Mont Ste Michel Photograph

There's definitely quicksand at Mont Ste Michel - you'll see warning signs all around about both the tides and the quicksand ("sables mouvants" in French).

Hello Jeff, Circle north and west around the bay to the little town of Genets. It's where the D911 and D 231 intersect. You can park your car, walk up to a pasture fence, and get pictures of MSM from there. You will need a telephoto. We got some good photos from there - and also got to see the local team practicing for the Tour de France. You can check this out on Google maps satellite view. Don't try muck walking without a local guide - supposedly there's quicksand.

thank you all

Some of our favorite shots were at night from the causeway.

Jeff, As mentioned in a previous reply, I would NOT recommend "walking in the muck" without a good local Guide. There was a good example of the perils of doing that on the "Northern France" episode of Globe Trekker. The very knowledgeable and well-travelled Guide (Justine) became mired in quicksand, and required the assistance of several others to get out. The full video of that episode is available on You Tube, but unfortunately only on a 48-hour rental basis ($2.99). Regarding photographs, the best location will likely depend on the light and other conditions at the time (ie: overcast day, sunrise or sunset, etc.) If you have a car, you'll be able to stop at the end of the causeway and get a better view of the island. Happy travels!

Don't forget that there is a new procedure now for travel down the causeway to the Mont. Buses will be taking everyone from the village rather allowing parking right up at the main entrance. This may be very problematic for unobstructed picture-taking.
(But you simply must climb to the top for some gorgeous shots of the countryside.)

Photos in the Cloisters; from the Abbey over the walls to the sea (or mudflats) detailes in the carvings and decorations in the Abbey

Late evening and even when the sun goes down you can get some nice shots when the Abbey is lit up. Helps if you have a tripod for the night shots so you can slow your shutter speed for a nice sharp image. I did not have a tripod but used a little utility looking metal box located as you enter the parking area which is on the causeway about 75 yards or so from the Abbey on which I set my camera. You can use a remote or your timer for a steady shot. If you are staying there or close by get up before the sun rises and be ready for the early morning light. If the tide is out you can make your way back in the grassy looking area and use that as your foreground which makes a nice image. I did take some images from the right side (east side) of the Abbey when the tide was out at 10:20 p.m without the benefit of a tripod. One of those is in the 2011 Fodors France guidebook if you happen to have one. This was May 2009 and it did not get fully dark until between 10 and 11 p.m. If you go in June it will be even later before darkness falls. As you leave there is a WWII German cemetary mentioned in Rick Steves' guidebook and you can go there for a nice long distance shot of MSM. Helps if you have a car to do this.

The biggest thing you can do to improve your photos is to spend the night on the Mont. When the day-tripping hoards all flee, the pictures immediately get better.

Great info, we will have a car, and we should have a little jet lag so getting up early should be easy. We are going in 2 weeks. Thanks again