Visitors with disabilities
Discover all the services and offers for visitors with disabilities.
Around your visit
Admission to the monument is free for disabled persons and their companions, upon presentation of valid proof (valid Mobility and Inclusion card for the French public issued by the CDAPH (or foreign equivalent)).
The mobility and inclusion card (CMI) with "priority" mention only, as well as the parking card, do not give the right to free travel.
Adapted tours
Whether they come as individuals or in groups, for a self-guided or supervised visit, visitors with disabilities can be offered a dedicated and adapted service that meets their needs, depending on their disability and the facilities provided.
Devices to help visitors
Devices to help visitors understand and learn about the monument and to improve the quality of their visit are presented in the tour of the monument.
Access to the monument
By road,
Numerous car parks, numbered P2 to P13, provide parking around 2.5 kilometres from Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey. You then have two options for accessing the site : on foot (at least a 40-minute walk) or by taking a free shuttle bus called ‘le Passeur’ (leaving every 5 to 15 minutes depending on the season and how busy it is).
Car park P2 is entirely reserved for people with reduced mobility. It is also the closest to the ‘Shuttle bus station’ and the Tourist Information Centre (CIT), which offers a range of services including information, free toilets and a baby area open 24/7. For more information, visit the Mont-Saint-Michel Tourist Office page or contact them on +33 (0)2 33 60 14 30 (freephone).
Car parks P5, P6, P10, P11, P12 and P13 are accessible to light vehicles.
Car park P7 is reserved for buses.
Car park P8 is for camper vans.
Car park P9 is reserved for two-wheelers.
Shuttles run regularly between the ‘Shuttle bus station’, near the car parks, and the footbridge, around 350m from the village entrance at the foot of Mont.
At the end of the footbridge, there are two options :
- In front of you : the entrance to the village via the double porch (approx. 400 m to reach the abbey).
The main street provides access to the shops. It has irregular cobblestones. It becomes narrower and then climbs up to the entrance to the abbey, starting with a very steep slope (almost 20%) and then numerous steps with no handrails.
The village and abbey have no ramps or lifts for people with reduced mobility. - On your left : the entrance to Les Fanils via the porch (approx. 520m to reach the abbey).
A lane wider than the village's main street leads along the Chemin de Ronde to the abbey. It leads first to a short staircase fitted with a handrail and then narrows considerably.
very steeply.
By public transport
If you don't have a car or are arriving by train, there are public buses to Mont-Saint-Michel.
- From Pontorson station, a Keolis bus will take you to the footbridge (300m before the entrance to the village), with a possible stop near the Tourist Information Centre (CIT).
- From Rennes and Saint-Malo stations, a Keolis bus will drop you off at the CIT.
- From Granville station, a Nomad bus will drop you off at the CIT.
For more information, please visit the Mont-Saint-Michel - Normandy Tourist Office website, Mont-Saint-Michel access tab, or contact them on +33 (0)2 33 60 14 30 (freephone).
Preparing your visit to the abbey
A vertical abbey
Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey is built on the summit of the mountain, so there are a great many steps to reach the entrance and then to move from room to room. The layout of the rooms in this monument is unusual in that, unlike the traditional horizontal layout of an abbey, it is laid out vertically over three levels (from the lower level to the upper level, via the intermediate level).
As there is no access ramp for people with reduced mobility, we advise you to allow time for your visit and to follow the tour at your own pace, taking advantage of the seating provided in most areas of the abbey. For a short break here or there, there are wooden benches, with or without backrests, stone seats and cushion seats (set in a window embrasure).
At the foot of the monument
To reach the entrance to the abbey, you need to climb the grand staircase known as the Grand degré extérieur. This ascent is made up of around a hundred steps, but is interrupted by a landing known as the Barbacane, with three cushions that can be used as seats for a rest.
At the foot of the abbey, access to the entrance is organised into 3 lanes :
- On the left, access for groups (please note that only groups with a valid reservation can visit the monument).
- In the centre, priority access to the security checkpoint for disabled visitors and visitors who already have a ticket. You have direct access to the security control located in the Guard Room:
- If you would like to borrow a Revelacio digital tablet, go to the ticket office and ask for it at the collection point.
You will be asked to show proof of identity while you are using the tablet.
- If you are a visitor with a disability, first go to the ticket office in the former Aumônerie building, on the right after the security check.
By presenting proof of disability (CMI mention invalidité), you will receive a free ticket for yourself and one accompanying person.
- If you have an e-ticket and do not wish to collect the Revelacio tablet, you can present your ticket directly to the scanning station at the top of the hall after the security check. Your visit can then begin.
- On the right, access to the ticket office for other visitors : just after the security check, you will be directed to the former Abbey Chaplaincy. Here you can buy your ticket and collect your Revelacio tablet.
The Chaplaincy has large benches. Here you can enjoy a rest before retracing your steps to the Guard Room.
Services and accessibility on the tour
Most of the abbey's staircases are fitted with fixed handrails, either hard or rope.
We advise you to be careful and attentive. Irregular steps or jumps separate one room from another.
There are two toilets in the abbey that are not accessible to PRMs :
- The first is just before the entrance to the abbey church (upper level of the abbey).
- The second is just before you leave the abbey, after the ‘northern’ gardens.
The tour ends in the Scriptorium (intermediate level). A rather narrow spiral staircase will take you back down to the shop on the lower level before the exit via the ‘northern’ gardens.
Enjoy the magnificent panorama of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel from the stone benches, before heading back to the ramparts outside the abbey !
Aids for visitors
A device to help visitors: the joëlette.
Mont-Saint-Michel and the abbey can be difficult to access.
To make the climb easier, the abbey can provide visitors with a joëlette, also known as a sedan chair.
Certain conditions apply to its use and reservation. We sincerely thank you for your attention :
- The joëlette is available to people with disabilities who hold the ‘Invalidité’ (Invalidity) mobility and inclusion card (CMI) or who have an equivalent level of disability.
It cannot be used with a priority or parking CMI. - It is compulsory to reserve this tool to assist visitors.
We would be grateful if you could send us your request at least 4 weeks before the day of your visit. Validation is subject to the availability of our teams. - The ascent to and within the abbey is very physical for porters, given the steep gradients and the many steps on the site. This mode of transport (monoroue) is very special, and it is advisable to have tested it before using it on site.
We advise you to bring 5 guides who are in excellent physical condition and capable of carrying the joëlette one after the other to cover the entire route. If you don't have any, we can put you in touch with an association whose volunteers are used to using this tool.