# Mont St Michel



## Popo (Feb 12, 2007)

We are currently on the C and C Club rally and Pont L'abbe near Quimper. We are thinking about stopping at Mont ST Michele on the way back to the tunnel. Can anyone tell me if its possible to stay on the carpark/aire that is in the books. Does this get full? and how far and accessbile is it for wheelcahirs to get to the tourist attraction from there?

I have never been that way so any advice or information would be useful.

Thanking you in advance


Joyce


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

This might help Joyce.

These are Aires de Service.

Dave


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## brandywine (Aug 28, 2007)

We stayed on the aire 2 years ago, think it was 7€, no services though.

There is a separate disabled car park nearer the entrance, dont know if they let M/homes in there.

Regards


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## plod756 (Aug 11, 2009)

i was there last week , plenty of room to park overnight, it cost 10 euros and a short distance to the island, there is a road but disabled access up to the monastry is not good with steep steps leading up


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

The parking for motorhomes is further away than the car park,it is a 5-10 minute walk to Mont St Michel which is not easy access with all the steps.

Can confirm that it is 10 euros a night for parking and there are no facilities so make sure your water tank is full  .


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## rupert1 (Feb 13, 2009)

We have stayed twice and indeed the aire/carpark at M.S.M. is a very expensive 10euro. You need to check if it is open all night, it does flood at very high tides, sometimes they will tell you and their are signs out but you will only see them after you have paid. No idea about disabled access, would think you could visit some of the village but to get up to the top would be difficult. Why not telephone them sure they will be helpfull.


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## Hobbyfan (Jul 3, 2010)

The one we stayed at last year was more like a camp site. As you approach the Mont you come to a t-junction where you'd turn right to go to the Mont.

Just before the junction the motor-home site is on the left and on the right is its sister camp site, with all the usual facilities.

I thought that it was superb. Full-sized hedged emplacements and EHU and if memory serves it was about seven Euro.

Very attractive, well kept and reasonably priced. No showers or anything but it was just for motor-homes and anyone wanting full facilities could go over the road and pay more.

It was a short walk to the Mont but if you must be nearer then you'll have to go to the official Mont parking, which I suspect will be more and not as nice.


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

The aire de stationement (no facilities) on the causeway is still there, price is now up to €10 but still well worth it just for the view in my opinion....

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Campsites&op=display_results&csid=56










..and there is another just up the road that might be the one Hobbyfan is talking about.....

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Campsites&op=display_results&csid=4151

Pete


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## Hobbyfan (Jul 3, 2010)

peejay said:


> The aire de stationement (no facilities) on the causeway is still there, price is now up to €10 but still well worth it just for the view in my opinion....
> ..and there is another just up the road that might be the one Hobbyfan is talking about.....
> Pete


Yep, that's the one, thanks for the link. Its main advantage is that you stand no chance of other motor-homes crowding you but, as you say, there's that view..............................!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

The Aire that Peejay and Hobby are on about is run by the hotel Verte. Park in their reception and go in and pay to get the barrier code. It was 8.50e in May including EHU, Water and waste. Its lovely in there but its about a mile down to the mont. They speak good english on reception so perhaps they can advise if there is any kind of courtesy bus for you. You may even be able to google them and call them in advance. The car park Aire (which will soon be permanently under water) is very gravely and may not be ideal for a wheel chair. The path up through the Mont shops is a bit cobbley as well but there are access ramps down from the road.

The little village where the Hotel Verte Aire is has restaraunts, shops etc all within easy access from the Aire for walking or wheel chairs and its very flat.

Cheers
BD


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## LPDrifter (Aug 17, 2005)

We stayed overnight in The Carrefore supermarket on edge of Pontorson two years ago. That time we were just passing through.

The previous year we stayed in this campsite:

http://www.camping-haliotis-mont-saint-michel.com/contact-us-camping-haliotis.php

I would recommend it. You can leave your MH safely on site and get the
local bus from close to the camp-site gates right in to the Mont Saint
Michel for a few euro. We spent a very enjoyable day on the Mont
before catching the bus back to the campsite.

