The Mont-Saint-Michel is a must-see in France: the place is enchanting, because of its architecture and its history.
But to visit it, you have to be able to get there!
Here is our article to understand everything about the Mont-Saint-Michel parking lots:
- where to park at Mont-Saint-Michel
- how to get there by car
- prices, schedules and parking info
- how not to pay for parking (free alternative options)
BEFORE OUR TIPS + PHOTOS
HERE ARE OUR favorites
Our favorite car rental platform with great offers: DiscoverCars
Discover this place from every angle:
Book your time to visit Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey
Hike through quicksand
Fly overhead in a microlight
Our favorite places to stay:
On theisland: Hôtel Auberge Saint-Pierre – see photos and availability
At the end of the bridge: Hotel Mercure – see photos and availability
In the countryside: B&B Le Clos Saint Gilles – see photos and availability
In a castle 30min away: Château de La Ballue – see photos and availability
How to get to Mont Saint-Michel by car
How to get to Mont Saint-Michel by car?
It is very easy to reach Mont-Saint-Michel by car.
Take the A84 freeway from Caen or Rennes, or the N176 from Saint-Malo.
Driving time to be expected:
- Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel = 3h30 to 4h30 drive (depending on traffic jams) – A13 to Caen before A84 – freeways almost all the way
- Caen to Mont-Saint-Michel = 1h20
- Bayeux to Mont-Saint-Michel = 1h20
- Nantes to Mont-Saint-Michel = 2h30
- Rennes to Mont-Saint-Michel = 1h
Be careful, there are a lot of radars at the approach of the Mont-Saint-Michel!
Why can’t we park at the foot of the mountain anymore?
The Mont-Saint-Michel is a unique environment in a bay with the most impressive tides in Europe… and also the 2nd most visited place in France!
So you can imagine the problem of 500,000 cars on this fragile place.
In 2012, the new system was implemented with to restore the wetlands with:
- Large parking lots surrounded by trees a little further from the mountain
- Vegetated dikes
- A hydraulic system to keep the land wet
- Reversible shuttles (that can be driven in both directions!)
Yes, parking has a cost. But the shuttle is free and the entrance to the mountain as well. And it’s a price per car, not per person!
Compared to a visit to a castle, for example, we find this reasonable.
We think it’s great. This makes the arrival on the mountain with the shuttle or on foot even more spectacular!
Arrival by car at Mont Saint-Michel
When you arrive at Mont-Saint-Michel, follow the signs for the parking lots or for the shuttle bus.
We will explain the different parking numbers in the next section.
Do not go to “La Caserne” or “Mont-Saint-Michel” where there is a barrier to entry. This area is only for people who have a reservation in one of the hotels at La Caserne (not on the mountain) or at the campground.
OUR ADVICE FOR RENTING A CAR IN Normandy
- Compare prices on our preferred platform: DiscoverCars – one of the best rated sites.
- Choose a car that is comfortable enough (distances can be long) but compact (some parking lots and villages are narrow).
- Think of thecomplete insurance (some roads are tortuous and narrow).
- There is a lot of demand, book it early.
Where to park at Mont Saint-Michel
Parking map
Here is a map of the official parking lots of Mont-Saint-Michel (the closest ones).
With this map you arrive by car from the left or the top.
And the mountain is down.
They are all paying.
Parking Numbers: Which ones to use?
All the parking lots are very well signposted whether you are driving in or walking to your car. But be sure to note which parking lot you are in!
Car
If you have a classic car and visit for the day, you can go to the parking lots:
P5, P6, P7, P10, P11, P12 and P13
If they are not full, we recommend P10 and P11 for quick access to the shuttle.
Reduced mobility
If you have a disabled person in the car (with an official card), you can park in the P2 parking lot.
Motorcycle
If you have a motorcycle, you can park at the P9 parking lot.
Motor home
If you have a motor home, you can park at the P8 parking lot.
Hotel guests
If you are staying overnight in one of the hotels on the intramural mountain or at La Caserne, go to parking lot P3. Ask the hotel for the code the day before. See our experience of spending a night on the mountain.
P1 and P4
These parking lots are not accessible to tourists (locals and employees).
Paying for parking at Mont Saint-Michel
Price, ticket and how to pay
Step 1
Make sure you are ready to visit Mt.
Any exit from the parking lot is final (except for those staying at the hotel). You must therefore pay in full if you return.
Step 2
Pick up a ticket at the entrance of your parking zone. It is not yet printed at the entrance, it will be printed at the exit.
Step 3
Store your parking ticket properly so that you can easily find it when you leave.
The ticket is necessary to pay.
If you lose it, you will have to pay between 20 and 55 euros depending on the season and your vehicle.
Step 4
When you are ready to leave, don’t get in your car yet, go through one of the payment terminals. Payment in cash or by credit card.
Prices vary between low and high season.
- High season: April 1st to September 30th
- Low season: January 1 to March 31 and October 1 to December 31
For a classic car in 2023:
- 24h package in low season: 12 euros
- 24h package in high season: 25 euros
- Evenings only (from 6.30pm) all year round: free of charge
- The shuttle is included in the price for all persons in the car
Parking for motorhomes: P8
As mentioned above, the parking lot for motorhomes is P8 (the furthest away).
The 24-hour pass is 3 euros more expensive than for cars.
Can we stay there at night?
