On the coast where Normandy meets Brittany, Mont St Michel is one of the great icons of France. The world-famous Abbey village and resort stand out on a rocky island just offshore. This UNESCO World Heritage site is one of France’s biggest attractions, with around 3.5 million visitors a year.
In 2015, the old causeway was removed and a bridge was built, which means that the island is again isolated from the mainland at high tide with access only by the bridge.
Mont St Michel tourist office
At the entrance of the town
Tel: 00 33 (0) 2 33 60 14 30
Tourist office website
Paris to Mont St Michel by train and bus
There are three different ways to get to Mont St Michel by train, both involve a change, then the bus. There are no direct trains to Mont St Michel from Paris, but you can check routes to Caen on Rail Europe or, if you are coming from the UK, book on Voyages-SNCF (formerly Rail Europe UK).
From Caen, take the local train to Pontorson and the Pontorson bus to Mont Saint Michel. Please note that the Pontorson bus terminal is now located next to the tourist office. There is a free bus service on the causeway at the foot of Mont St Michel.
1. TGV trains to Rennes station depart from Paris Gare Montparnasse Paris (17 Boulevard de Vaugirard, Paris, 14th arrondissement) throughout the day. The trip is two hours.
Metro lines to and from Gare Montparnasse
- Line 4: Porte de Clignancourt to Porte d’Orleans
- Line 6: Charles de Gaulle Etoile to the nación
- Line 12: Porte de la Chapelle to Mairie d’Issey
- Line 13: Saint Denis / Universite and Gabriel Peri-Asnieres Gennevillers to Chatillon-Montrouge.
- Para los autobuses, vea el mapa de autobuses de París
In Rennes, cambie al tren TER in Pontorson, a solo 9 km al sur de Mont St Michel.
There is a direct shuttle service between Pontorson Train Station and Mont St Michel, where it ends at the arrival platform for the shuttle services connecting the mainland to Mont St Michel, approximately 390 meters from the ramparts. The ferry schedule is coordinated with the SNCF trains that stop at Pontorson train station.
Véolia transport, Tel.: 00 33 (0) 8 25 35 35 50
2. TGV trains to Dol de Bretagne also depart from Paris Gare Montparnasse and take 2 hours 40 minutes.
In Dol de Bretagne, take the bus to Mont St Michel, which takes 30 minutes and operates throughout the day.
Keolis Emeraude information, tel.: 00 33 (0) 2 99 19 70 70
Keolis Schedules
3. Trains to Caen depart from Paris Gare Saint Lazare (13 rue Amsterdam, Paris 8) throughout the day.
Metro lines to and from Gare Saint Lazare
- Line 3: Levallois-Becon gate in Gallieni
- Line 12: Porte de la Chapelle to Mairie d’Issy
- Line 13: Saint-Denis – Universite a Chatillon – Montrouge
- Line 14: Saint Lazare to Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand
How to get to Mont St Michel by plane
Dinard / Pleurtuit / Saint Malo Airport is located 4 km south of Dinard on D168 in Pleurtuit. It is 45 minutes from Rennes and 50 minutes from Mont St Michel by road from the airport.
Ryanair operates between Dinard and London Stansted, East Midlands and Leeds airports. Aurigny Air operates flights between Guernsey and Dinard.
Paris to Mont St Michel by car
The distance from Paris to Mont St Michel is 359 km (223 miles), and the journey takes around 3 hours and 30 minutes, depending on your speed. There are tolls on the Autoroutes.
Another option is to take the Brittany ferry. Regular overnight ferries run from Portsmouth to St Malo and take 11 hours. It is a very good ship, with an excellent restaurant and the crossing is long enough to give you a good night’s rest. Departs from Portsmouth at 8:15 pm and arrives in St Malo between 7:30 am and 8:15 am From St Malo, the distance to Mont St Michel is 56 km (35 miles) and the journey takes about 50 minutes, depending on your speed.
Car rental
For information on how to rent a car under the return lease scheme, which is the cheapest way to rent a car if you are in France for more than 17 days, try Renault Eurodrive’s buyback lease.
Getting from London to Paris
- By train: Eurostar operates between London, Paris and Lille
- By Bus / Coach: Eurolines offers a cheap service from London, Gillingham, Canterbury, Folkestone and Dover to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris Gallieni. Six coaches a day; 2 all night; Travel time is 7 hours. The Eurolines stop is located at the Paris Gallieni bus station, 28 ave du General de Gaulle, right next to the Gallieni metro station, near Porte de Bagnolet (metro line 3, final stop).
Eurolines website for French travel - IDBus: IDBus operates between London and Lille and London and Paris.
