13 Extraordinary Things to Do at Mont Saint-Michel – Normandy’s Fairytale Island

Visiting Mont Saint Michel seriously feels like stepping into a fairytale. The tiny island, one of France’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, rises dramatically above its surroundings, with its impressive abbey and medieval village reaching 92 meters (302 feet) above the bay. The bay itself is vast, covering 250 square kilometers.

The tides at Mont Saint Michel are the biggest in Europe and are a fascinating piece of the Mont Saint Michel charm. dramatically changing the landscape in just a few hours. Watching the tide come in or go out is a unique experience that adds to the island’s charm.

The main attraction on the island is the abbey, which is perched atop the steep rock, and dates back to the 1000s AD. After you visit the abbey, there are a variety of attractions and activities to enjoy on and around the Mont.

Mont Saint Michel is certainly a popular tourist attraction in the northern region of Normandy, welcoming over 2 million visitors annually, but despite the crowds, I think it’s a magical spot absolutely worth visiting in France.

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13 Best Things To Do on Mont Saint Michel

In this post, we’ll go into detail about the best things to do in Mont Saint Michel, where to eat, where to stay, plus other helpful information for visiting the Mont.

1. Abbey Tour

The abbey of Mont Saint Michel is the dominating structure on Mont St Michel – a fortress-like building perched right on top of the island. This is THE thing to do on Mont Saint Michel and is a must-visit.

The abbey is over 1000 years old and has been built and modified throughout the years, as reflected in many different architectural styles that you’ll see in the building.

Legend states that Saint Michael came to the Bishop Aubert of Avranches (a nearby city) and told him to build an abbey for him. Aubert didn’t listen until Saint Michael touched his forehead, leaving an imprint on his head and finally convincing the bishop to start construction on the abbey.

Several places in the abbey have murals dedicated to Saint Michael, who is generally portrayed with a sword and slaying the dragon (aka the devil). 

A visit to the abbey takes you through 13 rooms, including the crypts underneath that support the abbey, multiple chapels and churches, a cloister garden, and dining and reading rooms. 

The rooms are grand and the engineering is impressive – sometimes you see the spots where the island rock and abbey stones touch and almost intertwine.

After you exit the abbey, the experience isn’t actually over. The exit route back into the village wraps around the exterior of the abbey and walking through the exterior garden paths was one of our favorite parts of the experience.

Options for Visiting

Self-Guided with Audio Guide: I’d highly recommend getting the audioguide for Mont Saint Michel – there are no informational placards at all in the abbey, and the audioguide is seriously fantastic.

You get so much more out of your visit with the history, background, and stories the audioguide shares with you.

Plus, the guide comes with a histopad that shows you what different rooms used to look like back when they were first used.

I thought it was fascinating to see that all these rooms used to be painted in vibrant colors on the walls and ceiling, with glazed tiles on the floor – a big difference from how it looks today. 

You need to reserve the audioguide (histopad) separately when you are buying your tickets. If you decide not to do the audio guide, definitely grab one of the paper leaflets by the ticket office, which will give you some information about the different rooms. 

Guided Tour: Guided tours of the abbey are available and are a great way to get an even more comprehensive understanding of the history and culture of the abbey.

Exclusive Rooftop Tour: Finally, the abbey offers a special guided rooftop tour that is available on weekends only in the summer. I’m super sad to have missed this – we came on a Tuesday and couldn’t really adjust our schedule. If you’re there on a summer weekend I would definitely consider this option – it looks extremely cool. 

For regular admission, you can buy tickets online in advance or buy them on-site.

2. Walk Around the Island

The rest of Mont Saint Michel not taken up by the abbey is a teeny, tiny village. There are a few charming streets to walk up and down, including the Grande Rue, the main street of the village.

Today, because only 6 people actually live on the island (plus 12 monks), all the shops cater to tourists and are either restaurants, cafes, or souvenir stores. 

While the streets are charming, walking through the village is much more pleasant before 10am or after 6-7pm. During the daytime hours, the streets are absolutely packed – to the point where it starts to detract from the experience.

For this reason, I recommend staying at least 1 night in the MSM vicinity. If you can’t do an overnight, just be prepared for heavy crowds and don’t plan to spend a lot of time in the village.

3. Eglise Saint-Pierre

The church of Saint Pierre is in the center of the village and is separate from the abbey. It’s a small but charming stone church that is free to enter. 

4. The Ramparts

The ramparts of Mont Saint Michel are the historic city walls that encircle nearly the entire island, offering stunning views of the surrounding bay and tidal flats.

There are many different staircases around town that give access to the ramparts, and walking them is one of the prettiest things to do on the Mont. 

While ramparts are usually fun for the views over the landscape, here, your eyes will often be drawn to the unique vantage point of the abbey and the village as you circle the island. 

5. Les Nocturnes

During the summer, the abbey puts on “Les Nocturnes,” which is a night light and sound show experience throughout the abbey, and requires a separate ticket from the main abbey tour.

You’ll go through the abbey in a different order and via some different passageways (and through a few different rooms) than the regular day tour. Some rooms are just lit with colored lights, but several rooms have music and lights that coordinate and do a little “show.”

