Mont St. Michel

I don't think you can take a train directly(I didn't see any stations in the immediate area). Your best option is probably taking a bus from Paris, or catching a train to a destination near the Mont, and taking a bus from there. As for sleeping, there are a few small, relatively inexpensive hotels on the island. I forget the name of the place where I stayed, but it's listed in Rick's France book. In my opinion, if you want to see the abbey, the best option is to stay on the island. You can avoid the hoardes of day-trippers early in the morning or late in the day. Plus, exploring the ramparts at night is an experience you won't forget. Enjoy!

It is a wonderful place to visit I was there last October however it does take time to get there from CDG Paris since no train goes straight there. you would spend in my opinion too much time in transit for your 3 night trip. how about another wonderful area but closer as Loire Valley?

I appreciate the advice, but I am going with a friend who specifically wants to go to Mont St. Michel.

And actually, the Loire valley is probably farther...

Here's the website of the place where I stayed:

http://www.auberge-saint-pierre.fr/

From what I remember in Rick's book, all of the hotels are comparable.

We stayed on the Mont St. Michel 5 years ago and loved it. We are stopping there on our trip next year also. We actually have planned our trip to be there during high tide. Here's a website you may find useful for planning -

http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/accueil_gb.htm

I think that the train goes from Paris to the town of Pontorson, and then you would take the bus or maybe a cab. We stayed overnight on the island, Hotel: Le Mouton Blanc, which was so-so..I would recommend spending a bit more, Hotel les Terrasses Poulard. Go to your local bookstore or library and read Rick Steves France 2007 for his recommendations for on-island hotels. He lists the email addresses or the fax number, which you could use to check availability.
It looks like the train goes to Rennes first, where you can catch a bus that goes straight to Mt. St Michel. The bus takes 1.75 hours, and the train from Paris to Rennes appears to take about 2 or 3 hours. Again I would suggest getting the most recent France guidebook for details. Perhaps another poster has more info...

Trains go regularly from Gare Montparnasse in Pais, via TGV to Rennes....2 hours....and then there are buses to Mont StMichel...1 1/2 hours....but i don't remember where the bus station.
For the train check:
www.ter-sncf.com/bretagne
Scroll down to the bottom right corner for the "in english"

You might also check this site:

wikitravel.org/en/MontStMichel

We are planninig something similar in December but doing it as a day trip from Paris. We're planning to take the TGV to Rennes and taking a minivan tour (we're doing with Westcapades) because of the infrequent regional buses and trains that run off-season. I understand they also have some overnight tours as well. It costs more, but I'm guessing we'll save time.

I really appreciate all the posts.

We have firmed up our plans somewhat. My friend wanted to go around her birthday, so we are leaving Wednesday,January 30th, and returning Monday, February 4th. Our departing flight leaves CDG at 1:55 p.m.

I originally thought we would be going in October, and thought we would stay in Normandy, But since we are going in February, our tentative plan is to spend the first three days in Paris (I've done a long weekend in Paris in February before and it was great) and then on Sunday morning go to Mont St. Michel, spend the afternoon and night there and then head back to CDG on Monday for our flight. It looks doable, but I am a bit worried about making our flight. We are thinking about renting a car, but it looks like the buses and trains might be doable.

Any suggestions or criticisms about this plan?

I looked back at a journal from when we went from Paris to Mont St Michel (1998). We took a train which went through Caen and arrived at Pontorson, which is the closest town. Dont see that we changed trains but might have at Caen. From Pontorson, we took a bus out to the Mont. Took maybe half an hour, if that. Stayed in Pontorson in a ann okay place (L Arrivee) and found that there would have been reasonably priced nicer places right on the Mont. So if we did it again, we would stay out there. (My notes say L Arrive had a clean room, small shower, but toilet and sink were down the hall. We saw another hotel that looked better after eating dinner but didn't move.) Recall waiting quite a while in Pontorson for a return train after getting the bus back there. My notes say on the return trip we changed trains in Falligny. The whole return trip took 5 hours.The train came into Gare de Montparnasse. Going we left from Gare de St Lazare. Not sure why the difference.

Just returned from a trip that included Mont St Michel. We rented a car in Normandy and did a one night stay there before heading to Loire Valley so i can't help with the tranpotation part. We opted to save money and stayed right off the island at Hotel Vert. It was clean and friendly and very reasonable (70E for a double). We also enjoyed renting a bike and riding the 2km to the island and avoiding the traffic.

You can take a train to Pontoise & then a bus directly to Le Mont. I would take a train to Rennes or other town where you can rent a car, then drive to Le Mont. I'm going for the high tides on 10/27 & most places within walls are full but there are places outside. You'd need a car to get to those. I would recommend staying away from Hotel St Aubert. Try http://www.le-mont-saint-michel.com/EN/hotel_formule_verte/index.php

Sorry, that town is Portonson. If you are going in Feb, you should try to be there before 8am on 2/9 to see the tides rush in. It only happens a couple times a month. check out the tide table. http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/horaires_fevrier08_gb.htm

Hi, I may not have understood your post correctly, but, are you planning on leaving Mont St Michel on the day of your flight out of CDG? You will have to leave VERY EARLY,, since you need to return the rental car, and be in the check in by 11 am. It is what like a three hour drive to airport,, not counting bad weather or traffic,, so I think that puts you on the road by 7 am.. yikes, You are a brave soul, ( with incredible stamina too, LOL) .
I think staying the night at M S M is a good idea though,, it is nice once all the tourists leave at night, but may be put it at the beginning of your trip instead of the end.
Have fun.