Long a major tourist destination and pilgrimage site, visiting Mont Saint-Michel has been a priority for many travelers who flock to France each year. The iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site, built on a rocky tidal island in the Saint Malo Bay in the Normandy region, attracts more than 3 million visitors each year.
Mont Saint-Michel is located near the Normandy/Brittany border on France’s northern coast about 150 miles almost due west from Paris.
Despite that shortish distance, though, there is no public transport that runs directly to the site, so getting to Mont Saint-Michel can take several hours and is probably not an easy day-trip from the City of Light.
>>Read more about visiting Mont Saint-Michel, and take a second to check out some incredible photos of Mont Saint-Michel.
By Train
France has an incredibly well connected and efficient train system, which makes taking the train in France almost always the fastest way to get around. In fact, because France is laced with a network of super high-speed trains called the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) it is often faster to take the train than to drive in France. Unfortunately, there is no direct train service to Mont Saint-Michel, but taking the train in combination with a bus is possible.
To take the train from Paris to Mont Saint Saint Michel:
There is a TGV that runs from Paris’ Gare Montparnasse to Rennes. It costs about €55.80 and takes a hair over two hours. From Rennes, Keolis buses run to Mont-St-Michel between two and five times per day depending on the season, and most departures are timed to match to the arrival of the TGV in Rennes. The ride takes about an hour and 15 minutes. They also stop at hotels near the site, so keep that in mind if you’re doing an overnight trip.
The bus station is immediately outside the north exit of the Rennes train station at the bus terminal building on your right. The bus costs about €11, €8.70 for people under 25 or older than 60, €5.40 for children under 12, and it’s free for children under 4. Bus tickets are sold by the driver when boarding the bus.
Another option is to take a TGV train to the Pontorson-Mont St-Michel train station with a stopover in Rennes. During high tourist season there are about four of these trains that leave from Paris each day. The Pontorson train station is no more than 15 minutes from Mont St. Michel. Buses are available from there several times a day; you can get a schedule from the Pontorson train station.
There are also two buses daily from Saint Malo to Pontorson (line 17, 1 hour, €2.50), which are timed to connect to buses to Mont St-Michel.
>>Read more about Train Travel in France
By Car
While driving in France is not always the quickest way to get around, when visiting the countryside or more removed sites like Mont Saint Michel, driving can often be the best way to go. If you are renting a car in France, it is easy to drive to Mont Saint-Michel.
From Paris, take the A11 Auoroute towards Chartres-Le Mans. Exit Fougeres toward Mont Saint-Michel (A84) to Pontorson, then continue a few more miles to Avranches. Merge with the D43, following the signs to Mont-St-Michel, where it ends. Parking costs €4.
It takes about 4.5 hours to drive from Paris to Mont Saint-Michel.
>>Read more about driving in France
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{ 4 comments }
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I like to see a lot of attraction in the world online a lot.Give me if you update post i will to see a lot photo present your attraction.
All information about the bus line between Rennes and Mont St Michel (connecting with TGV from Paris) on http://www.destination-montsaintmichel.com
You tell the reader how long it takes to get from Rennes to Mount Saint Michel, but you don’t tell us how long it takes to get from Paris to Rennes, (That’s assuming the hour and fifteen minutes refers to the bus, and not the train.It’s not really clear.)
Fixed! Thanks for the comment!
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