Mont St Michel - is it worth spending the night there?
#2
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Vic,
There are not a whole lot of hotel choices at Mont St Michel and really there is no reason to spend the night there. Make it a stop on your way to another place. Half a day is plenty to tour the abbey. We were there in March and we did spend the night at Chateau les hautes which was about 25 mins from the Mont. In fact on a clear day you can see the abbey from their chateau. We had spent the whole day in Caen and Bayeaux and arrived very late in the evening at the chateau. The next day we drove to Mont St Michel on our way to Tours in the Loire valley. If I could be of further assistance, just e-mail me. Have a fantastic trip. Mont St Michel is a must place to visit. Rene
There are not a whole lot of hotel choices at Mont St Michel and really there is no reason to spend the night there. Make it a stop on your way to another place. Half a day is plenty to tour the abbey. We were there in March and we did spend the night at Chateau les hautes which was about 25 mins from the Mont. In fact on a clear day you can see the abbey from their chateau. We had spent the whole day in Caen and Bayeaux and arrived very late in the evening at the chateau. The next day we drove to Mont St Michel on our way to Tours in the Loire valley. If I could be of further assistance, just e-mail me. Have a fantastic trip. Mont St Michel is a must place to visit. Rene
#3
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Someone asked your identical question a month or more ago with several responders weighing in that the place is magical after everyone leaves and that spending the night is a very worthwhile thing to do. They were so convincing that I booked us a night at La Mere Poulard on the mont for one night during our trip in September. Do a search for Mont St. Michel and see if you can't find that old thread and read the responses. Good luck
#4
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Absolutely spend the night!!! It's a whole different world. I realize that Rene says it isn't worth it to spend the night, but how much do you want to bet she never spent the night there???? Rene if you did spent the night and still feel it wasn't worth, then I apologize for my assumption. Sort of like someone who has never been to Europe saying going to Europe isn't worth the money.
Walking the mount after dark up the very quiet little streets is an entirely different world from the town packed all day long. And if you are there a night they have the sound and light show inside the monastery, it is purely magical.
Walking the mount after dark up the very quiet little streets is an entirely different world from the town packed all day long. And if you are there a night they have the sound and light show inside the monastery, it is purely magical.
#5
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Vic, I have to agree with Patrick. Several years ago we had a glitch heading to Mont St Michel and didn't arrive until dusk. The hordes of tourists had left and there seemed to be a power outage so there was candle light everywhere. It really was a special treat. We spent the night, wandered around early the next morning then headed out as the tourist began arriving.
#6
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Patrick,
I stand corrected. We did not spend the night at Mont St Michel per se or at the hotels close by. We spent the night at Chateau les hautes which was about 25 mins away from the Mont. From their front terrace we could see the Mont but I understand the abbey is lighted at certain times of the year only and we were there in March and apparently they did not do it then.
I stand corrected. We did not spend the night at Mont St Michel per se or at the hotels close by. We spent the night at Chateau les hautes which was about 25 mins away from the Mont. From their front terrace we could see the Mont but I understand the abbey is lighted at certain times of the year only and we were there in March and apparently they did not do it then.
#7
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The people who enjoy MSM the most are those who stay overnight. During the day it's most impressive seeing it from the road. Once on it, a whole lot of gift shops. For Paris information e-mail me: [email protected]
#8
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Ok, here is another "worth it?" question. Rather than attempt to answer this unanswerable question, I will describe what it is and let the poster decide.
First some list of hotel on Mont since there were post previously that there aren't many places to stay:
http://www.france-ouest.com/mont-saint-michel/pagemont-tourisme.htm
go down to L'hébergement, Intra-Muros.
By 7pm, even in July, the streets are significantly thinned out, those who needed to get back to Paris, or elsewhere had left long time ago. You can have a leisurely dinner overlooking the bay. If lucky, you can see the famous high tide rushes into the bay. If you are staying in summer, the Abbey reopens at night for night light and sound show, the routing in Abbey is changed with different decorations and light effect -- a really different place to visit. We saw the beautiful sunset from the top terrace of the Abbey.
