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Hotel Overnight at Mont St-Michel | |
| Staying overnight in a hotel on the island of Mont St-Michel lets you experience this marvellous historic site and natural wonder in many different lights and with fewer people. Here's how to do it. | ||
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We spent two nights in a hotel right on the island of Mont St-Michel and loved every minute! There are a number of hotels within the walls of Mont St-Michel, and they offer a variety of room types and sizes. We had requested a guest room with a view at La Vieille Auberge, and we got one. Here's what it was like: We left most of our travel equipment in the car (in the parking lot) and just carried small backpacks with what we'd need for overnight.
After walking most of the way up Mont St-Michel's main street, the Grande Rue, to the Auberge, we then set off with our host to climb the 66 steps to our guest room. The climb was a bit daunting at first, but we soon grew accustomed to it. Many of the rooms with the best views in hotels on the island of Mont St-Michel will require some climbing and stairs. Grande Rue had been crowded with visitors when we arrived at 17:00 (5:00 pm). Later that evening we strolled down the now-quiet street to dinner and to admire Mont St-Michel lit up at night, and we saw only a few people. Early the next morning we were out walkingoff the island, along the causeway, and into the salt marshes (Pré Salé) to enjoy a foggy sunrise. We saw sheep grazing on the salty grass and enjoyed the peace and quiet of early morning. (Sheep grazed on the Pré Salé yield Agneau de Pré Salé, meat tasting of the salt—a delicacy. More...)
As the fog burned off, the shuttle buses started arriving, and we entered into tourist mode once again as we climbed the many stairs to the Abbey and later enjoyed a picnic lunch on the terrace of our guest room. We had plenty of time for walks. We strolled on the ramparts of the Abbey, and explored the little alleyways. At low tide, when it was safe to do so, we walked all the way around the island on the sand. Later, we enjoyed sunset views from the fortified towers, and experienced some of the mystique of the place that is difficult to capture during the crowded mid-day.
We enjoyed wonderful views of the Abbey, the surrounding sands, and the wonderful old buildings of the town. We could also see the small parish church of St-Pierre, and its cemetery, from our terrace. Click here to find your hotel on Mont St-Michel.
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Above, early morning fog, Mont St-Michel:
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