Mont St Michel

Train to Rennes, then bus to Mont Saint Michel. The Rennes bus station is just outside the train station. Some bus departures are synchronized with train arrivals. http://www.destination-montsaintmichel.com/?lang=en

In my opinion, 2 days is way too much time. It is just a little spot of land.... There is one street up to the abbey and it is lined with shops, restaurants and hotels. The only historic building to really tour is the abbey. I highly recommend spending the night on the Mont. We stayed at the Hotel de la Croix Blanche. You would need to check their prices and see if you consider them to be reasonable. We arrived after 4:00 (when the crowds start to leave) and walked the street up to the abbey and then the ramparts back down. Our hotel had a restaurant - they reserved a window table for us and we were able to eat dinner and watch the tide come in. When it was dark (and pretty much deserted), we walked the street and ramparts again. We also strolled back out towards the causeway so we could see the abbey lit up at night from a distance. In the morning, we took a tour of the abbey before the crowds arrive. I think there is a service at noon. We left after that. I'm not sure what else there would be to do...

To maximize your time at Mont-Saint-Michel and still only spend one night, you could do this: 1. Travel by train from Paris to Rennes and by bus from there to Mont-Saint Michel, departing at 07:03 and arriving at 11:05. 2. Spend the night. 3. Travel by bus from Mont-Saint-Michel to Rennes and by train from there to Paris, departing at 17:15 and arriving at 21:11. If you want a second night on the island, the first bus to Rennes departs at 09:25. Your train from Rennes to Paris arrives at 13:28. For complete timetables, see the German Rail site.

Thanks to all for the specifics!!

Just returned from Normandy/Brittany. Had never gotten around to actually visiting M.S.Michel so this time we did. Previous posters gave excellent advice re transportation (although we had a car being in Brittany for several weeks). Staying overnight is wonderful and highly recommended but an afternoon, one overnight and the following morning is plenty of time for the site. This is a very very compact site.

Sherry I echo all the advice that others have given as to the length of stay two days there and you'd go stir crazy. I have stayed at Mont St. Michel on three separate occasions and have had great experiences each time. I recommend getting there later, (around 4). Mid-day the place is thick with tourists and there is not much space to pack that many people in comfortably. Rick has good hotel recommendations in his guide book. Make your reservations early as possible because there are not that many rooms available on the rock. Our first trip we stayed at Hotel le Mouton Blanc. It is higher up the rock and some of the rooms had nice views booked up the two other times we went. Trip Adviser is a good site for recommendations.

Part Two getting there.... As to getting there I have found it very easy to drive in France especially the country side. The roads are clearly marked with destination signs and points of interest along the way. Driving, you have the opportunity to see a lot of sights along the route that won't be available to you traveling by other means. Great villages and sights along the way Giverny with Monet's water gardens is right between MSM and Paris. I pick my car up at CDG stay on the ring road outside Paris until I get to an autoroute that takes me in the direction I want to go. Then, when I'm a good distance away from Paris - I exit onto more rural roads. Its really is very easy and enables you to maximize the experience by seeing some of the more charming places in between major sights. The distance between Paris and MSM is not that great you'd have a lot of time to get there at a comfortable pace and visit much more than traveling by train or bus & you don't have to sweat schedules. Returning a car to CDG is very easy too. I suffered from shellfish poisoning the last night in Honfluer on our last trip and my wife had to drive us back to CDG the next day. She had not driven once on any trip prior and made it to the car return lot with no problems while I was basically passed out for the whole ride there.... I'd explore driving as an option anyway....