It is only about 15 mins on the bus.


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## Popo (Feb 12, 2007)

Many many thanks to everyone for your very helpful replies. The photos are even better so we know what to look for now. We should get there on Thursday it looks brilliant for a stop over visit.


Joyce


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## Vennwood (Feb 4, 2007)

We were there a couple of years ago and motorhomes can stay all night if they want to. Usually gets quite busy but well worth it. The view at night when its all lit up as worth the visit


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

Vennwood said:


> We were there a couple of years ago and motorhomes can stay all night if they want to. Usually gets quite busy but well worth it. The view at night when its all lit up as worth the visit


It always worthwhile asking about staing overnight as if the sea is coming over you wont be able to stay although they will happliy take your 10euro just to park for a couple of hrs and wont tell you.

We make this mistake in June and had to get off by 6pm

There is a parking place where people seemed to go which is turn right onto the car park and sharp right again along a dirt road and come back on yourself. I saw people parked there after i had come off.

There is also a nice aire in the town next to the camp site just before you drive down the causway. Its a bit awkward though as you need a code to get in so drive onto the camp site/hotel over the road and pay in reception and get the code. donr be surprised if theres someone blocking the barrier though who has parked nup and walked across to pay. Takes 20 mins to walk to the mount.
Go into the field if you need a sat picure.
9euro per night in june inc water and elec) 
Polarity may be reversed

Phill


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## Vennwood (Feb 4, 2007)

drcotts said:


> It always worthwhile asking about staing overnight as if the sea is coming over you wont be able to stay although they will happliy take your 10euro just to park for a couple of hrs and wont tell you.
> 
> We make this mistake in June and had to get off by 6pm
> 
> ...


Good point Phil,

I'd forgotten about that. It was written on a board though telling you when high tide is due - about 2 or 3 days a month and the attendant was warning folk about where to park with the neap tides


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## jd_boss_hogg (Aug 26, 2009)

drcotts said:


> Vennwood said:
> 
> 
> > It always worthwhile asking about staing overnight as if the sea is coming over you wont be able to stay although they will happliy take your 10euro just to park for a couple of hrs and wont tell you. We make this mistake in June and had to get off by 6pm
> ...


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## jd_boss_hogg (Aug 26, 2009)

forgot to add - and this might bring howls of critisism for me - but in my opinion, the food on the Mont (and also in the village) is the worst , poorly cooked, expensive rubish that i've ever had in France. I know that's a wide sweeping brush, and there surely MUST be some good places, but we have eat there 5 times in 5 different establishemnts, and always had a terrible food, terrible service and very overpriced. Every time we go back, i say " they surely all can;t be this bad - this nest one HAS to be good" and every time i'm dissapointed.

I've even been bothered to rate them on Travelpedia i was so dissapointed !


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

jd_boss_hogg said:


> forgot to add - and this might bring howls of critisism for me - but in my opinion, the food on the Mont (and also in the village) is the worst , poorly cooked, expensive rubish that i've ever had in France. I know that's a wide sweeping brush, and there surely MUST be some good places, but we have eat there 5 times in 5 different establishemnts, and always had a terrible food, terrible service and very overpriced. Every time we go back, i say " they surely all can;t be this bad - this nest one HAS to be good" and every time i'm dissapointed.
> 
> I've even been bothered to rate them on Travelpedia i was so dissapointed !


Agreed. I think its the same the world over though. You go to the big attractions and the service and food is always crap. They are of the opinion that people will buy it anyway, they are not looking for repeat trade so they dont care. The Lake District (Can) be the same. I always try and get out of the tourist areas if we are going to have a meal.


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## Popo (Feb 12, 2007)

Just to let everybody know who gave such good advice. We stayed 3 nights at Mont St Michel. The first was my birthday. We paid E10 and parked with loads of other motorhomes and were well rewarded with magical sights of the Mont at night...I didn't want to draw my curtains!

When we went through the barrier we asked about all the options for us. We could have gone to the top car park and disabled parking but would have been moved back for the tide anyway as we wanted to stayover. Actually I think it was a good decision because we were far enough to see the Mont in all its beauty and close enough to see it! We also had views across the flats, so saw sheep and sea which was magical first thing in the morning.

