Normandy - (Fall 2025) - Day 4

La Mie Câline

Started the day with another quick sandwich before starting a road trip.

Mont Saint-Michel

Driving by car to Mont Saint-Michel was almost as fun as the destination. Taking some small roads from Bayeux, you wind through the French countryside which has not changed that much over the past century. The drive takes you past small farms and small towns until you get eventually get on a highway.

There is a large parking area a ways away from the island as it is built to accommodate large crowds. There are tram busses that ferry you back and forth from parking lot to the end of the boardwalk over the tidal basin. We took the bus in and then walked it on the way back.

Once you enter into the island structure, there is one main small walkway lined with shops and restaurants that you take to walk up to the abbey. It is free to enter, there is only a cost if you want to enter the abbey itself at the top of the hill.

Once you enter into the abbey section itself, you start off on the exterior where you find some great views from the walls. You start the self-guided walking path/tour up high where the church and a chapel are situated and you wind down into the lower sections where you can see the large halls and down to where the support arches are located.

There is also a wheel room where a large wheel was used to drag supplies up from the outside of the structure up onto the higher levels. At the end of the tour you exit into the gift shop (of course) before leaving the abbey.

Once back outside the exit of the abbey, you can walk back through the main path with the shops or you can find some paths that take you along the outer periphery where you can get more views of the tidal bay. There is also a small graveyard next to a chapel that you can visit.

Once back outside of the city walls, the tide was low so you could walk into the clay of the tidal basin. There are some soft spots but it is easy enough to avoid them and not get too messy. We chose to walk back to the car instead of taking the tram. A lot of people seemed to take that option to enjoy a pleasant walk.

Brasserie Des Ducs

Back in Bayeux, we decided to finally get a proper French dinner instead of just snacking while drinking in the evening. This brasserie seemed pretty popular and was situated right in the middle of town. We had the duck breast and steak frites for dinner.

L’Épicurien

This was a fun wine bar just a block off the main street in Bayeux. I took a photo of the wine that I really enjoyed.