You can then walk around the town, pretty much by yourself, thinking perhaps this is what the Mont might have looked like at the time of pilgrimages.
I went back onto the causeway at 11pm and was able to take a beautiful flood lit picture of the Abbey with a tripod.
In the morning you can walk around to the Mont preparing for another busy day before the tourists arrive. Then have a quiet breakfast overlooking the bay before the first tour bus arrives.
First some list of hotel on Mont since there were post previously that there aren't many places to stay:
http://www.france-ouest.com/mont-saint-michel/pagemont-tourisme.htm
go down to L'hébergement, Intra-Muros.
By 7pm, even in July, the streets are significantly thinned out, those who needed to get back to Paris, or elsewhere had left long time ago. You can have a leisurely dinner overlooking the bay. If lucky, you can see the famous high tide rushes into the bay. If you are staying in summer, the Abbey reopens at night for night light and sound show, the routing in Abbey is changed with different decorations and light effect -- a really different place to visit. We saw the beautiful sunset from the top terrace of the Abbey.
You can then walk around the town, pretty much by yourself, thinking perhaps this is what the Mont might have looked like at the time of pilgrimages.
I went back onto the causeway at 11pm and was able to take a beautiful flood lit picture of the Abbey with a tripod.
In the morning you can walk around to the Mont preparing for another busy day before the tourists arrive. Then have a quiet breakfast overlooking the bay before the first tour bus arrives.
#10
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Vic-it is truly worth the $125-136 EUROS to spend the night on Mont St. Michel. It is one of those places that literally takes your breath away from afar but to spend the evening and early morning there without tourists is magical! We just got back from there two weeks ago and it was one of our special memories from our Normandy/Brittany trip. We arrived there about 5pm and the last tourist bus was leaving. After we checked into our hotel,we spent several hours just walking the ramparts and hiking up the steps to various views from the mont.It was definitely a "postcard moment".There are about 9 hotels on Mont St. Michel and if you can plan early then you will be able to get a reservation. Our family stayed in a triple (which really was a family suite-queen bed and bathroom on the first floor and then up about 6 stairs was a second floor with two twin beds and a pullout sofa AND fabulous views from all the windows) at Le Croix Blanche which is a sister hotel shared with Auberge ST. Pierre. Both hotels have the ramparts right out their doors and are in a great location-about a 1/4 up from Mere Poulard which I am wondering if they have views from all the rooms as it is located on the inside of Le Grande Rue?. I would chose the Auberge St. Pierre first as the breakfast restaurant is in their first floor although Croix Blanche has a dinner restaurant and bar on the 2nd floor. We were on the 5th floor-so travel light as I do not think that any of the hotels have elevators!!!Our suite was clean,updated and great for more than 2 persons.Both hotels are located on the Grande Rue so you are in the thick of things for eating,shopping and exploring.(Being there at night also lets you see the tacky stores without crowds and have fun!)If you are still in the planning stages of your trip,I would recommend the followingee if you can get a reservation for a certain day in the time period that you will be over there and then plan your trip around that time slot. Seriously,I think that you will be so thrilled when you get a chance to spend the night.Any other questions-please ask us!
#15
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We spent the night in early May. It was wonderful. We attended vespers at the abbey. We stayed at Auberge St. Pierre. The room was separate from the main building and had its own terrace. We had half-board but the main course was not good. However, the creme brulee was the best that we had in France (and we tried it several places) The parking lot attendants will tell you where to park if you inform them that you are spending the night there. I would recommend that you spend the night.
#16
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I know that many have already answered, but I feel so strongly about this that I must weigh in with most of the above posters. If you to to MSM at all, you really should spend the night. During the day there are so many people (and so little space to walk) that it is almost irritating to be there. But at night it is glorious! If you have Rick Steves' books, there are some lower-priced rooms on the island that you could consider. There are also places at the end of the causeway from which you could walk back and forth and also have a wonderful view of the island, day or night.