mont st michel overnight

Old Nov 8th, 2001, 06:43 PM
  #1  
mast
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mont st michel overnight

Hi!
we plan to stay a night in a hotel in mont st michel, but some guide books stated that it is rather tedious to carry the heavy luggages and climb the stairs of the only entrance. also there are some views that the beauty of mont st michel at night can only be appreciated from a distance. If that is the case then where shall we stay? we have few options to reach MSM----from st malo, take a bus from rennes, or go straight from paris and reach Protonson(?), which is the best option?

thanks!
any hotel recommendation?
 
Old Nov 8th, 2001, 08:18 PM
  #2  
Patrick
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While it is truly beautiful from the distance, in my opinion the best way to enjoy it is by spending the night there. After the thousands of daytrippers from Paris and everywhere else leave, the town becomes wonderful (about 5:00). We stayed at Auberge Saint Pierre, a great place with a number of "annexes" spread around the mount. They were going to send a porter to our car at the base and bring our luggage up for us, but we opted to just pack an overnight bag and leave the rest locked in our trunk. They said there are night guards there and they never have problems. We didn't anyway. During the summer most nights they have a wonderful sound and light show in which you walk through the monastery. It was a remarkable evening.
 
Old Nov 8th, 2001, 08:29 PM
  #3  
greg
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About carrying luggages up hill is very true. We must have carried ours about an equivalent of 9 stories. We only had one carry on each but that was still a chore.

About beauty of Mont St Michel. We had breaktaking view from the top of abbey at sunset (we went to their night "show".) And around 11pm, I walked out to the end of the parking lot on causeway and took the breathtaking picture of the floodlit island. With long enough exposure with tripod, the sky came out dark blue at 11pm and no tourists to contend with.

We went thru Pontorson, but that route only makes sense during summer with more trains to Pontorson. If you are going offseason, your choice is pretty much a bus from Rennes.
 
Old Nov 9th, 2001, 05:27 AM
  #4  
curt
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We stayed at Le Relais Saint Michel,a panoramic 3-star Hotel with 40 roooms. It is located in the village at the beginning of the causeway to the mont. The rooms have a great view of the mont and it is really neat at night to see it all lighted. The dining room also has a full glass wall overlooking the mont and serves very good food. We were there in November and paid 450 ff for a very nice room (huge with great bath)with a view of the mont. This was an off-season rate. We liked this hotel very much.

We were traveling by car so I have no good advice on getting there by train/bus. We found car to be more convenient to get around that part of France as we also were going to Loire Valley from there.

Check the hotel at the web site:
http://www.mere-poulard.fr/hten/Page12.html
 
Old Nov 9th, 2001, 06:54 AM
  #5  
Merrill
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Highly recommend staying there.
And here's another reco for St. Pierre:
http://www.bparis.com/newsletter1464...m?doc_id=89428
 
Old Nov 9th, 2001, 09:02 AM
  #6  
Joe
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What Patrick said! There is no need to pack anything more than an over-nighter to the Mont. A walk out on the causeway at night can satisfy your desire for a night view. Nothing compares with the mystery of wandering The Mont. at night.
 
Old Nov 9th, 2001, 07:22 PM
  #7  
mast
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Thanks everybody!
Greg, may we know where is the bus stop at MSM? How to get a timetable and how to get the tickets?
Curt, do you mean that if we stay in Le Relais there is no stairs to climb and bringing luggages along is possible?
Also, may we know is there locker service at Rennes and Pontorson Station?

Again, thanks!

mast
 
Old Nov 9th, 2001, 09:37 PM
  #8  
Beth
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Mast,
I would also recommend staying on MSM, rather than close by. We stayed at Mere Poulard, which is the first hotel inside the entrance. It was excellent. There is a flight of stairs, but nothing major. If I can handle it, anyone can! We had a triple room, which was huge. The bathroom was exceptionally large as well. There is nothing like waking up on the Mont early in the morning when the fog surrounds you. It was truly an experience of a lifetime.
 
Old Nov 10th, 2001, 09:43 AM
  #9  
greg
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Regarding bus, I have taken it from Pontorson to MSM. The Pontorson side was 10 yards outside the tiny station, the MSM side was in front of the entrance at the foot of the Mont, you cannot get any closer to MSM than that.

The Pontorson-MSM buses were coordinated with the trains so there was ALWAYS a bus waiting for the train and there was ALWAYS a bus to make it to the station in time, about 15 minutes before train arrival if I remember. We bought the ticket in the bus from the driver, got timetable and paid for the round trip tickets.

Remember that Paris-Rennes-Pontorson-MSM makes only sense during the summer because the connection is very bad off season.
 
Old Nov 10th, 2001, 12:42 PM
  #10  
Ismael
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In Pontorson we stayed at the Logis of Count Montgomery a lovely little hotel with an ancient part that we liked very much.
Ismael
 

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