I wouldn’t say that this is the most over-the-top light show I’ve seen, but it was also really cool to experience the abbey this way at night. 

The other advantage of Les Nocturnes is that there are far fewer visitors than during the daytime hours and it’s a much more relaxed and chill experience. 

If you are visiting Mont Saint Michel during summertime, I’d definitely recommend coming. I think doing both the regular day tour as well as the night experience is well worth it. 

6. Museums at Mont St Michel

There are four museums on the island that you can visit – all are connected. There is are 2 history museums, a maritime museum, and a historic house. Unfortunately, these museums are all pretty awful quality and are not worth your time, unless you have a few hours to kill and need to get out of the weather.

>>Things To Do Around Mont Saint Michel

While visiting the Abbey is fascinating and the village is charming, truly the best way to experience Mont Saint Michel is looking at it from afar. The next items on this list are all things to do around the Mont, and should not be missed!

7. Observe the Changing Tides

The tides of Mont Saint Michel are the biggest in Europe and dramatically change throughout the day and throughout the seasons.

Tides are caused by the interaction of the moon, sun, and gravitational pull, and while all bodies of water are subject to tides, the shape and shallowness of the Mont Saint Michel Bay causes very dramatic shifts and encroachment of the water.  

The tide at Mont Saint Michel moves remarkably fast, reaching speeds of up to 6 km/hr (4 mph) and the incoming tide wave can be as tall as a meter (3 feet) during the highest tides. In a single cycle, the water can retreat or advance up to 20 kilometers.

Although the most iconic views of Mont Saint Michel show the island completely surrounded by shallow water, most of the time it actually is partially dry.

The biggest tides, high enough to turn MSM back into an island, are around the equinoxes (in spring and fall). In summer and winter, even at high tide, there is still a decent bit of dry land connecting the Mont to the mainland.

There are two high tides and two low tides every 24 hours, although the exact timing of the tides changes with the moon, with a high or low tide occurring ~every 6 hours.

You can check the exact timing of the tides online – it’s worth trying to catch the Mont at both high and low tides to see the difference!

8. Walk in the Bay (With Tour Recommended!)

At low tide, you can walk on the sand around the island (access to the sandy bay is right by the entrance to the island), but you do need to be very careful – tides come in fast and there are patches of quicksand around the bay.

The areas right in front of the Mont are pretty safe for self-exploration if you are careful and pay attention to the tide schedule and your surroundings (and there were a lot of people out on the harder-packed sand), but I wouldn’t venture out farther by yourself, for sure. 

We thought going out farther into the bay sounded like fun, so we booked a bay walking tour and it was a highlight of our visit.

We walked far out around the Mont, even to the very far backside, walking through hard sand, soft sand, and even shallow pools of water. It was extremely cool to see Mont Saint Michel from the backside, where a small forest sits under the abbey.

We learned about how the tides work, interesting features of the ecosystem, and more history of the Mont.

But the coolest part of the whole thing was the quicksand demonstration, where we learned how quicksand is formed, how you get trapped, and how to get out.

Our group then actually made a quicksand pit together and everyone purposefully got themselves stuck in the sand. It was a crazy feeling – it really did feel like your legs were getting sucked down and in.

Getting out also was a really unique sensation, as you carefully removed your leg from the pull.

Note that the times for the tours are based on low tide schedules, so available times will be different every day. 

>>Book the bay + quicksand tour here

9. Bike Around Mont St Michel

Biking around Mont Saint Michel was seriously one of my favorite activities of our visit, as it allowed us to explore and experience the views of the island from many vantage points. 

Some hotels or vacation rentals will offer bikes for guest use. You can also rent from Bike’inBaie, a bike rental center in the town of Beauvoir, the town that is the gateway to Mont Saint Michel. This is what we did on our second day in Mont Saint Michel.

Bike rates are very reasonable and you can rent mountain bikes, e-bikes, and child carriers, and all rentals come with helmets, bike locks, and water. You can make reservations online but we just showed up the day of and were on our way in minutes. I’d highly recommend them!

So, where to bike?

There is a long, paved bike path that runs parallel to the river and the main road to the Mont and is a popular spot for walkers and bikers. This is a fantastic spot to bike up to the Mont, and you have incredible views as you approach.

Eventually, the bike path will end and you’ll have to bike on the bridge. Be prepared to yield to buses – only shuttles and the occasional delivery truck or police car are allowed in, so it’s not hard to swing back and forth between biking in the left or right lane. 

Once you get to Mont Saint Michel, there are bike racks inside the left gate and overflow just in the area around the gates. 

I loved the gorgeous scenery of this bike path – even if you are just walking up the Mont, I’d walk here instead of on the main road. You can see the location of this path here.

There are also numerous other walking/bike paths around the area and biking is a common way to get around. You can easily bike to the last four spots on this list (which is what we did).

10. The Meanders

The Meanders is a charming viewpoint of Mont Saint Michel where a tightly winding river bed cuts through a field. This spot is all over social media and has become a popular viewpoint, for good reason – it is SO picturesque.

