Mont St Michel - 4/25/2024

sridgway38
Apr 24, 2024
2 min read

We got up early and had some pastries and coffee before getting on the road to Mont St Michel. The ride was beautiful and as you get close there are several views from overlooks on the side of the road.

When we got near the area we had to call the hotel to get an entrance code to get into the little area close to the hotels because you can't drive a car in unless you have a permit or are staying on the road into the abbey. We were staying at the Mercure on the road into town. We got settled in our room and had a timed ticket to enter the Abbey so we get settled at the hotel and took a short walk to look at the Abbey. When it was time to head over se decided to walk. There were shuttles but there were lots of views.

ree — A view of the road into Mont St Michel

ree — The beaches surrounding Mont St Michel

We entered the outer areas below the abbey and it was very crowded and steep. The streets all along the walkways where the shops and restaurants were had people jammed in everywhere. We kept climbing higher and higher until we got to the entrance to the Abbey. We followed the tour through the outer courtyards and inner chapels and gardens. It was very pretty and the views of the surrounding water and beaches were beautiful. There were large groups of school children and other tour groups out in the beaches and sandy areas around the island that the Abbey sits on. It's apparently dangerous unless you know what you're doing because the sand cam become like quicksand but there were many groups out wandering.

ree — Mont St Michel outside of the main Abbey

ree — Mont St Michel outside of the main Abbey

ree — Mont St Michel outside of the main Abbey

ree — Mont St Michel courtyard inside the Abbey

ree — Mont St Michel courtyard inside the Abbey

ree — View from the paths on the way down from the abbey

Once we got back down to the areas where the shops were we stopped at a restaurant and had some lunch at a table that looked out over the beaches that surround the island where the abbey sits. We headed back to the hotel and spent some time in the room resting. We wanted to have dinner nearby and then walk out to the abbey at sunset so that we could see it lit up. There were a lot of these cows all along the road near the hotels, we don't know why and no one in the area could really tell us.

Cows on the street heading into Mont St Michel

Cows on the street heading into Mont St Michel

We had a nice dinner with a good waiter at a restaurant across the street from our hotel and then walked back into the abbey to take a few sunset pictures. We were upset that not all of the lights were on, an energy saving measure.

We took the shuttle back to the hotel because by now Shawn's sore knee was really acting up after a long day of walking. We head to Cleremont Ferrand tomorrow to visit Puy De Dome which is part of one of the stages of the Tour De France in some years.