Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning when you make a purchase through these links, I make a small commission. Affiliate links cost you nothing to use, and help keep my content free! Thank you for supporting Small Town Runaway!
Are you a Harry Potter fan? Have you ever dreamt of going to a castle away from the rest of the world?
Well I am here to tell you that such a place exist, minus the wizards and witches of course! That place is called Mont Saint Michel and it is located in Normandy, France!
We decided to go visit Mont Saint Michel in November after seeing pictures of this castle floating in the middle of the water. We were already going to be in France, and figured a trip out of Paris to see this castle would be worth it!
Okay, so Mont St Michel is not actually a castle, but rather an abbey. An abbey is a building or buildings occupied by a community of monks or nuns.
See below what Normandy’s tourism board has to say about how Mont St Michel came to be what it is today:
“The story of how the mount came to be a great Christian pilgrimage site dates back to the early 8th century, when Aubert, bishop of the nearby hilltop town of Avranches, claimed that the Archangel Michael himself had pressured him into having a church built atop the island just out to sea.
From 966 onwards, the dukes of Normandy, followed by the French kings, supported the development of a major Benedictine abbey on Mont-Saint-Michel. Magnificent monastic buildings were added throughout the Middle Ages, one vertiginous wing in particular being nicknamed the Marvel. The Abbey of the Mont-Saint-Michel became a renowned centre of learning, attracting some of the greatest minds and manuscript illuminators in Europe. Vast numbers of pilgrims visited, despite endless cross-Channel conflict; in fact, the ramparts at the base of the island were built to keep the English forces out. Other fine buildings line the steep village street, now converted into museums, restaurants, hotels and shops for today’s tourists.”
https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/unmissable-sites/the-mont-saint-michel/
Yes Mont St Michel is open in November. Mont Saint Michel is actually open year round, with some closures on holidays. Mont St Michel is a town, with people that live and work on the island every day.
Can’t make it out to France this year? Check out these best places to visit in November in the US!
Look, it’s November, it’s Winter and there’s a reason why this is the slow season. Yes, it’s going to be cold and wet.
But Winter is a great time to visit Europe! There are cheap flights and fewer crowds! Seriously, take this opportunity to visit other countries as well. Edinburgh in Winter is absolutely beautiful and just a short flight away!
Just dress with layers, and you will be just fine!
I wore a rain jacket because it had been drizzling all morning. However, by the afternoon, the skies had cleared up. Was it still cold? Yes, but it was bearable and I was still able to enjoy myself. And I’m the type of person that gets cold very easily.
Also, while you are within the town walls, the walls work as a way to block the winds. Now I don’t know about you, but for me, it is usually the wind that makes me feel colder. So having that protection really helped!
Have a free day in Paris? Trying to find something to do outside of the city? Then I definitely recommend making your way out to Mont St Michel for a quick day trip!
This abbey is so unique and something out of a movie, you just have to see it for yourself! The views as you are driving up to it are truly breathtaking, the way it just looks like it towers over everything.
And although I missed it, there is a perfect photo op just before, where you can stand in a sheep field with Mont Saint Michel right behind. Like I said, truly like it’s out of a movie!
Mont Saint Michel is definitely worth a day trip from Paris!
Renting a car and driving out to visit Mont Saint Michel from Paris is a great way to see more of France and what it’s like outside of the city of lights.
Check out Paris Outfits in the Winter for inspiration and the must pack items for your Paris trip!
Getting to Mont Saint Michel by car from Paris is fairly easy once you get out of the city. That is the hardest part, depending on where you are in Paris. We picked up our rental right at the center of Paris, and we’re glad we went as soon as the rental place opened because there weren’t as many cars out yet on the busy streets of Paris.
To get to Mont Saint Michel, you will take the A13 towards Caen, then the A84 exit towards Mont Saint Michel. The drive from Paris is around 4 hours. Not familiar with Paris highways? That’s okay, neither was I! That’s what GPS are for!
