Mont Saint-Michel Day Trip from Bayeux
Bayeux, France
Rating: 
Trip Type: Day Trips
Duration: 8 hours
Discover the jewel in Normandy’s crown and one of France’s most iconic landmarks on this Mont Saint-Michel day trip from Bayeux. Take in panoramic views over the Normandy coastline from Mont Saint-Michel’s towering ramparts. Explore the UNESCO-listed Benedictine abbey with your guide and learn of Mont Saint-Michel’s chequered history, during which it has been a monastery, prison and strategic fortification. Enjoy free time to visit the abbey museum at your leisure, then wander round the cobblestone village to admire its traditional granite and timber houses.
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Discover the jewel in Normandy’s crown and one of France’s most iconic landmarks on this Mont Saint-Michel day trip from Bayeux. Take in panoramic views over the Normandy coastline from Mont Saint-Michel’s towering ramparts. Explore the UNESCO-listed Benedictine abbey with your guide and learn of Mont Saint-Michel’s chequered history, during which it has been a monastery, prison and strategic fortification. Enjoy free time to visit the abbey museum at your leisure, then wander round the cobblestone village to admire its traditional granite and timber houses.
Following a morning pickup from your hotel in Bayeux, meet your guide, hop into your air-conditioned vehicle and begin your 1.5-hour journey south along the Normandy coast to Mont Saint-Michel. Admire panoramic views over the French coastline as the iconic Mont Saint-Michel looms near, and marvel at one of France’s most famous landmarks.
On arrival, follow your guide on a walk through the village to the UNESCO-listed Benedictine abbey. Explore the abbey and its mighty ramparts, and gain insight into Mont Saint-Michel’s ancient history as a monastery, prison and strategic fortification.
Head through the grand entrance and follow your guide through room after room, each seemingly more impressive than the last. Perhaps meet some of the monks who settled in the abbey a few years ago, and hear their Gregorian chants echoing around the cloisters during Mass.
Enjoy free time to visit the museum at your leisure, then set off through the cobblestone streets around the village with your guide. Admire the many granite and timber houses you find and walk along the fortified wall, built during the Hundred Years War, when Mont Saint-Michel first became a fortified castle.
Afterward, enjoy more free time to peruse the shops and relax over lunch in a local café or restaurant (own expense). Don’t forget to find a vantage point and watch the impressive spectacle of the tide coming in and cutting the island off from the mainland.
Depending on the time, you may be able to make one more stop for up to an hour before returning to Bayeux. Perhaps visit Avranches and learn about the birth of Mont Saint-Michel, discover the reason why they call Saint-Lô the Capital of the Ruins. Alternatively, watch skilled copper craftspeople at work in Villedieu-les-Poêles or discover ancient Roman history in Bayeux. Specify in the Special Requirements section, at the time of booking, which place you would prefer.
When it’s time to head back to Bayeaux, hop back aboard your minivan for the return journey to your hotel, where your tour will come to an end.
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