Day 16 - Sun - 10/12/2025 - LeHavre
We once again woke up again in LeHavre after just being here on Friday. With the time zone change overnight moving ahead one hour, at 7AM it was totally dark. After a quick breakfast, we met up with Jackie and George at the International Cafe. We scanned off the ship and walked half the length of the ship along the wharf to the taxi area. Jackie spotted the driver she had been in contact with and he had a full van and said that his "cousin" would be coming to take us to LeHavre and would be here in a few minutes. We continued our walk to the line of taxis and Jackie inquired of the first one as to how much it would be to be driven to Mont Saint Michel. He produced a standard flat rate fare card that indicated it would be 550€ or 135€ per person which was a fair price. So we agreed to take his offer and got in the nice van that would seat 8. The six seats in the rear were 3 seats facing each other and quite comfortable.
The drive to Mont Saint Michel took just a little over 2 hours and our driver drove at around 85mph on the freeway sections. It was quite foggy or covered in a marine layer so there was not much to see. Once we got close to Mont Saint Michel we got our first glance at the destination. Our driver found a parking spot just after 10am and we made an agreement to be picked up at 3pm. There was a nearby shuttle bus stop and we boarded the next shuttle. Alternatively one could walk to the venue which takes about 35 minutes. The shuttle was free and totally packed.
The route to the island involved the use of an elevated roadway which has two wide pedestrian lanes as well. There were many people walking to and from the island. I should say here that Mont Saint Michel has been a fortress, a church, and a prison over its storied history going back to the 10th or 11th century.
The bus dropped us over a few hundred yards from the entrance and so we walked to the entrance. Once inside, one walks up a narrow cobblestone street surrounded by gift shops, restaurants and bars, a post office, and other tourist shops. It's referred to as the village. At the top of the cobblestone street, the stairs begin that lead up to the abbey. Tickets can be purchased here (13€ in the winter; 16€ in the summer) or if one has pre-purchased tickets there is a separate line. I had pre-purchased our tickets. After one's ticket is scanned, it's many more steps to reach the abbey level of the structure.
On this Sunday, there was a mass going on, and it was packed with lots of young people. I would estimate the average age to be 22. (Persons 18-26 get free entry to the abbey and there appeared to be some sort of pilgrimage going on.). The sounds of the signings was wonderful and the acoustics were terrific. We stayed for a while but then continued our tour using the information pamphlet. The route is well marked with signage. There's really too much to describe about all of the stops and that information can be found online. We finished our tour around noon and went down into the village and found a small shop selling sandwiches where we enjoyed sandwiches and a Coke Zero.
Lunch
Afterwards, we hiked back up to the abbey entry area and found signs to the prison as I wanted to see the prison as it was a 9€ separate charge. Angela didn't want to visit it, so I visited it alone. It really wasn't worth the 9€, but was a very graphic portrayal of the prison conditions including the gallows and beheading knife.
We then met up with Jackie and George at the entry and made our way to the bus shuttle pick up point. We had to wait for the second bus to pick us up. But we were back to the pickup point by 2:30pm and I messaged our driver on What's App and he was there in a few minutes.
The drive back took a little longer but we were back to the port a little after 5pm. Along the way we saw much more of the French countryside and crossed the prime meridian. Back on board, we dropped our things off in the stateroom and headed to dinner. The entertainment tonight was a repeat of the Frank Sinatra tribute show that we saw at the beginning of the previous segment, so we skipped it and watched the Seattle Seahawks football game on TV verses the Jacksonville. Jaguars. Seattle won!
It was a really good day and we were finally able to cross this item off of our bucket list. We had tried to see it about 10 years ago, but couldn't due to a French labor strike which closed the roads.
Tomorrow is a sea day fortunately as our Seattle Mariners are playing again in the American League Championship series against the Toronto Blue Jays and the game is on starting at 11pm our time..
SIMPLE GUIDE TO SEEING MONT SAINT MICHEL
I've read many guides and acounts on how to see Mount Saint Michel (MSM). It's actually quite easy and can be done for free excluding the transportation cost of getting there. Here are a few simple guidelines.
1. Pre-purchase your tickets online. Use the official website and it is available in English. If you are using an American Credit Card, be in a location where you can receive a text code verification message.
2. Choose an entry time that is approximately 1 hour after you arrive at the parking lot or bicycle parking area.
3. If you want to see it for free without touring the abbey, don't buy a ticket.
4. Take the free shuttle to the entrance. It saves a lot of time and walking energy. There is a bridge to the island and no walking of the beach is needed.
5. There are no handicap accessibility installations here. One must be able to walk lots of stairs (hundreds).
6. Take your time and enjoy your visit.
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