You can find the Meanders in a sheep field on the east side of the Mont. There is a fence, but you can just walk in – the field is open to visitors, just be respectful and close the gate.

If you are there early in the morning, you might get to see the herds of sheep being let out to graze – a whole herd of them came right by us while we were there!

11. The Dam

The dam, or “barrage” in French, of Mont Saint Michel is about 2 km from the Mont and helps control the flow of water around the bay.

The dam is also designed to be a nice pedestrian bridge and even a hangout spot, with wooden flooring, steps to sit on, and nice wide pathways across.

The dam is easily accessible via the bike path or the main road that goes up to the Mont.

12. The Fields

If you cross the dam, there is another walking path that swings around and above some grazing fields. This path is not paved but is still very manageable on a bike, is quite isolated, and offers great views back over the fields to the Mont.

You can also walk down to the field to get some cool perspective shots with MSM rising dramatically in the background. You can find the location of these fields here.

Photo Tip: have your photographer stand extra far away and use the zoom feature to make the Mont larger in the frame.

13. Moulin de Moidrey

The Moulin de Moidrey is a historic windmill located just 5 km from Mont Saint Michel. Once part of a landscape dotted with windmills, only a few remain today. What makes this windmill particularly special is that it’s still active, continuing to mill grain as it has for centuries.

You can take a tour of the mill portion for a small fee and purchase various flour types that have been milled here. It also offers nice views over the countryside.

Helpful Tips for Visiting Mont Saint Michel

>>How to Access the Mont

Mont Saint Michel is connected to the mainland via a causeway bridge, and is always open to visitors. The Mont can be accessed in one of three ways: by shuttle, on foot, or on bike.

No vehicles except for police, shuttles, or delivery vans can drive all the way up to the Mont.

If you have a car, there is a car park about 3.2 km/2 miles, or a 35-minute walk, from the Mont. Some people park and walk up, but many people take the free shuttle that runs between the parking lot and MSM.

Shuttles come every couple of minutes throughout the day, although a little less frequently late at night. If you need a ride outside of the normal shuttle hours (7:30am-midnight), there is a number posted at the shuttle stops you can call for a free ride.  

The village on Mont Saint Michel, the bridge, the walkways, and the parking lot are all open 24/7.

>>Where to Eat Near Mont Saint Michel

Dining around Mont Saint Michel is a bit of a mixed bag. There are some great restaurants, but there are also tons of tourist traps serving subpar food.

On the island of Mont Saint Michel itself, there are a lot of questionable restaurants, so I wouldn’t recommend just walking into any old place without checking ratings first.

We had a great, easy meal at Mont Burger on Mont Saint Michel. This was just a burger and fries place, but it was high quality and hit the spot.

Many of the best restaurants are in the nearby town of Beauvoir. We had a fabulous and very reasonably priced meal at La Fermette.

L’Antre Terre et Baie also came highly recommended – it serves mainly seafood and has views of the Mont.

Finally, we had a quick, easy, and delicious lunch of Afghani cuisine at the Restau Soleil food truck in front of the Hotel Rose in Beauvoir.

Where to Stay When Visiting Mont Saint-Michel

On Mont Saint Michel

There are a few hotels on Mont Saint-Michel itself. This is a great option if you want the unique experience of staying on the UNESCO site and enjoying early mornings and late evenings when the crowds are blissfully low. 

Auberge Saint Pierre is one of the best historic hotels on the island and the one I’d recommend if you have your heart set on staying on-site.

In Beauvoir

However, we do think that the best experience of Mont Saint Michel is looking at, not being on it. Plus, the hotels on the island are more expensive, so it likely will make more sense to stay in the village of Beauvoir, the main artery to the Mont. 

While anywhere in a 15-20 minute radius of the Mont is a decent spot, there are a few cluster areas that are particularly good. 

By the Last Shuttle Stop: The first one is right by the main road (La Caserne Ardevon) and close to a shuttle stop. The shuttle makes 4 stops (the parking lot, the hotels, the dam, and Mont St Michel). The last stop before Mont Saint Michel on the shuttle has a cluster of hotels.

These are great options – they’re as close as you can get to the Mont, a close-ish walk, and a short shuttle.

Le Relais Saint Michel: This is the best hotel in the Mont Saint Michel area, and my top pick for where to stay for location, convenience, and views. Several rooms offer insane views of the Mont itself.

Le Saint Aubert: This is a budget-friendly option is just next door, without the views, but with the location and convenience of being by the bus stop.

By the Meanders: Alternatively, staying just a little bit east of the main road, next to the Meanders, is Etoile des Grèves, which I think is another great location for views and relatively convenient. You can walk or bike to the parking lot shuttle stop in 8-15 minutes. 

In Beauvoir Central: Finally, you can stay a little bit farther back along the main road and either walk or bike all the way in, walk or bike to the shuttle stop, or drive to the parking lot and take the shuttle in. 

La Grève Saint Michel and Hotel Rose are two great options in the heart of Beauvoir.

The Wrap Up

Mont Saint-Michel is undeniably one of France’s most remarkable historical landmarks and a truly awe-inspiring destination. If you’re exploring Normandy, it’s an experience that absolutely deserves a spot on your itinerary.

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