Mont St Michel

It sure is a shame/sham you didn't get to see it. Here are the hours from the website: "September 1 to April 30 : 9:30 am to 6 pm
last admission at 5 pm " http://mont-saint-michel.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/

today I talked to another couple from Florida in Chinon who experienced the same thing I did. There is no warning of the closing time. The hotel I was at did not know the times.
Rick don't advise after 4 if you will be turned away.

Why would you listen to these anti social people anyway, the day time crowds are the best part of MSM. The hussel the bussel the teeming masses, watching folk dragging luggage up steep slopes, the omelet chiefs doing their show, the standing in line to tour the monastery, the bell ringing nun giving you the evil eye for taking her photo. Why would you even consider going in the evening when it's quite and unnatural? MSM, go early, go often.

To each his own I guess. It is a shame you didn't get to see it especially in the evening..It is really quite amazing in my opinion..

I have read that the optimal thing to do is get there late afternoon and tour the mont at night when it is lit up. Spend the night in one of the hotels on the mont and then see the abbey first thing in the morning before the crowds arrive.

do a little more research next time before you go somewhere. on top of that you are not in america anymore, if your watch says 4:50 and their clock says 5, they can care less about what your watch says, unlike many places in the states where exceptions can be made. it clearly states on their site their operating hours. never show up 15 minutes before places are closed or stopped admitting people, plus unforeseen circumstances happen. so just enjoy ur trip and RELAX! rick also said to get to the abby after 4pm, and walk around the area. stay on the island, wake up the next day tour the area at 930ish and leave by 11. or during summer u can op for doing the night tour. anyhow have fun! and bummer~

I will stop posting here. It seems all I get are replies from critics. I just wanted to post to advise future travelers of a situation. I guess everyone on this site is sooo much smarter than me.

"I have read that the optimal thing to do is get there late afternoon and tour the mont at night when it is lit up. Spend the night in one of the hotels on the mont and then see the abbey first thing in the morning before the crowds arrive." That's pretty much what I did and what I would recommend. Worked out well for me. No sham to be found.

If this was meant as a warning, why did you say you "found the whole thing a sham"? Sounds bitter. Most people would check the hours on line or in a printed brochure because details change from when books are printed. It is a shame that you drove there and didn't get to see your goal, but it's not a sham. If you want to warn others, there is a place on the website to submit corrects for the books.

I think the Op thought he was making a report/comment to RS Inc.

I will never post here again - excuse me for posting to begin with. I have learn my lesson This site is just for those who have ALL the answers.

Hi Steve, Making mistakes and learning has been part of the "fun" of traveling. I like learning how to manuver my way around the problems of making a trip successful. I don't get involved in many conversations here but do spend lots of time reading what's going on. Yes it does seem like some may come off as "know it alls", we all do at some time. Have fun with the site and maybe just do as I do learn from it and avoid what may bother me.
Tony

I think your warning is a fair one in that one should check out the closing times/website for themselves and not rely solely on one source. If the website states that last admittance is at 5pm, then it really isn't a sham, but rather the rule of the place. Do leave a feedback for the guidebook (in the appropriate area, not here), so that the appropriate folks can fix the issue (maybe state that one should arrive after 4pm but before last admittance). And we do have all the answers because most of us are sitting at a computer, can readily do a Google search, and have the benefit of hindsight. Enjoy the rest of your trip and please post again. Yours was pretty worthwhile, but keep in mind when you post with emotion, you will get emotional responses.

we simply respond to your "sham" comment. and letting you know the unsmart ways of your traveling. hoping you would learn from your mistake and be wise next time. we may come off as know it all, but you don't have to take any advises from anyone. you can simply just ignore it if you felt attacked. we all just trying to help and point out ways to avoid the same mistakes. after all it's just the internet, no one wants to bully you, especially not here, most people have the best intention in mind while helping you from their past experiences. it is after all attitude like yours against the world let you to your unfortunate situation at mont st michel. hope the rest of your trip makes up for it. have fun on your vacation!

Steve,
It's a stretch, but possibly the venue was closing early to allow the staff to attend a memorial or visitation of another staff member who had died.............one just NEVER knows. Or, possibly there was a big fundraising or governmental event to be held there that evening. Things happen. On my first trip to Rome, I was disappointed I could not see St. Peters, because lines were many hours long due to it being closed for a private mass that morning. After my second attempt on my second trip to Rome(was closed because of post-beatification events on our first attempt), we finally got in the next day (which was our third attempt). Things happen. Likewise, we've been pleasantly surprised sometimes when we were able to walk right in places or kindly ask if we could trade ticket times from later to earlier. Sorry you had problems and were disappointed, but we've learned the only "absolutes" in life are death and taxes. For must-see places, we have learned to build in contingencies of going early or having a back-up time to catch them. There are trade-offs in doing that, but again, just for the must-sees. As far as what was printed in the guidebook, as with anything in life, the whole guidebook would have a footnote of, "any exception can happen at anytime." No one can control everything.....there are always exceptions.