Discovering the Enchanting Mont St Michel: A Journey to France’s Iconic Island Abbey

On our 2106 European Tour, we landed at Charles De Gaulle and rented a car to head towards Mont Sainte-Michel in Normandy, France. The drive took about 4 hours from the airport, covering approximately 385 kilometres. We encountered tolls on the way, so be sure to have your credit card or cash ready as it cost us around 30 EU during our travels. Though the drive had nothing special to offer, resembling a typical Canadian road trip with trees, farms and cities along the way, we were taken aback at the sight of the castle on the horizon during the last 20 minutes of our journey. The medieval architecture floating in the water looked quite amazing from a distance. However, we soon realized how touristy this attraction was once we started seeing an increasing number of cars travelling in the same direction.

The parking was roughly 11.70 € which allowed us to visit for a day while shuttle buses were provided to reach the island commune where Mont Saint-Michel was located. It took us around 15 minutes by shuttle bus which was quite comfortable.

Upon arrival, we noticed that there were many tourists around which made it quite crowded. We walked a bit more before reaching Mont Saint-Michel where narrow cobblestone streets and old wooden signs gave us a sense of stepping back in time. There were souvenir shops everywhere selling postcards, fridge magnets and keychains.

We decided not to eat inside because it seemed quite expensive but found all restaurants serving similar food throughout which made us realize that they were owned by one or several families.

We spent roughly 2.5 hours exploring different paths and trails throughout the commune while taking photographs. However, it wasn’t easy finding areas without other tourists in our shot as there were lots of people.

Mont Saint-Michel is definitely worth visiting but can be too touristy for some people’s liking. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my experience here.