Mont-Saint-Michel practical information: parking, shuttle, hours, costs and access

Opening hours

Shops and restaurants on the Mont keep their own hours, longer in summer and shorter in winter, and some close for a few weeks in the quiet season. Museums in the village are seasonal. See the Abbey for room-by-room details.

Village, streets, ramparts

Free, 24/7

Abbey, 1 May–31 Aug

9:00 AM–7:00 PM, last entry 6:00 PM

Abbey, 1 Sep–30 Apr

9:30 AM–6:00 PM, last entry 5:00 PM

Abbey closed

1 January, 1 May, 25 December

Le Passeur shuttle

From 7:00 AM–8:30 AM until 10:00 PM–1:00 AM depending on season; on-demand at night

Car parks

Open 24 hours

Parking and the shuttle

The visitor car parks are on the mainland, around 2.5–3 km from the Mont, with over 4,000 spaces. Car rates in the 2026 low season (to 28 February and from 2 November) are €10 up to 3 hours, €12 up to 6 hours and €14 up to 24 hours; the published mid- and high-season grids for 2027 rise to €22 and €28 a day. The first 30 minutes are always free, booking online at msm-parking.com saves €2, and outside July and August the evening (in after 6:30 PM, out before 3:00 AM) is free. Full tables: getting there.

• P2 has spaces for disabled drivers; P3 is for guests of hotels on the Mont; P8 is for motorhomes (maximum 24 hours, no water or electricity); P9 is for motorbikes and bicycles.
• Electric-vehicle chargers are in P7bis, including fast chargers up to 150 kW (from €0.30–0.50 per kWh in 2026).
• The Grand Site card (€36.50 a year) gives private car owners unlimited parking – useful for locals and repeat visitors.

Le Passeur shuttles are free and frequent. Queues build late morning and around 5:00 PM–6:00 PM; walking back across the bridge at sunset is a pleasure, not a chore.

Which car park? A quick map in words

All the visitor car parks are on the mainland south of La Caserne, about 2.7 km from the Mont, open 24 hours. Follow the signs for Le Mont-Saint-Michel – Parkings, take a ticket at the entry barrier, and keep it: you pay at the machines along the central walkway or to the left of the Tourist Information Centre before you drive out. The ticket covers 24 hours at a time. Which part you use depends on your vehicle:

• Cars under 5 m: P5, P6, P7bis (with electric-vehicle chargers), P10, P11, P12 and P13. A central walkway leads from the car parks to the Tourist Information Centre and the shuttle stop at the place des navettes.
• Disabled drivers: P2, reserved for people with reduced mobility.
• Guests of hotels on the Mont: P3, entered with the single-use code from your hotel.
• Motorhomes (under 8 m): P8, maximum 24 hours, no water, electricity or sanitary facilities; you may park at night, but overnight stays (sleeping in the vehicle) are forbidden – the car parks are not campsites. Rates in winter 2026: €14 up to 3 hours, €18 up to 24 hours; in July–August 2027 €22 and €30.
• Motorbikes and bicycles: P9. Motorbikes pay €5–7 in winter 2026 and €10–14 in July–August 2027; bicycles are free.
• Coaches: P7, with compulsory booking on red days.
• Hotel and restaurant guests at La Caserne: through the barrier between the dam and the car parks with the code from your booking.

Is there free parking?

Not in the sense of a free car park next to the Mont: all the official visitor car parks charge. But there are several legitimate ways to pay little or nothing:

• The first 30 minutes are free all year – enough to drop someone off.
• Free evenings outside July and August: arrive after 6:30 PM and leave before 3:00 AM. In July–August 2027 the evening rate is €15 for a car.
• Bicycles park free, and cycling to the Mont along the Couesnon from Pontorson or Beauvoir is easy and flat.
• Book online at msm-parking.com to save €2 on a daytime car stay (for 2027 bookings, on arrivals before 10:00 AM or after 3:00 PM).
• The Grand Site card (€36.50 for 12 months) gives one privately owned car unlimited parking – worth it for two or three visits a year. Hire cars are not eligible.
• Come by public transport: the Pontorson bus (€4.30) runs to the Mont, and the coaches from Rennes and Saint-Malo stop beside the shuttle.

La Caserne itself is not a public car park: its barrier opens only with a code from a hotel or restaurant booking.