The route to Mount Saint Michel is easy and straightforward as long as you know where you are going. But I must say, there are a few tolls along the way so make sure you have some change on you, it’ll make the process faster! Yes you can use a card, but I got stuck at a toll doing this so I recommend just having change instead.
You can also get to Mont St Michel via train and other forms of public transportation.
Don’t want to drive or worry about the directions? Then check out this tour from Paris, it has a cider tasting included!
If you are going to Mont Saint Michel in November, you might not spend as much time as you would in the Spring or Summer. It can get pretty chilly outside and that doesn’t help with the walking around and sight seeing.
There are also less people, meaning you can do things a lot faster. Restaurant wait times are shorter and getting through the abbey is a lot faster because there isn’t as many people there.
I would say 3-5 hours is plenty of time, especially if you want to move at your own pace. We got to Mont Saint Michel at noon and left around 4 pm. This time frame included parking, taking the shuttle (to and from the parking lot), having a three-course lunch, walking through the abbey, souvenir shopping and stopping for a lot of photos.
There is no fee to get into the town of Mont Saint Michel. It is a town that is open and available for the public to visit.
However, there are other possible fees associated with your visit to Mont St Michel that I think are important to be aware of such as parking and entrance to the abbey. I will discuss both in more detail further in this guide.
It is important to note that you can’t actually drive up to the island or park at Mont St Michel.
If you are only visiting for the day, you will need to utilize the parking lot at the beginning of the bridge that goes up to Mont St Michel. The parking lot is about 1.5 miles from the mount. There are 4,000 available spots to park at and you do not need a reservation.
Pay attention to the different parking lots because some are designated for specific vehicle types such as camper vans and buses.
There is a fee to park on the mainland. Parking fees vary depending on the time of year that you are visiting and how long you plan to stay.
Visiting Mont Saint Michel in November tends to be cheaper because it is the slow season. For 3-6 hours, it’ll cost you around 5 euros. There are automatic ticket kiosks in the parking lot where you can purchase your pass and see current fees.
After you’ve parked, there are three main ways that you can get to Mont Saint Michel.
There are special shuttle buses that are free of charge for anyone to use that is parked in the parking lot. The shuttles are called the passeur. Depending on where you park, you will need to walk a short distance to just outside the tourist information center. *You will also find free bathrooms in this area.
The passeur takes about 12 minutes from the parking lots to just a few meters from the base of Mont Saint Michel. It runs every day at regular intervals between 7:30 am to midnight and has two stops between the parking lot and Mont St Michel. If you need to use the passeur between midnight and 7:30 am, you will have to call and request service.
Depending on the crowds and the season, the frequencies of the shuttles vary between 5 and 20 min. You will pick up the shuttle at the same place where it dropped you off, just on the opposite end of the street.
Photo Tip: wait until the passeur has left and people walk towards Mont Saint Michel to get better photos without anyone in the background.
If you would like something more intimate, you can pay to be taken to Mont Saint Michel via a two horse drawn carriage. This takes about 25 minutes each way.
The frequency of departures varies according to the season and the weather.
Lastly, you can walk the whole way to the mount. This walk is about 1.5 miles from the island and can take 40-50 minutes, depending on your fitness level.
This is a great opportunity to really take in your surroundings and the abbey as it gets bigger the closer you get to it. However, I don’t recommend it if you are in a time crunch or you are visiting Mont Saint Michel in November.
So you’ve made it to the island! Now what?
Mont Saint Michel is small, but you can still find a lot to do. From visiting the abbey to just walking around, this quaint little town has something for everyone!
Of course, the main attraction of Mont Saint Michel is the actual castle, aka the abbey. But there is a cost to get inside.
Admission to the abbey is 11 euros for adults. You can purchase your ticket ahead of time online, but you will need to pick a reservation time of 9:30 am or 2:00 pm. The 9:30 am ticket is valid for entry from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm. The 2:00 pm ticket is valid from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Tickets are available for purchase only one month in advance.
