, say 3:00 PM and stay until about 8:00 PM then drive back to Bayeaux. I keep reading that the parking is below tide level. What does that mean? Are the cars under water? Do they flood? Are you unable to get off of the island?
If so, what is the alternative?
My afternoon plan is two-fold: avoid day-trippers and see the Mont at night. I don't mind the drive, but I do not want to ruin the car!
Please help.
Thanks,
Cecily
Mont Saint Michel is no longer on an island, but at the end of a causeway. Apparently by 2012 it will again be an island. The causeway, where the car park is located, does not get covered with water. I think you have been reading vastly out of date information.
Actually, the causeway has two levels, and the lower level does sometimes flood at high tide. The upper level, however, remains dry. Overnight parking for hotel guests is on the upper level on a gate-access lot closest to the island. Daytrippers can park beyond this lot on the upper level, or anywhere on the lower level. Depending on the timing of the tides, the attendants control access to the lower level (ie, they won't open the lot in the morning if high tide occurs during the day).
Thank you.
I will not be an overnight guest. Are you saying that the parking attendants can be depended on to let me park my car where it is safe during the hours I will be there? Will I have to explain that I will only be there for the afternoon/early evening? Is there always a parking attendant on-duty?
Sorry, I am just scared that something will happen to the car - friends are lending it to us.
Thanks.
It's really simple. You won't have access to the overnight lot, so don't even worry about it. If there is a danger of flooding, the lower level won't be open. Just park where you see all the other cars on the upper level, even if it means you have to walk a little farther.
