Mont Saint-Michel Tides
High tide, low tide, spring tide? Mont Saint-Michel sees two high tides and two low tides each day. High tide is when the water reaches its peak, low tide when it pulls back. Most days are regular tides; on spring tide days (a few times a month) the bay transforms, and on the strongest of those the Mont becomes a true island. Two tides each day at the Mont, cycling about every twelve and a half hours. Times come from SHOM (n° 2025-209) at the Saint-Malo reference port, adjusted for the bay, in legal French time (CET in winter, CEST in summer). Plan around today, the next seven days, the full 2026 calendar, and the rare days the causeway submerges.
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High tide guide
To plan a visit to Mont Saint-Michel during high tide, pick a day with a tidal coefficient of 95 or higher (the threshold the bay transforms at), arrive at the parking two hours before the predicted peak, and watch from the footbridge or the bay wall as the sea closes around the rock. The largest spring tides cluster around the March and September equinoxes. The Bay of Mont Saint-Michel has a tidal range that can reach roughly fourteen metres, among the largest in continental Europe, so the change between low and high water is dramatic. About thirty days a year cross the spring-tide threshold, and a smaller subset (sometimes a dozen or so days) push high enough that the 2014 footbridge submerges and the Mont becomes a true island. The full year of coefficients sits in the calendar above; this guide walks through five steps to turn that data into a visit.
Open the calendar above and pick a day flagged in red. Coefficients of 95 and above are spring tides: the sea retreats kilometres at low water then refills fast enough to make the rock feel cut off. Island days, the strongest of all, top the list.
Each day on the site shows two high tides and two low tides, with the morning and evening cycles each carrying their own coefficient. Take the high tide time for the cycle you want to watch; an evening high tide gives the best light for photographs.
The bay fills fast on a spring tide and the parking on the mainland can saturate at peak windows. Arriving two hours early gives you time to park, walk the kilometre across the footbridge, and find a viewing spot before the water reaches its height.
All visitor parking sits in Beauvoir, two kilometres from the Mont. Free shuttles and the long footbridge cover the rest. The 2014 footbridge replaced the old causeway so the sea now washes all the way around the rock on the strongest tides; do not attempt to drive across.
The footbridge and the ramparts on the rock both give a clear view of the rising water. For photographs, the warm side-light at sunset on a spring-tide evening is the strongest combination. Stay clear of the lowest causeway sections once the rising water reaches them.
Bay weather
8-day outlook for the bay. Morning and afternoon forecasts cover temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, and cloud cover.
Weather data from Yr.no, Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
Camping in the bay zone? Wind, fog, and rain shift fast on the coast. Plan around tides and weather together before you pitch a tent or set out across the sand.
Highlights
3
Days the Mont becomes an island in 2026
48
Spring tides in 2026 (coef ≥ 95)
105
Highest coefficient (Apr 18)
Full year
About the tides
The Bay of Mont Saint-Michel sees two high tides and two low tides each day, with a tidal range that can reach roughly fourteen metres on the biggest cycles. That puts it among the largest tidal ranges in continental Europe. All times on this site are computed for the Saint-Malo reference port and adjusted for the bay.
The bay funnels the Atlantic tide off the English Channel into a shallow, narrowing basin. As the tidal wave compresses, its amplitude grows. When the lunar (M2) and solar (S2) tidal forces line up at full moon and new moon, they reinforce each other and produce spring tides. The strongest spring tides of the year cluster around the equinoxes in March and September, when the Earth, Moon, and Sun align most precisely with the equator.
Each cycle gets a coefficient on a scale from 20 to 120. Below 95 it is a regular tide: the water comes in and out, retreating further on the higher end of the range. At 95 and above it becomes a spring tide and the entire character of the bay changes. The full year of coefficients sits in the calendar above. Frequently asked questions.
The submersible passage to the rock is only fully covered on a handful of days each year. The Office de Tourisme classifies these "Mont becomes an island" days using local bay dynamics rather than a flat coefficient threshold; weather, wind, and atmospheric pressure all push the actual water level above or below prediction. The 2014 footbridge replaced the old causeway and let the sea wash all the way around the rock again on the strongest tides. Read how we classify these days.
