Getting from Paris to Mont Saint Michel

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. In fact, the iconic site, which is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is built on a rocky tidal island in the Saint Malo Bay in Normandy and attracts more than 3 million visitors each year.

Mont Saint Michel is located near the Normandy/Brittany frontier on France’s Northern coast about 150 miles from Paris.

Although only located about 150 miles from Paris, because there is no bus that runs directly to the site, getting to Mont Saint Michel can several hours and is probably not an easy day-trip from the City of Lights.

>>Read more about Visiting Mont Saint Michel or check out some incredible Photos of Mont Saint Michel

By Train

France’s 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 a 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 which runs from Paris’ Gare Montparnasse to Rennes. From Rennes, Les Courier Bretons buses makes the 75-minute transfer to Mont-St-Michel several times a day. The transfer from the Rennes train station to the island takes about 90 minutes. There are 2-5 departures from Rennes per day, depending on seasonal demand and most departures are timed to match to the arrival of the TGV in Rennes.

The bus station is immediately outside the Rennes train station, at a bus terminal building on your right, after leaving the station by the north exit. The bus costs about €11, with a reduction to €8.70 for people under 25 or older than 60, a reduction to €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, not in advance at the bus terminal.

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 4 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 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

If you are renting a car in France, it is easy to drive to Mont Saint Michel. 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. In fact, driving is the easiest way to travel from Paris to Mont Saint Michel.

From Paris, take the A11 Auoroute towards Chartres-Le Mans. Exit Fougeres towards Mont Saint Michel (A84). drive from Caen along the A84 south-west to Pontorson, then continue a few more kilometres to Avranches. Merge with the D43, following the signs to its Mont-St-Michel at its end. Parking costs €4.

It takes about 4.5 hours to drive from Paris to Mont Saint Michel.

>>Read more about driving in France

By Plane

Honestly, if you are considering flying from Paris to Mont Saint Michel you should reconsider. Not only is the closest airport to Mont Saint Michel located in Rennes (where you can also take the TGV to from Paris in less time).

If you are coming to Mont Saint Michel from southern France or another European city, you can fly into the Dinard Pieurtuit international airport in Saint Malo (about 70 km from Mont Saint Michel) and then take a train/bus combination from there.