Mont St-Michel has its own tourist office, in the lowest gateway (mid-June to mid-Sept Mon–Sat 9am–7pm, Sun 9am–noon & 2–6pm; mid-Sept to mid-June; Mon, Tues & Thurs–Sat 9am–noon & 2–6pm; tel 02.33.60.14.30). Regular buses connect it with the SNCF stations at Pontorson, Rennes and St-Malo.The island holds a surprising number of hotels and restaurants, albeit nothing like enough to cope with the sheer number of visitors. Most are predictably expensive, though virtually all seem to keep a few cheaper rooms. The most famous hotel, La Mère Poulard (tel 02.33.89.68.68, www.mere-poulard.com; €85–100), uses the time-honoured legend of its fluffy omelettes, as enjoyed by Leon Trotsky and Margaret Thatcher (not simultaneously), to justify extortionate charges. Higher up the Mont, however, prices fall to more realistic levels. The cheapest option is the Du Guesclin (tel 02.33.60.14.10; €40–55), where all the rooms have TV, but both the Croix Blanche (tel 02.33.60.14.04; €70–85; closed mid-Nov to Jan) and the Mouton Blanc (tel 02.33.60.14.08; €55–70; closed Jan) have higher standards. Sadly, restaurants on the Mont are consistently worse than almost anywhere in France; it's impossible to make any confident recommendations. In addition, the main approach road to the island, the D976, is lined shortly before the causeway by around a dozen large and virtually indistinguishable hotels and motels, each with its own brasserie or restaurant. Typical among these are the Motel Vert (tel 02.33.60.09.33, www.le-mont-saint-michel.com; €30–40; closed mid-Nov to mid-Feb), the Hôtel Formule Verte (tel 02.33.60.14.13, www.le-mont-saint-michel.com; €40–55; closed mid-Nov to mid-Feb) and the Hôtel de la Digue (tel 02.33.60.14.02, www.ladigue.fr; €55–70; closed mid-Nov to mid-March). The three-star, 350-pitch Camping du Mont-St-Michel (tel 02.33.60.22.10; www.le-mont-saint-michel.com; closed mid-Nov to mid-Feb) is also on the mainland just short of the causeway. Many visitors to Mont St-Michel find themselves lodging at PONTORSON, 6km inland, which has the nearest gare SNCF, connected to the Mont by a bus service (€5 return). The hotels here are not especially interesting, but both the Montgomery, in a fine old ivy-covered mansion at 13 rue du Couesnon (tel 02.33.60.00.09, www.hotel-montgomery.fr; €55–70; closed 2 weeks in Feb), and the Bretagne, 59 rue du Couesnon (tel 02.33.60.10.55, [email protected]; €40–55; closed Mon & Jan), have distinguished restaurants. A recently renovated hostel stands near the cathedral, 1km west of the station, in the Centre Duguesclin at 21 rue du Général-Patton (tel 02.33.60.18.65, [email protected]).
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