kattom

September we are going to be in Amsterdam and then take the train to Brugge for a couple of days. Then we want to travel to Mont St. Michele. Not sure whether it is best to take the train or rent a car and drive that route. There are no direct trains to the area so probably have to go through Paris. Or take the train to Lille and then drive? Any suggestions would be appreciated. After visiting western France we will return to Paris before flying home to the US.

greg

Is Mont St. Michele the only place in "western France" you plan to visit? According to http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en and www.viamichelin.com, either train entirely or train plus car take between 7-8hrs.

joannyc

Picking up a car in one country then dropping in another country will result in an expensive drop charge. However, if you pick up in Lille and drop in Paris you may be OK. Check different locations at kemwel.com

kerouac

Driving from Lille could be an interesting option, and you wouldn't have to go through Paris -- you could take the autoroute along the coast. Generally, there is no drop off charge for leaving the car at another French location.

kattom

Our loose plan at the moment is to leave Bruges and to arrive in Mont St. Michele for one or two nights. We will then spend another two or three days doing the Loire Valley before returning to Paris. Should have a car for 5 to 6 nights--probably just reserve for a week. If we pick up a car in Lille, can anyone give us an idea how long it would take to drive to Mont St. Michele? Is that a fairly direct drive? Is there another city that the train would access better and then we could drive from there? Thanks again for all your advice.

joannyc

Check mapquest.com for driving directions and timeframes

phillyboy

kattom - We did roughly what joannyc describes this past October - train from Bruges to Lille, then picked up a car. We drove to our hotel near Bayeux, where we stayed for 4 days, one of which we went to Mt. St. Michele.

It will be a long travel day for you. The train to Lille took about 1 1/2 hours, then almost 4 hours to our hotel, and it was another hour drive from there to MSM, so you're looking at about a 5 hour car trip. The drive through Northern France is pleasant enough, but nothing spectacularly scenic.

Driving all the way may be more convenient, but as stated above, you'll get hammered with a big drop-off fee.

Have a great trip!

kattom

Thanks for everyone's input. I did check with Mapquest and saw that it should take about 5 hours to drive from Lille to Mont St. Michel. What about taking the train to Paris and renting the car from there? Is it easier/shorter to drive from Paris? Or is there another city to drive from west of Paris? Taking the train from Bruges to Caen on the Saturday that we will be traveling will take about 6-7 hours so I'm not seeing it shorter than driving. Just attempting to look at my options before we decide. Thanks again for any help.

kerouac

Well, you never really said whether your point was to save time or to also see stuff along the way. That makes a big difference in the suggestions.

greg

Another option seems to be to take a TGV from Lille to Rennes (or Le Mans.) While there are many requiring changes in Paris, there are two you can take during the day not requiring changes at 8:46 and 12:10. While it does not reduce the total time much, remember that you don't have to stop to eat or take a rest stop when you are on train! While the driving may be 5hrs, can you do this without eating, taking a rest, or stopping for gas?

Unless you are comfortable dealing with Paris traffic, you probably don't want to pick up a car there.