Mont Saint Michel guide

Wonderful Mont Saint Michel is only a few hour drive away from Paris. Plan your excursion thanks to our Mont Saint Michel guide.

Plan your visit to Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel village is a renowned tourist attraction in France and around the world. The Mont Saint-Michel Bay has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1979, attracting millions of visitors each year. Its tides are the highest in Europe and its sceneries and panorama are as captivating as intriguing. Our guide will help you organize your stay in Mont Saint Michel and make the most of it. Get all the practical information you need and make sure that your excursion runs smoothly. If you are in Paris, you will want to take a day trip to Mont Saint Michel to fully enjoy this amazing destination. Among the different activities, you can admire the bay and the abbey located on top of the rocky island, have a walk between the ramparts, browse in one of the craft shops on your way or sit in a typical restaurant and try the local specialties.

Tourist Office

Mont Saint-Michel Tourist Office welcomes you at the Boulevard de l'Avancée from Monday to Saturday from 9:30AM to 7PM during high season and from 9:30AM or 10AM to 5PM or 6:30PM the rest of the year. The agency is open on Sundays from 9.30AM or 10AM to 12:30PM and from 1:30PM to 5PM or 6PM. The opening hours depend on the season.

What is the best time to visit Mont Saint-Michel?

During summer, the number of visitors can reach 20,000. If you’d like to avoid the crowd, you should visit on weekdays and before or after summer. You should also avoid visiting Mont Saint-Michel during school holidays and book your tickets beforehand so you don’t have to stand in line.

How to get to Mont Saint-Michel?

Mont Saint-Michel city is easily accessible from Paris. After a four-hour drive, you will be able to park your vehicle easily there. You can also come by train and then take a shuttle bus to get to the different places of interest in Mont Saint-Michel.

Weather

You should visit Mont Saint-Michel during spring or summer if you wish to avoid the rain. The sight is wonderful anyway, rain or shine!

Map

Before you go, make sure you anticipate and find out which route is best for you by having a look at the Mont Saint Michel map.

Visit Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel is a world-renowned medieval city located in the Manche department in Normandy. Pilgrims and tourists alike come to visit the abbey, walk around town and visit its museums and historical monuments.

• Mont Saint Michel Bay
• The ramparts of Mont Saint Michel
• Museums
• Monuments
• Hotels

Events

Throughout the whole year, you will be able to attend one of the different events organized in the village. Participating in the Christian Art festival, the Jazz en Baie festival or the Mont Saint-Michel Bay Marathon is a good way to discover the history of Mont Saint-Michel. During these events, Mont Saint-Michel-inspired works of art and places of interest will be brought into light.

• Mont Saint Michel events

History and culture

Visiting Mont Saint-Michel, you will get into its history and culture and also discover its rich region and local specialties.

• Mother Poulard's omelette
• The Controlled Appellation of Origin Prés Salés

Plan your visit to Mont Saint Michel Abbey

Mont Saint-Michel is famous for its abbey. On top of its 80-meter-high hill, Mont Saint-Michel Abbey is an emblematic French-heritage monument. It looks amazing when the tide rises and Mont Saint-Michel becomes an island again. In order to choose the perfect time to come and visit Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, we have listed for you all the information you need to organise your visit.

Timetable and Address

The abbey is open to the public every day from 9:30AM to 6PM during low season, from September to the end of April, and from 9AM to 7PM during high season, from May to the end of August. You can get to the abbey, depending on the opening hours, by taking a dedicated shuttle bus or on foot. To avoid being unpleasant surprised, we invite you to check the tide information before you go.

How long does it take to visit the Abbey?

It takes around one and a half hour to visit the abbey and discover its different parts. The monument is made of twenty rooms including the abbey church, the cloister that has been fully restored in 2017, the refectory, the monks' walk...

By night

Although the building is not open to the public at night, you can still watch the sun set over Mont Saint-Michel. At dusk, you’ll be amazed by the beauty of the landscape.

The must-see

Mont Saint-Michel Abbey is a high place of pilgrimage. It is made of a parish church and an architectural ensemble on several levels.

• The cloister
• The Abbey
• Notre-Dame-sous-Terre Chapel

History and culture

Before becoming a place of pilgrimage, Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, formerly known as Mont Tombe, was a jail. To learn all about the well-hidden secrets of Mont Saint-Michel, discover the history of the abbey and the different rooms that make up the building.

• History
• Architecture