We just had to go back each day to pay for another night and they were more than comfortable with us having an extended stay. The car park filled up each day with cars and motorhomes.

As you rightly said we didn't get far and having gone up the first hill inside it was nightmarish to get Charlie and chair back down safely through the crowds in a very narrow space. We only ran over one dog who yelped!!!! No harm done fortunately!

At least I got my coveted T shirt so I can say been there done it, and I am very glad we did!


Joyce


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## eddievanbitz (May 1, 2005)

Hi I was there two weeks ago and there are several options, we chose the hotel run "campsite" about a mile walk along the causeway.

The food! Well we went into the terrace garden of La Vielle Auberge and had a really decent seafood platter and cold beer! A tad expensive for the beer but the food was great and reasonable value.

We got 1/3 of the way up with a push chair about 16 years ago and gave up due to the access and the number of people, this year was just as bad. The people that run the place are idiots! They will stand and watch a bun fight and are clueless! An example of this is that there are two sets of stairs, leading to the same terrace. Instead of making one set "up" and the other set "down" there are staff in the midst of chaos running around like headless chickens!

Truthfully I would say that the whole place is not wheelchair or pram friendly, I certainly wouldn't try and visit the place in a busy period.

All in all, I think that the whole thing is best viewed at sunset with a cold beer from two or three miles away! From there it is looks stunning, the closer you get the more tacky and commercial the whole place is!

We had taken Sabre our dog (another mistake) and were told that obviously couldn't take him into the church as it is a house of God, but we could go in if we paid seventeen Euro's! So there you have it, the price of salvation is only seventeen Euro! All these years of trying to be good LOL

Eddie


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Historic day for Mont-Saint-Michel from The Connexion.

April 27, 2012 

Share this story24 

TODAY is the last day motorists will be able to drive up to the foot of Mont-Saint-Michel as the access causeway is being closed as part of the works to make the Unesco World Heritage site an island again.

The 2.4million tourists who visit the site each year must use a new car park about 3km from the monument. They will have to take shuttle buses - the price is included in the €8 a day parking fee - or walk across the causeway.

Plans for horse-drawn maringotes to be used - at a €6 supplement - have had to be postponed as the carriages are not robust enough for use and are being redesigned.

For the past 40 years vehicles have been able to drive on to the island over the causeway which became a giant car park for 600,000 vehicles each year.

Now a tidal dam has been built upstream on the Couesnon river in a bid to flush out the sand that has filled the Baie de Mont-Saint-Michel. It is a part of the €210m project to make it an island again which will be completed when the causeway is removed and a new bridge completed in 2014.

However, the project has been hit by criticism, notably over the siting of the car park and the shuttles.

At 3km from the monument the car park is also 750m from the point where the shuttles and, eventually, the maringotes will start. Visitors must walk from the car park, although the disabled have a special parking area beside the shuttle bus departure zone.

The shuttles themselves will have to be sent back to the manufacturers in Portugal as they can hold only 60 passengers, instead of the planned 100. They will be modified before next summer and are costing transport supplier Véolia Transdev a €400,000 penalty on top.


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## WhiteCheyenneMan (Sep 27, 2011)

I saw the shuttle buses (2) arriving, on the back of a low loader, two weeks ago. Do we know whether MH's will be able to use the new car park? Or will the shuttles stop within walking distance of the Aire?

It was chaos when we were there. We had read that you couldn't drive right up to the Mont, but assumed that there would be some parking provision for us............they're so pro Camping Cars in France.....except at Mont St Michel :? 

I ignored the official waving his arms, telling me to turn around on the causeway, while I dropped off my wife and daughter. I, like all good motohomers, parked next to about eight other MH's in a restaurant car park! There's strength in numbers. Didn't use the aire because we needed to get up to Omaha Beach area by the end of the day.

I ignored the official again when picking up my wife and daughter, but he just stood and stared. He was probably impressed by my 3 point turn :lol:


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