Considering Caen to Mont St Michel

[Vacajoe]

Walked numerous Caminos and now looking at the eight stages between Caen and Mont Saint Michel in France. Has anyone walked that specific route? I have resource pages but would love first-hand info from someone who has physically completed it.

 

[mspath]

Walked numerous Caminos and now looking at the eight stages between Caen and Mont Saint Michel in France. Has anyone walked that specific route? I have resource pages but would love first-hand info from someone who has physically completed it.

Vacajoe,
What a wonderful idea this is. However the tourist crowds at MSM can be huge. For an account of such a walk have you see this Journal?

Good luck with your plans.

 

[OZAJ]

There was pilgrim accommodation at MSM in 2013, which I didn't know about. Worth checking! Yes the tourist crowds are huge, but if you can get a bed in the pilgrim abri, it would be wonderful!

 

[Vacajoe]

I had not! Thank you! We’ve been to MSM (even stayed the night!) and still found it magical despite the crowds. The sun shining through the windows during the chanting of mass was the most spiritual moment of my life.

 

[mspath]

Update:
If you Google
De Caen au Mont Saint-Michel à pied
du 16 au 24 Septembre 2017
you will get a link to a pdf journal of 21 pgs in French of the walk.

 

[PrayerPose25]

This is fantastic! After The Camino Frances, my plans were to go to Mont St Michel anyway! Who knew I'd just be continuing the journey?!?

 

[Kelly Ann]

This is fantastic! After The Camino Frances, my plans were to go to Mont St Michel anyway! Who knew I'd just be continuing the journey?!?

I want to do the same so help me understand. What will you do between Santiago and Caen or MSM? Will you be walking or taking a train or.......? ~ Thank you

 

[Vacajoe]

MSM is truly magical - definitely try to stay the night so you can experience it without the crowds, plus it’s interesting at both high and low tides.

There’s no easy way there from SdC, but after our first Camino Frances, we returned to Paris for a bit as tourists and took a bus from there. There are tour packages, but I’d encourage you to simply go on your own: cheaper and more time to reflect. We did not stay at the onsite albergue because we were tourists at that point, not pilgrims.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Mont-Saint-Michel is a local and regional pilgrimage destination, and there is a whole network of hiking paths between Caen and there.

See : https://en.mapy.cz/turisticka?x=-0.3789288&y=49.1732740&z=13

(click the outdoor tab if they don't appear -- or better, download the app and the offline maps)

 

[John Gilliland]

Here is a link to a French group supporting pilgrims to MSM.: https://www.lescheminsdumontsaintmichel.com/spip/index.php

 

[JabbaPapa]

Here is a link to a French group supporting pilgrims to MSM.: https://www.lescheminsdumontsaintmichel.com/spip/index.php

I like this map :

Of those routes, it's the MSM-Rennes one that's the standard Way of Saint James route BTW.

 

[PrayerPose25]

I want to do the same so help me understand. What will you do between Santiago and Caen or MSM? Will you be walking or taking a train or.......? ~ Thank you

A friend who's walking with me and I plan to either take a train or fly from Santiago to Rennes, and from there the train to Caen. We both want to visit Mont St Michel, but as of now, I don't know if we'll walk from Caen to MSM or just take a bus. Our husbands are meeting us in Santiago and neither of them are inclined to walk long distances like my friend and I, so I don't know how it will all work out. But I'd love to walk through Normandie if possible; it's incredibly lovely!

 

[Madrood]

You can also use this map which contains both GR long distance paths, as well as some camino routes:

Waymarked Trails - Hiking

hiking.waymarkedtrails.org

 

[Kelly Ann]

Mont-Saint-Michel is a local and regional pilgrimage destination, and there is a whole network of hiking paths between Caen and there.

See : https://en.mapy.cz/turisticka?x=-0.3789288&y=49.1732740&z=13

(click the outdoor tab if they don't appear -- or better, download the app and the offline maps)

Thank you - didn't know that.

 

[Vacajoe]

fly from Santiago to Rennes, and from there the train to Caen

There is a bus from Rennes to MSM - easy and inexpensive, and says you the trip all the way to Caen. You to visit Caen AFTER MSM! I highly encourage you to rent a car, though, if possible, as Normandie is full of history - religious, medieval, WWII, and so on. Driving is by far the easiest way around and in the Fall of 2021, we found the roads fairly empty and parking available even in the bigger cities.

Finally, I highly recommend Appletree Gites (www.appletreehillgites.fr) if you want a place to stay that is central to everything you’d like to see there. Accommodations for couples as well as large groups (and even a “pilgrims’ room since it’s on the route from Caen And served as one hundreds of years ago!!!), the owners are from England and quite lovely.

 

[PrayerPose25]

There is a bus from Rennes to MSM - easy and inexpensive, and says you the trip all the way to Caen. You to visit Caen AFTER MSM! I highly encourage you to rent a car, though, if possible, as Normandie is full of history - religious, medieval, WWII, and so on. Driving is by far the easiest way around and in the Fall of 2021, we found the roads fairly empty and parking available even in the bigger cities.

Finally, I highly recommend Appletree Gites (www.appletreehillgites.fr) if you want a place to stay that is central to everything you’d like to see there. Accommodations for couples as well as large groups (and even a “pilgrims’ room since it’s on the route from Caen And served as one hundreds of years ago!!!), the owners are from England and quite lovely.

That's good to know! Although I've visited Normandy before, I've never been to MSM, and there's always more I'd love to see beyond MSM. Thank you so much for the recommendation as to where to stay - it looks like a French fairytale auberge.

 

[Vacajoe]

They are the kindest couple and the facility is delightful. If you rent the small couples apartment, you usually get use of the hot tub which is wonderful for achy bones! For groups or families, they essentially have an entire house available.

 

[janeper]

Walked numerous Caminos and now looking at the eight stages between Caen and Mont Saint Michel in France. Has anyone walked that specific route? I have resource pages but would love first-hand info from someone who has physically completed it.

We are about to embark on this route - after much planning and research. it will be done as a pilgrimage in May 2024. If you are interested you can contact me on retreatsorpilgrimages@gmail.com

 

[Vacajoe]

We are about to embark on this route - after much planning and research. it will be done as a pilgrimage in May 2024. If you are interested you can contact me on retreatsorpilgrimages@gmail.com

That’s an old post - we walked this in 2021. Hopefully others who are interested see your email post. Have a fabulous pilgrimage