Mont Saint-Michel Day Trip from Paris
Sunday, July 25, 2021 
AS massive medieval TV/film/history fans, when we set foot in the historical islet of Mont Saint-Michel and saw it rising out of sea in Normandy, France, we felt instantly transported back in time. Although pretty much all of Europe has beautifully preserved historical architecture and monuments, it’s something else to see a tiny town built on a hill in the middle of the sea – to me it looked like something straight out of Game of Thrones.
We went to Mont Saint-Michel on a day trip during our five-day stay in Paris. This day trip isn't recommended because of how it is from Paris but we didn't have any other time in our itinerary and it was something I wanted to witness with my eyes.
The town has an abbey at the very top surrounded by a beautiful village full of local eateries, boutiques and souvenir stores. The trip from Paris took us about 3.5 hours and if you're visiting, be prepared to do lots of walking.
Here is what we got up to:
1. The Abbey
The journey to the abbey starts at the old gates and takes you through the village before you reach the Grand Staircase – 350 steps to the entrance of the abbey. Once you’ve made your way to the top, there is plenty to explore, but unfortunately not for us. Lady luck was not shining on us that day and when we reached the entrance to the abbey, we faced a really long queue which would not budge. Why? Because a strange parcel was found in the abbey unattended and it caused some scares. After waiting for quite some time, we decided this will take us whole day to get inside and we decided to abandon our quest to gain entance. You do get incredible panoramic views of the water from the top so the climb wasn't completely wasted.
2. Explore the village.
Climbing up a rocky islet in the peak of European summer is no mean feat. So, I highly recommend roaming through the village on your way up and down and taking the opportunity to try local cuisine and buy local handmade goods from the various stores. For lunch, we had buckwheat galettes which is a specialty and staple food in this part of France.
3. If the tide allows, explore the surrounding beach and greenery
The entire island of Mont Saint-Michele is a pedestrian zone and I highly recommend walking around. There is not much to see but it offers a great perspective of Mont Saint Michel.
To conclude, was the long trip from Paris worth it? I would say yes.
Mont Saint Michel was beautiful and unique but it did not leave me awe struck. Which means spending a day was enough to experience this. While the drive was long and tiring, it fit fine into our Europe itinerary which had plenty of less tiresome days. I wouldn't add it into a must see pit stop on a first Europe trip but it is quite beautiful if you have the time and determination.
That's it from Europe! We dragged these posts out enough to get us through 18 months of the pandemic. Now to count down the days till we are able to do this all over again!
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