Mont St Michel Overnight, mid April

Hello Marian, When we visited MSM 3 years ago (in August) , we did an overnight which worked out well for us. We enjoyed our stay and it was wonderful to see it without all the crowds. We were up first thing in the morning and toured the Abbey right away and were off MSM before lunch - and at that point the line to get onto MSM was over a mile long and it was challenging to get down the main street -it was wall to wall people! Yes, the food is expensive and mediocre - if food is a primary concern or interest, then a night at MSM probably is not worth it to you. If you stay overnight, there is a reserved parking area for you. I would not recommend leaving anything in your car since the parking lot is not guarded and the area is, of course, quite deserted.

Sounds like you're renting a car? The lodings convienent to MSM seemed overpriced/touristy. Although if you can afford to/are willing to pay I bet it would be cool to see it without the crowds. As an alternative, consider staying in St. Malo, a beautiful walled city nearby. (30 minute drive or so?) There's plenty to see there, and plenty of great food. If you have a rental car you can either get to MSM at opening to beat the crowds or go in the afternoon and stay late.

Yes, we'll have a car which will give some flexibility. Those who did overnight at MSM, any feedback re getting luggage to the hotel? We travel with only carry-on bags with wheels so are pretty light. Re food: I'm betting some have had reasonable snack-type meals, saving gourmet dining----actually we can go light there any time----for another occasion.
We're now looking at St.Malo, planned to see Dinan, but maybe we'll work a substitute there. Thanks much for your input!

I don't recall any particular difficulty bringing my luggage from the parking area to the hotel, and I don't pack that light. If you stay at a hotel on the Mont, you get to park in a limited-access lot that's closer than the day-tripper lot. Most of the restaurants seem to be owned by the same company and offer the same menu... the exception being Restaurant St. Michel, where I had an excellent seafood dinner. I also ate at one of the other restaurants... yeah, nothing too special, but they at least serve the unique "salt water lamb" that you would probably have to look very hard to find elsewhere.

We have stayed on MSM twice and it was quiet after the day trippers left. On the second visit we experienced the high tides. We pulled out needed items from the luggage and left the bags in the car which may be risky but had no problem with theft. Our meals were mediocre and the place to avoid for sure is Mere Poulard's omelet place. Very overpriced-I think the omelet was more than twenty euros.

Thanks for your input. We think we will stay overnight---realizing that it's probably not the best deal of the trip, either accommodation or food. Your comments re luggage, access to accommodation
were reassuring; we plan to take what we need in a backpack, leave suitcases in the trunk. Happy traveling....Marian

Marian, you seem to have some concern about carrying your bags from your car to your room, but you haven't made clear what you want to know. If the question is, Is it okay to leave valuables in the car, I'd say, probably not a good idea. But that is based on general principles not specific experience. One thing I can tell you about parking at MSM is that there is one parking area for day trippers and another for overnighters. Be sure to park in the overnight area, since it is above the high-tide mark.

Unless I read something crooked, the parking lot at the mont end of the causeway might be gone by now and you park on the mainland and ride a shuttle. It has to do with desilting the bay. I think we've passed the projected parking lot removal date, but I don't know if things are on schedule. The next step is busting out the causway and installing some kind of light bridge so the water can flow.

We parked in the overnight parking lot - left our luggage locked in the trunk and just each took one small bag on wheels with us. Though it was crowded when we arrived, we had no trouble making our way through the people to check into our hotel. It was very nice being there overnight but I will agree with everyone - the food was not good at all.

Thanks to Ed of Pensacola for mentioning MSM's new access system of parking lots and shuttles which will be in place April 28. Check this MSM site for info: http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/en/renseignements-pratiques.htm ...and the future access for MSM: http://www.accueilmontsaintmichel.com/english/stationnement.html We appreciate all your input. Marian