Mont St Michel

Firstly before visiting this landmark there is a warning that must be heeded: It is NOT advised to try to approach the Mont any other way than the causeway, unless with an experienced guide, people have been cut off and even drowned due to rising tides.

Upon a rocky outcrop standing prominently against the highest tides in Europe within the Baie du Mont Saint Michel, Aubert, Bishop of Avranches built and consecrated a tiny church on the 16th October 709 at the mouth of the River Couesnon. Today, just inside the Normandy border, this elegant and breath-taking Abbey tops a magnificent 14th Century Village.

The Architecture is awesome, the people friendly, the shops wonderful and varied, the food good, the history fascinating, the countryside beautiful.

The Mont Saint Michel abbey is built on a rocky islet and lies off the north coast of France. Surrounded by the sea and moving sands, it rises impressively out of the ocean. The structure has a slender spire with a copper statue of Michael the Archangel slaying a dragon. Mont Saint Michel was a great cultural centre and a pilgrimage destination in the Middle-Ages and now draws visitors to explore its Benedictine abbey and marvel at its dramatic setting. Once you arrive at the Mont you can enjoy lunch at a wide selection of restaurants and even taste the famous Mont Saint-Michel omelette; a soufflé omelette cooked in a wood-fired oven.

There is are plently of shops both touristic and specialty shops offering regional crafts and produce.

Take a guided tour of the abbey. The Mont Saint Michel is built out of granite and has impressive Gothic buildings built over the centuries. The La Merveille, literally, ‘the marvel’, are buildings on the northern side and there is a beautiful cloister and 13th century refectory.

How to get here:

By Car - Driving is by far and away the most efficient way of visiting Mont Saint Michel. Within the region of Normandie, drive from Caen along the A84 south-west to Pontorson, then continue a few more kilometres to Avranches. Merge with the D43, following the signs to its Mont-St-Michel at its end.

From Paris the total driving time is about 4.5 hours.

By Train and Bus - There are no direct train services between Paris and Mont St Michel, but rail travel to the island is possible. The best option is the TGV from Gare Montparnasse to Rennes, where a bus run by Les Couriers Bretons provides a 90 minute transfer to the island (there are 2-5 departures from Rennes per day ). The bus station is immediately outside the Rennes train station, at a bus terminal building on your right, after leaving the station by the north exit. Bus tickets are sold by the driver when boarding the bus, not in advance at the bus terminal.
When returning with the bus, the driver might ask if you have a reservation for the TGV to Paris and give priority to people who have one.

Note: the bus stops at the entrance to the Mont St Michel itself.

There are also two buses daily from Saint-Malo to Pontorson (line 17).