Hotel Du Guesclin

Mont-St-Michel, 50170, France

90%

of people enjoy staying here

4.0 our of 5 stars 23 Opinions

Excellent: 4
Very Good: 12
Average: 5
Poor: 2
Terrible: 0

More about Mont Saint Michel

Photos

Mont Saint Michel

Moulin de Moidrey, Mont St Michel, France 2010

Grande Rue, Mont Saint Michel, France 2010

Forum Posts

Tide Times

by Maryimelda

How do the tide times affect people doing a day trip by train and bus from Paris? What should we know about this?

Re: Tide Times

by leics

As far as I know, causeway access to Mont St Michel is not affected by the tide.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/mont-st-michel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Saint-Michel

Re: Tide Times

by runawaymind

I believe it could affect where you park your car.

http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/en/horaire-marees/mont-saint-michel.htm

Tides depend on what date/ month etc you visit.

Re: Tide Times

by pfsmalo

Hi Kate ,
No, it will not affect you at all, the causeway is above the highest level, it is only the parking lots on either side that could be affected and your driver will know all about it, simply by being told " You can't park here mate".

Enjoy your day.

Re: Tide Times

by Maryimelda

Thanks everyone. I seemed to recall reading somewhere that the causeway didn't flood, but wasn't sure if my memory served me correctly. This is what the travel forum on VT is all about. Thanks again.

Travel Tips for Mont Saint Michel

MONT SAINT MICHEL

by RACCOON1

If you arrive before 10:00 am it takes about 30 minutes to walk the causeway , through the street(s) up to the ticket office and then to the top . The buses arrive after 10:00 am and then the streets get crowded.

A Surreal Icon of France

by Goner

Le Mont-Saint-Michel sits on a granite rock on an islet in northwestern France, in the Gulf of Saint-Malo which is connected by a causeway with the mainland. The islet, celebrated for its Benedictine abbey, has small houses and shops on its lowest level. Above these stand the monastic buildings, many of which date from the 13th century and are considered outstanding examples of Gothic architecture. The entire islet is crowned by the abbey church, about about 240 ft above sea level. Mount Saint Michel has been on many US calendars as an icon of the French coast for as long as I can remember. Seeing in from a distance for the first time was a surreal experience, I was so mesmerized I actually forgot to take a picture from that vantage point.

The Mont tomorrow 2

by Azhut

Infos from projectmontsaintmichel.fr

The spirit of a crossing

The various modifications are intended to be barely noticeable and so produce a pleasing effect by blending in as neatly as possible with the site, without spoiling its appearance or accessibility.

Visitors will see the "Archangel's Rock" rid of the unsightly causeway and parking on the beach. As they complete their approach, with Tombelaine and the inner bay gradually coming into view, they will discover the Mont surrounded by nothing but sand and ramparts.

Visitors will start out on a redesigned causeway, where the final kilometre will have made way for a pedestrian bridge curving westward and coming to a halt 300 m short of the ramparts. There will be a slipway gently sloping down to an earth platform, with a ford to help visitors over the last few yards to the Porte de l'Avanc?e.

Computer-generated images give an idea of the effect of the works when seen from close-up or from a distance.

To read more go on this site:
www.projetmontsaintmichel.fr

More then 1.000 years a pilgrimage place

by Pavlik_NL

Le Mont Saint Michel has already been a pilgrimage place for a thousand years and no doubt still will be for many centuries more. Even though the mayority of the visitors now-a-days are here from touristic point of view. However, also pilgrims still enter the gates of Le Mont Saint Michel and are welcomed by the monchs that still live in the abbey (however make an appointment first, especially when you want to spend a night at the abbey as pilgrim). For me it was both and so I walked barefoot towards the island through the muddy "dry" seabed, which no doubt many pilgrims must have been doing in ancient times.

The island, the bay and the tides

by Pavlik_NL

The tidal difference in the bay of Le Mont Saint Michel are - like in many places around the Normandy peninsula Cotentin - very extreme. In some places and at certain times, 14 meters difference is not unusual. Because the bay is a large open lowland, the tides rush in here over a distance of around thirty kilometers. At low tide, the sea is barely visible, while at the highest tide the island of Le Mont Saint Michel is washed with the waters from the English Channel and the complet bay gets filled again. Now-a-days it is not so extreme anymore, as sanding has leveled out the bay area close to the coast. In the old days however, Le Mont Saint Michel was tiwce each day an island and pilgrims had to be very careful with the tides. Through the ages, many drowned in the upcoming tides or sank into treagerous quicksands formed by the tides. Even now-a-days warnings are given to not alone make walks into the bay or far from the island.