We do not want to interpret or give false information. The exact text on the official website is: “It is forbidden to stay in the parking lot. Overnight parking is permitted, but the park cannot, under any circumstances, be an accommodation area for motor homes. No water resupply or electricity supply areas are provided.”
You will find a camping site in the area of La Caserne and many others near the mountain as well as areas dedicated to motor homes.
Parking for hotel guests: P3
If you are lucky enough to stay at one of the hotels on the mountain, the P3 parking lot can accommodate you.
Ask for a code at the hotel before arriving and type it in at the entrance terminal.
Your ticket will be special because it authorizes you to go out 3 times and come back with the same 24-hour pass.
A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE AT Mont-Saint-Michel
Step 1: Plan and get there
Step 2: Decide on your program
Step 3: decide where to sleep
Free parking at Mont Saint-Michel
How not to pay for parking at Mont Saint-Michel?
If you want to park as close to Mont-Saint-Michel as possible, it is impossible to find a free option.
But if you are willing to take the bus, come by bike or walk, there are options close by: in Beauvoir and Pontorson.
Attention: do not park along the road at the exit of the parking lots of the mountain. Unauthorized parking is not allowed and is very dangerous.
Parking in Beauvoir – free parking Mont-Saint-Michel
The small village of Beauvoir is the closest to Mont-Saint-Michel. It is less than 5 minutes by car from the official parking lots.
There are hotels, restaurants and stores.
The parking spaces on the street are free as well as the small parking lot of 20 spaces between the stores Saint-James and “L’épicerie de la Baie”.
From Beauvoir, you can reach the Mont-Saint-Michel by bike or by foot.
Do not walk on the fast road!
You have a very nice car-free path along the Couesnon River with a constant view on the Mont.
It takes 30 minutes to walk to the Mont-Saint-Michel dam or to the departure of the shuttles.
Then 20/30 minutes more to reach the mountain if you go completely on foot.
Pontsoron station
Otherwise, even further away, you will find a lot of free parking spaces around the station of Pontsoron – Mont-Saint-Michel.
It is a 15-minute drive from the official parking lots.
Then you can finish by bike.
Or take the local bus that connects the train station to the mountain in 25 minutes (with a frequency of 3 to 8 round trips per day). See the schedule.
If you don’t have a bike, we don’t see the point of paying for the bus instead of paying for parking…
Reduce the price of parking by arriving later
Another option to reduce your parking costs is to visit the mountain in the evening.
There is a reduced rate if you arrive after 7pm.
The abbey and the stores will be closed but this allows you to discover the village and the ramparts without the crowds, and to admire the mountain at night.
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How to get to Mont-Saint-Michel from the parking lots
Once parked, you can walk or take the shuttle to the mountain.
Map: access to Mont-Saint-Michel
Here is a map to help you visualize your arrival at Mont-Saint-Michel:
Shuttle “Le Passeur
From the parking lots follow the signs with the bus icon.
And line up at the shuttle departure point. It is located between the parking lots and the tourist office.
It is called “Le Passeur” and is very practical.
In less than 15 minutes you reach the entrance of the mountain (after 2 stops).
You can use it as much as you want, go up and down as much as you want.
Just be aware that it may be full in the summer and you will have to wait.
Schedules:
- summer: 7:30 am to 1 am
- spring / fall : 7h30 to 23h
- winter: 8:30 am to 10 pm
It is wheelchair accessible.
Dogs are not allowed on board except in bags or if they are guide dogs.
It stops at 350m from the entrance of the mount, from the ramparts. You will have to walk a little bit more, but this will give you time to admire this unique place from the outside.
And you can also see the driver change cabs because the shuttle is reversible!
In your level of tiredness, do not forget that you will have still 350m to walk to find the departure of the return shuttle.
Access on foot
We recommend that you walk from the parking lot and return by shuttle bus.
The walk to the mountain is splendid with sometimes sheep in the fields, then the sand of the bay and sometimes some pools of water which offer reflections.
The path is well maintained and easy.
This step raises the anticipation!
It takes 40 to 50 minutes to walk to the ramparts.
There are 3 different ways to reach the access bridge (maps are displayed everywhere).
- Chemin “La Lisière” – go straight ahead along the trees after the tourist office
- Path “Les Berges du Couesnon” – find the river bank (as we saw above) – our favorite path
- or the central route to cross the area of La Caserne with its hotels and restaurants.
La Maringote – Horse drawn transport – cancelled
In the past, there was also another option to reach the mountain: La Maringote, a horse-drawn carriage.
This option is no longer available.
WHERE TO STAY AT Mont-Saint-Michel
Option 1:
Choose one of the 7 hotels on the mountain, within the city limits – see our article
- The historic Auberge Saint-Pierre Hotel – see prices, photos and availability
Option 2:
Or sleep in the part called La Caserne which is between the parking lots and the footbridge to Mont-Saint-Michel.
- Mercure 4-starhotel – see prices, photos and availability
Option 3:
And if you are looking for luxury, check out our article dedicated to luxury hotels near Mont-Saint-Michel.
- The charming guest house Clos de Gilles – see prices, photos and availability
Option 4:
The Normandy countryside is very green and inspiring. At the bend in the forest or in the fields, pretty villages with beautiful buildings transport you to another world, or even another era.
- Hotel Ermitage at 5min – see prices, pictures and availability
- Château de Boucéel at 30min – see prices, pictures and availability