Because we visited Mont Saint Michel in November and knew that it was the slow season, we had no problem buying a ticket once we were there. We were able to walk right in without waiting in line or needing a reservation.
We spent about an hour walking through the abbey.
Inside the abbey, you will find the church, the archangel St Michael, and so much more! You can get a map when you enter and that will show you all the places you can visit.
Abbeys are such a unique attraction all over Europe. If you like Mont St Michel, then you also need to visit Kylemore Abbey!
If you have some time before or after visiting the abbey, I highly recommend walking around the village of Mont Saint Michel. This town is so unique in the way that it is built on a mound and all its cobblestone streets and stairways. Fair warning, there are a lot of stairs, but the higher you go, the better the views get!
You can also do a private walking tour with your own personal guide.
You definitely want to walk around the route of the ramparts. This will have you walking along the village walls and give you views of the surrounding area and the tides. The tides of Mont Saint Michel are some of the most fascinating things, and honestly one of the main reasons we wanted to visit!
Now the tides vary depending on when you go and at what time. Visiting Mont Saint Michel in November came with low tides. Meaning that when we were there, there was no water surrounding the village. We arrived at 12 pm and left shortly after 4:30 pm and we did not see the tides come in or go out.
The best time to see the high tide is during a full moon or new moon. A few times a year, the very high tide comes in and completely isolates Mont St Michel from the mainland. You can not cross the bay at very high tide, so make sure you pay attention when you visiting!
It was bittersweet. We were happy that we were not going to get stuck on either side of the bridge, but at the same time, we wanted to see Mont St Michel surrounded by water!
From reading up about it, it seems that the best time for the high tide is in the Spring.
Right below where you enter the abbey, you will find the parish church of St Peter. This is a small parish but worth a peak. It is free to enter, but you may leave a donation and light a candle or take home a little pamphlet souvenir.
This parish was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and is now the official place of devotion to the Archangel Michael. It is also dedicated to St Peter and has a statue of Joan of Arc and the entrance of the church. Joan of Arc is there to pay homage to the Archangel Michael, who guided her during the Hundred Years War.
After all that walking, I’m sure you are going to work up quite an appetite! We had a delicious three-course lunch at Les Terrasses de la Baie, located across from the parish church of St Peter. Now because we visited Mont Saint Michel in November, we didn’t have to wait long to be seated here. However, from reading reviews, this place gets PACKED with a line out the door during the busy seasons.
It is a small building, and the tables are very close together. You can tell they are trying to accommodate as many people as possible. I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed my lunch as much if we had gone in the Summer.
Our three-course lunch was from their pre-set menu and came with an appetizer, main dish, and dessert. We also go a bottle of wine, because it’s France and that’s what you do!
We tried their famous fluffy omelette, a salmon salad, butternut squash soup, and lamb soup. For dessert we got ice cream and crème brûlée! Delicious!
Now you may not leave Mont Saint Michel having learned some magic spells or with a flying broom, but you will walk away having experienced a place many don’t even know about! And if you are lucky, you’ll even get to see the high tide!
I do recommend visiting Mont Saint Michel in November though. It’s not as cold as it could be and it feels like you have the whole place to yourself. And when you’re done here, make sure you continue out to the beaches and learn more about the history of Normandy!
XO,
Mayra
A guide to the best beaches to visit near Atlanta Craving the feel of sand…
Your Guide to Where to Winter in Arizona Welcome to the hidden winter wonderlands of…
Traveling is a fun experience. However, as travelers, it is also our responsibility to be…
Planning a Tucson to Tombstone road trip? You’ve landed on the right page! This guide…
This photo was taken in Breckenridge, CO With summer temperatures reaching and staying in the…
Are you looking for a pet friendly hotels on the San Antonio Riverwalk? You’re in…