mont-st-michel
department: manche (50)
region: normandy

Travel Tips

When to Go: It is always exciting, and a little intimidating, to go at high tide as the sea surges in.

How to get there: Walk, or ride the free shuttle over the bridge connecting the mainland parking lot and Information Centre to Mont St. Michel.

Where to stay: Like spending a night in the citadel at Carcassonne, doing the same on Mont St Michel, and walking the ramparts after the tourists have left, will be a memorable experience. Les Terrasses Poulard has 29 rooms in two separate buildings, although getting there is not for the faint hearted, and involves climbing steep stone steps. So, to make the climb easier, just take a small overnight bag and leave any large luggage in your car.

However, there are numerous hotels just on the mainland: Hotel Mercure, St Aubert Hotel, Hotel Vert, Le Relais du Roy, Hotel de la Digne, Relais Saint-Michel Hotel.

Top Tip: Go in winter and spend the night on the Mont. The weather is dramatic, and the crowds are virtually nonexistent.

Crossing the Bay to Mont-St-Michel

It is dangerous to cross the Bay alone.  Rivers, sand bars and large expanses of mud and quicksand are different from tide-change to tide-change affected by currents and winds, and the sea level can rise as much as 15 metres, with the incoming tide at a speed sometimes said to be as fast as a galloping horse – that probably isn't entirely true, but it comes in faster than you can walk...or run.  

So, for your safety, cross to Mont-St-Michel only with one of the licensed Bay guides, the first of whom were the Bay’s fishermen and hunters who then passed their knowledge to the next generation from which many of today’s guides come.

 To obtain further information, or to make reservations (essential), apply to the Office de Tourisme Intercommunal de Sartilly Porte de la Baie at either 4 place des Halles, 50 530 Genêts Tel: 02 33 89 64 00, or 13 rue Pierre Lejaudet, 50530 St Jean le Thomas Tel: 02 33 70 90 71. www.tourismebaiemontstmichel.com.

Two private guide companies organise crossings to Mont-St-Michel:

Chemins de la Baie du Mont Saint-Michel, 34 rue de l’Ortillon, 50530 Genêts. Tel: 02 33 89 80 88. www.cheminsdelabaie.com.

Découverte de la Baie du Mont Saint-Michel, La Maison du Guide, 1 rue Montroise, 50530 Genêts. Tel: 02 33 70 83 49. www.decouvertebaie.com.

There are also a great many private guides conducting interesting specialised tours (nature, history, as a pilgrimage, etc.). Consult the listing at www.tourismebaiemontstmichel.com.