What a visit costs

Luggage, lockers and toilets

Suitcases and large bags are not allowed in the Abbey (bags up to cabin size are fine), and the monument has no cloakroom. The cobbles and stairs make wheeled cases miserable anyway. Leave luggage in your car or hotel, or use the paid lockers at the Centre d'Information Touristique on the mainland, next to the shuttle stop. If you are staying on the Mont, travel with a small overnight bag; hotels can advise about luggage.

Free public toilets with baby-changing are at the mainland information centre, near the village gates and inside the Abbey (at the start and midway along the route).

Dress code and what to wear

There is no dress code for visiting the village or the Abbey; the official visitor information sets rules on bags, knives and pets, not clothing. The Abbey is, however, a working church with a monastic community, so keep your voice down in the abbey church and dress respectfully if you attend a service (covering shoulders and removing hats is a sensible courtesy).

What really matters is practical clothing:

• Shoes with grip. The Grande Rue is cobbled, the steps are worn granite and they are slippery when wet. Leave heels and flip-flops in the car.
• A windproof, waterproof layer in every season: the bridge and the West Terrace are fully exposed, and showers blow in quickly from the sea.
• Sun protection in summer: there is almost no shade on the bridge.
• For a bay walk: shorts or trousers you can roll up, and bare feet (guides walk barefoot on the sand); bring a towel and a change of clothes (bay walks).

How many steps? Neither the Abbey nor the tourist office publishes an official count – the Abbey simply warns of many steps and no lift. Guidebooks commonly quote around 350 steps from the village gate to the Abbey; the climb takes 20–30 minutes at a steady pace, and the official estimate from the car parks to the Abbey entrance is 45 minutes to an hour.

Accessibility

The Mont is a steep medieval rock. The village streets climb steadily, and the Abbey route alone has several hundred steps with no lift; the CMN states that the Abbey is very difficult for people with reduced mobility and requires good physical condition. The lower village, the gates and the bridge are the most accessible areas, and the bridge and shuttle offer the classic view without any climb.

• Disabled-driver parking is in P2.
• Holders of the French Carte Mobilité Inclusion (invalidity) plus one companion enter the Abbey free.
• Guide and assistance dogs are welcome everywhere, including the Abbey.
• Pushchairs must be folded inside the Abbey; a baby carrier is easier.

The tourist office publishes a Tourism for all page and the Abbey has a page for visitors with disabilities; contact them before you travel.

Dogs and pets

Dogs on a lead can walk the bridge and the village streets. They are not allowed in the Abbey, even in a bag (assistance dogs excepted). On the shuttle and the local buses, only assistance dogs and small pets carried in a basket are accepted; otherwise you walk across the bridge, about 35–45 minutes each way. Bring water: there is little shade on the bridge.

Official websites and contacts

Several organisations run different parts of the Mont, so there is no single official website. These are the genuine ones (checked November 2026):

• Abbey – abbaye-mont-saint-michel.fr, run by the Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN): Abbey opening hours, prices, guided visits and the official online ticket office.
• Site and access – montsaintmichel.gouv.fr, the Établissement public national du Mont-Saint-Michel: parking prices, the Le Passeur shuttle, access, events, nature walks and the official tide information. Its Centre d'Information Touristique on the mainland: +33 (0)2 33 70 74 65.
• Parking booking – msm-parking.com, the official online booking site for the car parks, linked from the site manager.
• Tourist office – ot-montsaintmichel.com, Office de tourisme Mont Saint-Michel – Normandie, on the Grande Rue: hotels and restaurants, bus timetables, events. Phone +33 (0)2 33 60 14 30.
• Monastic community – abbaye-montsaintmichel.com, the Fraternités monastiques de Jérusalem: service times and spiritual retreats.

About us: MontSaintMichel.com is an independent guide. We are not the Abbey, the site manager or the tourist office, and we do not sell tickets ourselves; some links (for example to GetYourGuide and Booking.com) are affiliate links – see our about page. For official decisions on the day – closures, tide access, parking – the sites above have the final word.

Safety, emergencies and useful contacts

• Emergency (Europe-wide): 112.
• Night shuttle on demand: +33 (0)2 14 13 20 15.
• Site safety and access (EPMSM): +33 (0)2 33 69 72 84.
• Tourist office: Grande Rue, 50170 Le Mont-Saint-Michel – ot-montsaintmichel.com.
• Abbey: abbaye-mont-saint-michel.fr (Centre des monuments nationaux).

Never walk on the sands without a certified guide – read bay walks – and check the tide table before planning a high-tide visit.