A Weekend at Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel is the perfect weekend getaway from Paris! If you’re looking for stunning views, sandy beaches, and lots of cows- you’ve come to the right place! As encouraged by my host family, my friends and I took the train to spend Saturday and Sunday four hours away from Paris at the incredible Mont. 

We booked a train to Mont Saint-Michel (there and back) for only 32 euros! Comparatively, going to Marseille or Nice looks a bit more like 70-100 euros. The train ride is a bit long (about 4 hours)- so we left at 9am and arrived around 1pm. From there, we took a bus (again booked through SNCF) to the Mont, which was only about 20 minutes. But beware- make sure you buy a ticket ahead of time! The lines get crazy for the buses.

On Saturday, we did a tour of the abbey, which is the main attraction of Mont Saint-Michel. The abbey is actually 1000 years old as of this year! The tour took about two hours (non-guided) and we learned a lot about the abbey’s construction and how it’s changed through the years. 

On Sunday, we spent the day strolling through gift shops and exploring the beach. If you want to go out far on the beach, you’ll probably need a guide, but since we stayed close to the Mont, we were able to simply explore. If you go far enough behind the Mont, there’s a tiny building for prayer and silence. It’s also acceptable to play and eat lunch on the beach. One of my friends spent her time looking for sea shells, and was able to find some really neat ones!

While there are food options on the Mont, like cafes where you can pick up cheap(ish) sandwiches, I highly recommend Le Saint Michel Ridel. We ate lunch there on Sunday and were highly satisfied with their options! I had a savory galette and a sweet crepe, which were fabulous. 

If you’ve already left the Mont, there are also restaurants across the 1.5 mile long bridge into town. I’d recommend Restaurant La Salicorne. The service and food were both great. Our hotel helped us make a reservation day of (only available until 6pm), and we were so grateful!

Before you go to the Mont, remember to book a hotel ahead of time! It’s pretty hard to make the Mont a day trip- since the trip is 4 hours long. My friends and I loved Hotel Gabriel. It was actually one of the best sleeps we’ve had in France! (No noise!) And, their breakfast was exceptionally tasty. I would advise trying to book a hotel close to the Mont and not in Pontorson. We were able to walk from our hotel to the Mont, which was awesome!

Lastly, check out the viewing bridge of Mont Saint-Michel during sunset! It was fabulous. While the sun sets late in the summer here, it was well worth the view of the Mont. 

Thanks for reading! Enjoy Mont Saint-Michel!

Signing off,

Elowen