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Mont St. Michel - an island once again


onecal

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Hi,

In 2015, the Mont will be an island once again.  On 28 April 2012, the 4,000 space car park at the foot of the Mont was closed permanently, with visitor access completely redesigned.  The Mont is one of the most popular tourist attractions in France, with in excess of 2.5 million visitors each year.  Between 2006 and 2009, a dam was constructed across the river (River Couesnon) to release water into the bay and flush sand away.  The next stage will involve the removal of the 1.9 km (little more than one mile) causeway that connects the Mont to the mainland.  This will allow the sea to fully surround the Mont for approximatley 20 days per year, depending on tidal conditions.  The final section of work will be completed by 2014 with a bridge, meaning the Mont will be once more an island.

A new 4,150 parking space carpark has been built, with a tariff of 8.5 Euro per car, with 228 spaces for motorhomes at a tariff of 12.5 Euro, and motorbikes 3.5 Euro.  Bicycles are current free of charge.  These parking  charges are applicable up to 31 August 2012.  The overnight parking of motorhomes is being discouraged at the moment.

Access to the Mont will be by shuttle bus.

Regards

Brendan.

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Guest JudgeMental

GOOD!...Motorhomes like caravans (spoiling our coasts) a blomming eye sore...well done the French! :-D

 

anyone with half a brain will park somewhere and cycle in....The experience should be much nicer

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Hi,

Sorry Ed,

I am afraid the old bike has to be left outside as well, The bikes are free to park for now,that may change after next year.

Lets hope they do not over do things with over pricing and turn all away.I hear the numbers are way down on last year. They sure were today but then it was like winter here today.

Regards,

Brendan

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Hi,

Sorry Ed,

I am afraid the old bike has to be left outside as well, The bikes are free to park for now,that may change after next year.

Lets hope they do not over do things with over pricing and turn all away.I hear the numbers are way down on last year. They sure were today but then it was like winter here today.

Regards,

Brendan

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Guest JudgeMental

Brendan weather here awful as well..Isle of wight fesival force 9 gales last night, with 1000's sleeping in cars and trapped on roads....it has been miserable as sin since I got back mid may should have stayed in Spain *-)

 

Just read Dereks linked article and it looks like they could really do with our bendy buses (more passengers)

 

BORIS! I have found some mugs to to take the bendys of your hands! :D

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Well I'm glad we visited before all this. Can I get this straight, 12.50e for parking MH. a 900 meter walk there and back to a shuttle bus. Is the bus free or is there a charge? Don't forget you can only go (or could) up to the cathedral information shop free, to continue to the top you had to pay.

 

Derek's link says visitors are down by 11% since the scam , sorry, scheme started. Why am I not surprised?

 

My intentions were to visit it again but I think I'll stick with my memories, when things were much simpler,

 

Dave

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nowtelse2do - 2012-06-22 4:34 PM

 

Well I'm glad we visited before all this. Can I get this straight, 12.50e for parking MH. a 900 meter walk there and back to a shuttle bus. Is the bus free or is there a charge? Don't forget you can only go (or could) up to the cathedral information shop free, to continue to the top you had to pay.

 

Derek's link says visitors are down by 11% since the scam , sorry, scheme started. Why am I not surprised?

 

My intentions were to visit it again but I think I'll stick with my memories, when things were much simpler,

 

Dave

 

Have to agree with you Dave remember it as it was. ( I have a nice place mat with a good photo on it)

We were going to go next week on our way home, but not know.

Currently in the Loire region (Saumur), weather has improved, but lots of the sites are VERY wet, so any one coming soon, come prepared, old bread crates have worked well for us. Ile d'Offard now has some good hard standing AND FREE wi-fi (ACSI site)

PJay

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Off topic, but this attractive 'aire' near Laval (located on a redundant municipal campsite) may be worth keeping in mind if you are in the Mayenne area and the weather has been wet, as it has quite a few hardstandings.

 

http://www.laval-tourisme.com/decouvrir/visites-guidees/237323-aire-de-camping-cars-de-st-jean-sur-mayenne

 

http://www.aire-service-camping-car-panoramique.fr/panoramique/mayenne/53-saint-jean-sur-mayenne/

 

The cost is €6.20 per night including mains hook-up, but the number of electric service pedestals is limited to (I think) four (that's 16 outlets), so you may well need a long cable and (perhaps) a 'splitter' if you must have mains power. Open from April to mid-November and (I believe) a theoretical maximum stay of 1 week.