SHOM publishes its predictions for the Saint-Malo reference port, about thirty kilometres to the west. Mont Saint-Michel tide times come from that data, adjusted for the bay: high water arrives a few minutes later, and the tidal range is amplified further, up to fourteen metres against thirteen at Saint-Malo. The coefficients are identical.
On the bay
Do not walk the bay alone. Quicksand zones shift with each tide, and the incoming water can move at six kilometres per hour, the source of the old "galloping horse" comparison. Always go with a licensed bay guide, check the day's tide times before setting out, and turn back if the rising water reaches your group earlier than the schedule predicts.
Low tide is the moment to walk the foreshore and see the Mont as the medieval pilgrims did, on foot across the sand. High tide is the moment to watch the rock become an island again. The best photographs come from sunset high tides during a spring cycle, when warm side-light hits the abbey at the moment the water peaks. All times on this site are in legal French time, CET in winter and CEST in summer.
Plan around the spring tide cycles, when the coefficient reaches 95 or higher. These cluster in two-to-three-day windows around full and new moon. The strongest of the year fall near the March and September equinoxes; secondary peaks fall near the June and December solstices. The calendar above marks every spring-tide day in red.
Arrive at least two hours before the predicted peak. The mainland parking in Beauvoir saturates around peak windows on spring-tide days, the free shuttle queue lengthens, and the footbridge walk takes about fifteen minutes one way. Two hours leaves time to park, cross, and find a viewing spot before the water reaches its high mark.
All visitor parking sits at the Beauvoir mainland lot, two kilometres from the rock. Free shuttle buses and a kilometre-long footbridge cover the gap. You cannot drive to the Mont. The 2014 footbridge replaced the old causeway, and on the strongest spring tides the sea now washes all the way around the rock, so the lowest sections of the path itself can submerge.
Only on a handful of days each year, the strongest of the spring tides. The Office de Tourisme classifies these days using local bay dynamics rather than a flat coefficient threshold, because weather, wind, and atmospheric pressure all push the actual water level above or below the prediction. The year-at-a-glance section above shows the count for the current year.
The footbridge from the mainland to the rock gives the cleanest open-water view as the tide rises. The ramparts on the rock itself offer height and perspective on the abbey above. For photographs, sunset high tides during a spring cycle are the strongest combination: warm side-light hits the abbey at the moment the water reaches its peak.
The tidal coefficient runs from about 20 to 120. The higher the number, the bigger the tide range that cycle, and the further the sea retreats and returns.
The Mont becomes a true island only on the rare days when the causeway submerges, typically during the highest spring tides. The Office de Tourisme classifies these days using local bay dynamics, not a simple coefficient threshold.
Below 95 is a regular cycle: water comes in and out as usual, with the deeper retreats happening towards the top of the range. 95 and above is a spring tide where the bay transforms. Each day has its own morning cycle and evening cycle, each with its own coefficient, so a quiet morning can be followed by a dramatic evening.
The strongest spring tides cluster around the March and September equinoxes, when the Sun aligns with the Earth's equator and reinforces the lunar tidal force. Secondary peaks fall near the June and December solstices. The year's highest coefficient sits in the year-at-a-glance section above.
Only with a licensed guide. The bay has shifting quicksand and the incoming tide can move at six kilometres per hour, faster than most people walk over wet sand. The "crossing the bay safely" section above covers how to plan a guided crossing.
The Earth rotates under the Moon's gravitational pull, which raises a tidal bulge on the side facing the Moon and a matching bulge on the opposite side. Any point on the coast passes through both bulges in just under twenty-five hours, so the bay sees roughly two high tides and two low tides each day.
Yes. Low atmospheric pressure and strong onshore winds raise water levels above the published prediction; high pressure and offshore winds lower them. Published times are accurate to within a few minutes on calm days, but during storms the actual water can sit thirty centimetres or more above the predicted height.
The "live tide" page shows the live direction of the tide (rising or falling), the time of the next high and low water, and the current coefficient. Times are computed for the Saint-Malo reference port and adjusted for the bay.
