A day trip to Mont St Michel?
It's easy to travel from Paris to the picturesque (UNESCO-listed) island town of Mont-St-Michel in Normandy. It has no railway station, but trains and connecting buses allow inexpensive day trips or longer breaks, this page explains how.
Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel
by
Train Nomad
Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel via
Rennes
St Malo to Mont-Saint-Michel by bus
Arriving at
Mont-Saint-Michel: Access & places to stay
Mont Saint Michel showing the bridge. Copyright Mathias Neveling, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Option 1, Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel by Train Nomad
Every day, a Train Nomad runs from Paris Montparnasse to either Villedieu-Les-Poeles or Pontorson, connecting with a bus to Mont-Saint-Michel, total journey time 4h-4h30. This is an integrated service run by the Normandy regional transport authority, hence the Nomad branding. One ticket covers both train and bus, the bus will wait for the train if it's late. It runs once a day all year, in the morning from Paris, back from Mont-Saint-Michel in the late afternoon, allowing an easy and inexpensive day trip or weekend away.
Train times out
Train times back
These times can vary, so check your date at www.sncf-connect.com or www.thetrainline.com.
* 31 March 2025 to a date to be confirmed in September or October, check online.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel is what you want, a bus stop on the mainland from where you can walk across the bridge or take a shuttle bus to the town itself.
Pontorson - Mont-Saint-Michel is the closest railway station, 7.4 km away.
Villedieu-Les-Poeles is a railway station 41 km from Mont-Saint-Michel.
How much does it cost?
The adult fare is €29 each way.
Children under 12 half price.
Children under 4 free, no ticket required.
Fixed-price, 2nd class only.
How to buy tickets
Buy tickets at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com or using www.thetrainline.com.
The price is fixed, you can buy at this price on the day, but the train is all-reserved so book ahead to be sure of a place. Booking usually opens 4 months ahead.
Use Mont-St-Michel as your destination. Look carefully at the search results and buy a ticket to Le Mont-Saint-Michel, NOT Pontorson - Mont-St-Michel.
You get a reserved seat on the train, but can sit anywhere on the bus. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
Option 2, Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel via Rennes
Take a high-speed TGV from Paris Montparnasse to Rennes, then a bus to Mont-Saint-Michel.
It takes as little as 3h30, faster than option 1. However, it's not an integrated service, you need to buy separate bus and train tickets - although the bus company times their buses to connect with TGVs to/from Paris with a schedule that allows daytrips or weekends away from Paris.
Step 1, look up bus times.
There are 2 or 3 buses every day between Rennes & Mont St Michel in each direction all year round, journey time 1h15, see keolis-armor.com.
The adult fare is €15.
Anyone under 26 €12, infants under 4 free.
Buy the bus ticket at Rennes bus station when you get there, or online at www.destination-montsaintmichel.com/en.
The buses leave from Rennes Gare Routière, right next to Rennes station, leave the station by the Sortie Nord, see map. Buses arrive at the Mont-Saint-Michel bus stop in Casernes, you walk across the bridge or take a shuttle bus to the town itself.
Step 2, book a train from Paris to Rennes.
Buy tickets at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com or www.thetrainline.com.
Fares start from just €10 for the early morning lo-cost Ouigo departure, or from €25 for the regular TGV InOui trains.
Reservation is required and the price varies like air fares, so book ahead.
The train journey varies from 1h25 to 1h56. TGVs have a cafe-bar, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi. The TGV InOui trains also offer 1st class.
Option 3, St Malo to Mont-Saint-Michel
From May to September there's also a daily bus from the pretty port town of St Malo to Mont St Michel, journey time 1h20, see keolis-armor.com for dates, times, prices & more info. St Malo is linked by ferry to Portsmouth (see www.brittany-ferries.co.uk) and with Paris by train (see www.sncf-connect.com or www.thetrainline.com)
Buy the bus ticket at www.destination-montsaintmichel.com/en.
Arriving at Mont-Saint-Michel
The buses from Pontorson and Villedieu reportedly go over the bridge directly to the the drop-off point at the foot of the old town's ramparts (feedback appreciated as this is not confirmed).
The buses from Rennes or St Malo arrive at the bus stop in Casernes on the mainland, see location map. Google list it as a train station, but it's just a bus stop.
You can walk from the bus stop to the town of Mont St Michel over the long bridge, 3.8 km, 37 minutes, see walking map.
Or you can walk just 220m from the bus stop to the free shuttle bus terminal (Navettes le Passeur, see walking map), these run frequently (every 12 minutes at peak times) between 07:30 & 24:00 taking 12 minutes to reach the drop-off point at the foot of the town's ramparts, see the access page at montsaintmichel.gouv.fr.
For more about visiting Mont-Saint-Michel see montsaintmichel.gouv.fr or www.ot-montsaintmichel.com.
The town used to be cut off by the tide at regular intervals, but the bridge built in 2014 means that this now only happens for a few short periods each year.
Places to stay
There are a handful of B&Bs on Mont-Saint-Michel island, the pick of the bunch is the Auberge Saint Pierre. Alternatively, the Mercure Mon-Saint-Michel, Hotel Vert or Le Relais Saint Michel are all located on the mainland in Caserne, an easy walk from the bus stop and shuttle bus terminal, all with good reviews.
Mont Saint Michel. Copyright Amaustan, CC BY-SA 4.0.