This is part of our 10-day trip to the Normandy region of France in August 2020. You can find the overall itinerary and links to other stops on this trip in our Normandy post.
Mont-Saint-Michel was an hour and 45-minute drive from Luc-sur-Mer and easily the furthest we trekked away from our home base. It was also one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities you have to take, no matter the extra effort (aka, driving time). We also found Mont-Saint-Michel with kids to be a great experience.
The first time I saw pictures of Mont-Saint-Michel, I questioned whether it was a real place. It looks like something from a fairy tale. As you begin to near it from the winding roads, you can see the island on the horizon and it is honestly magical.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mont-Saint-Michel is an island consisting of a small town and medieval monastery on the border between the Normandy and Brittany regions. It has a long history, dating back to the 8th century. It used to be a site for Christian pilgrims who crossed the mud flats at low tide to reach it.
There is now a bridge instead, but people still walk across the flats (with a certified guide) when the tide is at its lowest (as can be seen in the picture above). You can check the times for high and low tides, depending on if you’d like to see the island surrounded by water or if you’d like to walk across the flats .
It’s about 1.5 miles from the parking lot to the island. Besides walking across the flats, there are multiple ways to get across: (1) shuttle bus, (2) horse-drawn carriage, or (3) walking across the bridge. The departure points for the bus and horse-drawn carriage are easy to find as you exit the parking lot. Both had long lines when we arrived, and we opted to walk instead.
It’s easily a 30-minute walk from the parking lot to the island, and obviously longer with kids. But it’s a gorgeous walk as you approach the island. If you can make the walk, I highly recommend it; I think you would miss it if you are cooped up in a shuttle bus.
Because it’s an actual town (with about 50 people as of 2015), there is no cost to visit the island. You can however buy tickets to enter the abbey. There are also a variety of museums to visit.
There were more people there than we were comfortable with (given COVID-19), so we skipped the indoor activities. Instead we focused on walking (or more accurately climbing given the steep streets and many stairs) the streets of town, admiring the architecture and taking in the views of the bay, including the people walking across it. We also were avoiding restaurants so took a picnic lunch; however, I understand from others that the food on the island is expensive and mediocre, so I don’t think we missed out on anything.
Once we left the town, we returned to the beach. The tide was out far enough that we could walk on the rocks across the flats (but still used the bridge to return to the parking lot). The kids loved hopping from rock to rock and picking up stones and shells along the way.
We probably spent a total of 3-4 hours on Mont-Saint-Michel. Had the day not been so hot (with NO shade in sight) and COVID-19 not been a concern, we would have enjoyed a longer visit. You can also stay the night on the island (which many people recommend). This allows you to see it during different tides and/or at night when most of the tourists have left. Just pack light if you stay on the island; you still have to park in the parking lot, and we saw a few people rolling suitcases across the bridge.
We headed straight back to our Airbnb afterward, exhausted from being in the sun all afternoon. But there are a couple other things in the area (such as Le Moulin de Moidrey, Alligator Bay and Zoo de Champrepus) that might be worth exploring if you have time. Or you could just spend the whole day (and night) on Mont-Saint-Michel which is more than doable.