 

Good cheap restaurants and a small supermarket at nearby Louverné.

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Guest JudgeMental
A bit out of character giving us the location of a nice looking Aire Derek...........Is it next door to a dog kennel or Chicken farm by any chance 8-)
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JudgeMental - 2012-06-23 2:19 PM

 

A bit out of character giving us the location of a nice looking Aire Derek...........Is it next door to a dog kennel or Chicken farm by any chance 8-)

 

Looks like a short walk to the river, but if you follow the road a bit further South, is that a Sewrage Wks I can see? 8-) :D :D

 

Dave

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Guest JudgeMental
nowtelse2do - 2012-06-23 4:08 PM

 

JudgeMental - 2012-06-23 2:19 PM

 

A bit out of character giving us the location of a nice looking Aire Derek...........Is it next door to a dog kennel or Chicken farm by any chance 8-)

 

Looks like a short walk to the river, but if you follow the road a bit further South, is that a Sewrage Wks I can see? 8-) :D :D

 

Dave

 

Yep spot on! right next to the dogging car park.(Derek has a bit of a thing.....)

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Guest pelmetman
JudgeMental - 2012-06-23 5:02 PM

 

nowtelse2do - 2012-06-23 4:08 PM

 

JudgeMental - 2012-06-23 2:19 PM

 

A bit out of character giving us the location of a nice looking Aire Derek...........Is it next door to a dog kennel or Chicken farm by any chance 8-)

 

Looks like a short walk to the river, but if you follow the road a bit further South, is that a Sewrage Wks I can see? 8-) :D :D

 

Dave

 

Yep spot on! right next to the dogging car park.(Derek has a bit of a thing.....)

 

Oh........ that's handy I can take Troy there :D...............and not fussed with a sewage works if its in a nice position ;-)...........rather be there than in a city.......... B-)

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Derek Uzzell - 2012-06-23 10:31 AMOff topic, but this attractive 'aire' near Laval (located on a redundant municipal campsite) may be worth keeping in mind if you are in the Mayenne area and the weather has been wet, as it has quite a few hardstandings.http://www.laval-tourisme.com/decouvrir/visites-guidees/237323-aire-de-camping-cars-de-st-jean-sur-mayennehttp://www.aire-service-camping-car-panoramique.fr/panoramique/mayenne/53-saint-jean-sur-mayenne/The cost is €6.20 per night including mains hook-up, but the number of electric service pedestals is limited to (I think) four (that's 16 outlets), so you may well need a long cable and (perhaps) a 'splitter' if you must have mains power. Open from April to mid-November and (I believe) a theoretical maximum stay of 1 week.Good cheap restaurants and a small supermarket at nearby Louverné.

 

Head down towards us starting to cool down a bit now to 22°C agree not a bad Aire, but you will never convert the Caravanner s on here :-)

I- Camping car link to it too,shows the Agro-chemical, pig rearing factory and tannery too!

 

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Retread24800 - 2012-06-23 8:48 PMCamping car link to it too,shows the Agro-chemical, pig rearing factory and tannery too!

I well remember as a young kid, 6 of us in our 4 berth Thompson Glenevis towed behind a Morris 1800 on our first trip to the South of France.................and being down wind of the glue factory where they boiled up the horse bones for a fortnight 8-).......
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We have just been and our verdict is that for motorhomes the current arrangements are horrible,

 

€12.5 for the day from 2am to 2 am, this means that to stay overnight it will cost you €25 !! (pay by credit card). The car park has no facilities but does have narrow spaces (narrow by motorvan standards).

 

It is a 3 km walk from the motorhome park to the Mont and about a 1 km walk from the park to the free shuttle bus pickup-setdown point.

 

The whole area resembles a civil engineering site at the moment; no doubt it will be nice when finished, but I will give it at least a full year before visiting again.

 

The caravan/motorvan site which was closest to the Mont has been closed (it lay within the 'exclusion zone'

 

A new site is under construction, but this is even further out than the new car park and I do not know what (if any) shuttle buses will operate.

 

Written from a very wet Harfleur.

 

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Hi,
I have to agree, I really think they do not want any overnight stays, pressure I am told from camp sites in and around the Mont. This may be finalised in Aug for the coming years,Yes the shuttle bus will run from all parking lots. All about making money I am afraid.This damp and windy month here I am not so sure.
Regards,
Brendan 
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