Mont St. Michel - How much time?

Driving time is roughly 1.5 to 2 hours each way but those times assume you make no stops, no traffic problems, and don't get lost. How much time to allow, once there, is difficult to say: it depends on the crowds and what you want to see. There are large crowds from 10am to about 4pm, because of the big tour buses that come in from Paris. Most people want to see the abbey and that can take time when the crowds are there.

You walk up one street, go up some steps and get on a section of the eastern wall and walk back down that way, completing a circle. You can walk it in fifteen minutes if the throngs are gone. There's one other short street that's about two minutes long. How long you spend gawking, or looking inside the abbey, is up to you.

MSM abbey and the cloisters are well worth browsing around in- allow at least one extra hour- most people miss this by doing the 15 miniute thing described above. Stand at the top and look over the walls. You are wasting an opportunity if you dont allow yourself a leisurely stroll and gawking in the abbey. Although i have never done it, the omelette meal in the restaurant at the bottom is part of the experience most people remember. Allow half an hour to walk up and back to the bottom, plus time to and from your car. So count on a good two hours plus lunch, snack, whatever you plan

Allow at least 2 hrs. Lots of walking, picture taking and being amazed. Do not miss the monastery and church at the top which requires lots of walking up steps.

Yeah. The omelette experience is one I shall never forget. Sorriest omelette I've ever tried to eat. Just not in to raw eggs.

Depends on how many of the 1,287 souvenir shops you hit.

Hi Sean, I spent about an hour going through the abbey. Walked down one of the (truly touristy) streets and was done. It is very beautiful and the history is fascinating, but there isn't really anything to do after the abbey. We took a shuttle from Bayeux and it was about 90 minutes each way.

We went late in the day and enjoyed watching the sunset on the water. We sat in one of the courtyards & there were musicians playing in some of the Abbey's rooms. Two hours to really look and absorb would be a minimum.

Sean, research the non-touristy way to walk up (if you haven't already)...and I've heard the same thing about the omelettes - runny is not an American thing! If you haven't already seen the official website with more info than you probably want, go to: http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/index.htm?lang=en

When I order an omelet (often) in France, I just ask them to cook it well done and it's never a problem. We decided to eat at the famous omelet place there, Mere Poulard, got seated, looked at the price (a plain omelet was around $30 and this was 2001!) and the 3 of us got up and left. The staff was very snooty about it but we didn't care. Outrageously expensive! But we LOVE Mont St Michel. In the evening, from about 4pm on, and early in the morning until about 11am, it's great. I've spent the night on the island several times and love it.

A well-made souffle omelette should be just barely set. With a little practice anyone can learn to do it. Soon you'll also learn to detest dry eggs. We didn't get one there though, 'cause we saved up for Mouton Pre-sale at one of the farmhouse restaurants in the area. And aside from fewer crowds and lovely sunset photos, that yummy lamb my friends, it THE reason to spend the night and not make MSM a day trip.

Check the tide tables before you go. We went late afternoon and spent about two hours which seemed like ample time. However, the tide was way out when we visited. I imagine MSM would be far more attractive surrounded by water instead of mudflats.

We were going to eat the Omelettes in May 2009 but at 39 Euros per person and a waiter who was not friendly at all we got up and left. Even had the waiter been friendly we would have left because of the price which would have come to almost 80 euros for the two of us and neither of us are crazy about omelettes anyway. As far as how much time to allot for the visit it is up to you. You can do a quickie tour as others have mentioned or spend several hours depending on how the mood strikes as you tour the place. If you get there before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m., as Kent mentioned, it would be much better. During the peak time in between those hours the streets are elbow to elbow. We spent the night there arriving after 5 p.m. and enjoyed it thoroughly with very few tourists. It was our second trip there so we had already spent time touring the place but this time I mainly wanted to get some nice photos of the Abbey late in the day and at night as well as early morning. I took a ton of photos (over did it I know) and luckily one of those is now published in the 2011 Fodors France guidebook.

Saw wonderful sunset there on 10/4/10. Beach is mud...but worth the mess. Arrive late, leave early...avoid the crowds if possible.

Just got back last week from France and we drove our rental car to Mount Saint Michel from Bayeux for the day.It's about a 90 mile drive. We spent about 5 hours there. We figured we'll probably never be back again so we took out time, checked out all the shops and ate lunch and toured the Abbey. Great views at the top and be prepared to climb lot and lots of steps. Also we went out in the sand during low tide and walked around the whole island. Don't rush your visit. We arrived about 11am and the crowds are overrated in my opinion...never had a problem. Take the scenic way back to Bayeux if you can, we loved driving thru the countryside.Have fun!

145 degrees kills e coli and the same temperature sets the eggs so runny eggs are somewhat unsafe.

Definitely agree that the omelettes are to be skipped. We were on the Mont in 2005 and were lucky to experience the high tides and it is worth it to spend the night. But we just had to try Mere Pouillard's restaurant. I had the puffy omelette which was not raw but over beaten into a puffy, flavorless mass with a tiny bit of cheese--handful of salad greens accompanied it. Husband had another menu selection and we had wine. Had to ask for bread three times and waiter was surly in attitude. L'addition: over 90 euros.