[FRANCE] My Unforgettable Trip to Mont Saint-Michel

18:22 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

The magical tidal island of Mont Saint-Michel is one of the highlights of my trip in France. Instead of just making a day trip there, I decided to stay overnight so that I could fully appreciate its beauty at different hours.

Getting there:

I chose to depart from Paris to Rennes by train (approx. 2 hours) and take a bus (approx. 1 hour) from Rennes. I departed from Paris Montparnasse at 7am and managed to reach Mont Saint-Michel by noon. I managed to book the train for EUR40 (from Paris to Rennes). Please check the latest train ticket price at SNCF website: https://www.sncf.com/en or the budget Oui train: https://en.oui.sncf/en/train/france

The bus ticket cost about EUR 15 single trip or EUR 25 round trip. You can pay the bus driver directly, credit card accepted. If you buy the round trip, remember to keep your payment slip and ticket to show the driver when you depart from Mont Saint-Michel. The pick-up and drop-off for regional coach is located near the Mont St-Michel Tourist Information Centre.

From the Tourist Information Centre, visitors can take the free shuttle bus (25 min) to reach the mound. The shuttle bus service operates daily at regular intervals from 7.30am to midnight. 

Alternatively, visitors can book a special horse-drawn carriage (35 min) or walk all the way (45 min).

Accommodation:

The hotel that I stayed overnight is Motel Vert which cost me about EUR 79 per night. The hotel is located besides Les Galleries du Mont-St-Michel. 

The shuttle bus stops in front of the hotel. After checking in to the hotel, I took the shuttle bus to the mount. The weather was perfect that day and it was low tide during noon.

Since 1979, Mont Saint-Michel and its bay has been a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

If you need to use the bathroom, you can do so at the bathrooms besides the entrance for a small fee of EUR 0.50.

La Mere Poulard is the restaurant which is famous for its omelettes. At the time before the causeway was built, visitors were dependent on the tides - they would arrive when the tides permitted, at any time of night or day, so it was important to feed them quickly. It was the young cook, Mere Poulard's idea to serve them a tasty omelette while they waited. Thus La Mere Poulard was born in 1888.

There is always a line waiting in front of the restaurant. Price of an omelette with one side dish starts from EUR 38! If you want to try it, it's best to go during off-peak hours (3 - 4.30pm) to get immediate seating.

I decided to walk around the ramparts to avoid the crowd in the narrow streets.

One can see the Mont Saint-Michel bridge from the ramparts. The new bridge was open to public in 2014. The bridge allows water to flow freely around the island.

According to a legend, in the year 708, the Archangel Michael appeared in a dream to Aubert of Avranches, the bishop of Avranches, and instructed him to build a church on this rocky islet. Aubert initially ignored it. The next night, the Archangel Michael appeared again and repeated his order. Aubert chose to ignored it again. On the following night, the archangel pressed his finger into Aubert's forehead and repeated his command. When Aubert woke the next morning, he found that the archangel had burned a hole in his head! In late 709, a church was built and devoted to Archangel Michael.

If you haven't already book your ticket to visit the abbey online, this is the ticket office.

* Please note that the monument is now closed from 30th October 2020 until further notice.

Be prepared to climb a lot of steps to reach the abbey.

Photos above are the abbey church. The Abbey became a major place of pilgrimage in the Christian West and it was given the nickname "City of the Books" as a large number of manuscripts were produced and stored here.
Great pillared crypt.