My husband and I will be in Paris from 12/23-30 and would like to take a day trip out to see Saint michel. What is the best way to get there/back? Will it be a full day%26#39;s trip? Thank you!
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It will for sure be a very full day, starting early and getting back late, the best being to stay ovenight as Mont St Michel is far. I remember when i took the one-day tour bus to Mont St Michel it was a good four hours by bus, and same to come back! i don%26#39;t know the train schedules though.
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We took the tour bus from Paris one time ( the one that included a lunch on the Mont). The trip started at 8:00 am. It stopped for breakfast and you could buy it or not (we had eaten and brought an apple and drink) .
We had a great lunch meal on the Mont ( I think there were three choices for main course and a choice of two desserts.) We did the tour and walked around the Mont shops and walked all over the place.
On the way back we stopped at a little town where we could buy bakery goods and cheese and ham breads, drinks and fresh fruits. We returned about 9:00 pm to Paris. It was a wonderful trip. We did it in March and it was not crowded at all!
I thinnnk it was Paris Vision or maybe another company? Not sure?
I would check out all the tours and see what each offers (breakfast? lunch? dinner?). I think we also got a coupon off the tourist brochure rack too.
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If you would really like to experience
Mont St. Michel, may I suggest that
you make arrangements to stay overnight
nearby and get a close fresh start first
thing in the morning.
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Thanks for all the advice so far. We%26#39;ll look into possibly staying overnight. Is there a train that goes there from Paris or is a tour bus the best way?
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You could take a TGV to Rennes and then rent a car and drive up to Mt. St. Michel...Even then, it%26#39;ll be 3-4 hours of travel door to door...Plan on taking two hours to tour the abbey on an uncrowded day....And I hope you have some mountain goats in your family tree because it%26#39;s not called Mont for nothing...
If you%26#39;re not up for the organized tour then the TGV to Rennes might work...don%26#39;t know the schedule...But a TGV will save you a lot of time....I think it is probably about an hour to the Mt. from Rennes and you can usually find car rental agencies near train stations...I would still make a reservation ahead of time...As I recall, part of it is on an easy autoroute and the rest is 2 lane road all the way out to the Mt....Spending the night on the Mont is said to be a magical experience.....I%26#39;ve been there twice and think it%26#39;s well worth seeing...
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If I were you and I would be in Paris that short of time I would just take the tour bus from Paris.
I think it cost us about $100 each. It was easy and relaxing. We got back early enough to get a good nites sleep.
If the train to Rennes is the only way, I don%26#39;t think I would do it.
If you want to stay over night you will either have to rent a car or go the train/bus route.
Make sure you call the hotels on the Mont. They do not respond to e-mail and faxes very quickly but they do via telephone.
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Hello,
I agreed that since you will not have a great deal of time in Paris you might want do the one day tour, unless you have been to Paris before. I think you will love the city at Christmas.
While spending more time at the Mont is best, one day will be very magical and you can see a good bit in that time. It might be crowded..... anytime of year. Try looking for ways to go that do not have as many people. There are side %26quot;lanes%26quot; which are parallel to the main entrance and which have great views.
You will love it...........one of a kind.
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Thanks again for all your great advice! It will be my second trip to Paris so we will look into possibly staying overnight at the mont. My husband has a great pic of the mont set as our computer screensaver...we%26#39;re really looking forward to seeing it in person.
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If possible, I would recommend taking a day trip. Someone posted that it only cost them 100 euros per person. We just returned from there, and even though I loved spending two nights there, the rental car was expensive and gas was expensive (diesel car and a 3 1/2 hour drive from Paris), so 100 euros pp is definitely a bargain. I thoroughly enjoyed Normandy but my husband said he would much have preferred staying in Paris (He probably would have enjoyed a day trip). He did state that he loved Mont St. Michel and it was his highlight of Normandy.
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I believe the original poster asked about ways to do the trip other than the tours and that is why I suggested the TGV to Rennes combined with the rental car...But I would recommend the tours as well and especially given the distance...IF tour%26#39;s cheaper and budget%26#39;s an issue, then do the tour...
Dress warmly..It%26#39;ll be pretty windy and cold I suspect that time of year out on those flats...and montagne...It%26#39;s really a matter of perso taste whether staying overnight is best or not and you won%26#39;t know which you prefer until you%26#39;ve done one or the other!
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