Mont St Michel

Google Maps show a 1:45 drive between the two. That puts you there around 8PM which is great in June-August with long light. Not so good in January. Your overnight on the island plan is best if you are talking about summer. In July they start evening abbey tours, which is especially nice and atmospheric. Does your plan allow you time to eat? Eating on the island is not recommended either financially or gastronomically.

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking that we would eat after arriving and checking in. You note makes me want to reconsider. :) Do you have any suggestions for a nice place to eat between St Mere Eglise and Mont St Michel? Tom

PS Actually the trip will be in early June

There is one decent restaurant on the island, or at least there was 5 years ago when I last visited- Restaurant St. Michel. Most of the others seemed to be owned by the same company and offer nearly identical menus. You won't need much time to explore the village. Most of it consists of one narrow street lined with hotels, restaurants and tacky souvenir stores. You can bypass all of this by walking up the ramparts instead, and this will lead you directly to a staircase to the abbey. Using the provided audio tour, I think it took me about an hour to work my way through the abbey. If you are in good shape and have some climbing experience, you can give yourself a fun challenge by trying to reach the small chapel on the back side of the Mont. You'll have to maneuver across some difficult rocks to get there. The chapel itself isn't very interesting (and probably permanently locked), but it's definitely an interesting experience getting there. Don't even attempt it if the rocks are wet.

We stayed on the island in 2010. There was a restaurant half way up the Mont, La Terrasse Poulard, where the prices weren't bad and the food was decent. I don't recommend La Mere Poulard, disappointing dining and hotel experience. The abbey is beautiful and worth the time exploring. I recommend the audio tour as well.

I enjoyed my stay on the Mont in April of 2009. We arrived around 4:00 and it was very busy with tourist. We checked into our hotel ( Terrese Poulard)and had a bottle of wine and enjoyed the views from our room. The room was not fancy but large and clean with a great view from two large windows that opened up overlooking the bay. At 7:00 we ate dinner at one of the restaurants that was recommended in Rick's book. It was a nice experience and our food was good. Most restaurants in France are on the pricey side so it was more of the same. We toured the abbey in the early morning before the rush of tourist arrived. I think your plan is a good one. We drove from the Loire Valley to Mont St. Micheal in one day and it was a nice drive. Enjoy, I loved Normandy.

Staying on the island overnight was a must for us. The next morning, at dawn, I watched the tide come in with the only noises chirping from some birds...it was absolutely magical. Eat a great lunch before you arrive and have a simple supper "on the rock"and the restaurants won't be an issue.