Carnac

Carnac, Brittany, France

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Carnac is a town in Brittany, northwest France. It’s best known for the Carnac stones, thousands of prehistoric standing stones spread across three alignments: Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan. Nearby, the Saint-Michel tumulus is a millennia-old...

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Attractions of Carnac

Alignements de Carnac

4.4

(8.2K)

Open until 7:00 PM

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Saint-Michel tumulus

4.3

(1.3K)

Open until 12:00 AM

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Plage de Saint-Colomban

4.5

(915)

Open until 12:00 AM

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prehistoric museum

4.2

(725)

Open until 12:30 PM

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Things to do nearby

Discover the Menhirs on a Segway

Sat, Nov 22 • 3:30 PM

56340, Carnac, France

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Urban Art in Vannes with an Artist

Sat, Nov 22 • 10:00 AM

56000, Vannes, France

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Head to the Etel estuary

Sat, Nov 22 • 10:00 AM

56550, Belz, France

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Restaurants of Carnac

La Poêle à Crêpes

4.5

(1.2K)

Closed

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La Potinière

4.3

(1.3K)

Closed

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Lulu à la Plage

3.9

(853)

Open until 11:00 PM

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Le Cavok

4.2

(775)

Open until 1:00 AM

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Alignements de Carnac

4.4Historical Place

Laura BonillaLaura Bonilla

Visiting the alignments is an unforgettable experience and an absolute must if you're in the region! It's a magical place that both kids and adults will find fascinating,perfect for a family adventure. The megaliths stretch across a vast and stunning landscape, and to make the most of your visit, I highly recommend starting at "La Maison des Mégalithes". This visitor center is full of engaging information and offers free maps, self-guided materials, and even guided tours, if you want to dive deeper into the history and mystery of this incredible place. Whether you choose to explore on your own or join a tour, you're in for something truly special. ⚠️Just keep in mind that this is a fragile monument, and it needs all of us to help preserve it. So please, follow the rules set by the caretakers, respect the site, and let's make sure this wonder stays intact for generations to come.

Tony ClarkTony Clark

A truly amazing place to visit. There a number of puzzling questions about the stones. How did the men who quarried the granite move the stones and set them up in such a way? How long must it have taken them? Bearing in mind that the site was being constructed some 4,000 years BC, it must have taken most of the population of Brittany to do the construction and feed the workers. What puzzles me most of all is is why did the do it on such a massive scale? One tip - take the train ride which leaves from the tourist office. It takes you down to the coast and through La Trinite which is a centre of international yacht racing and along most of the alignments. It is very good value for money and well worth your time.

Steve The TechySteve The Techy

We saw the stones out of season in the Spring. There is a small centre there and a picnic area. You can't walk through the stones, and have to view them from the road. The centre has an accessible roof where you can get a view of the stones. I would recommend taking a tour bus which drove down the whole length of the stones. It is a huge area. The bus also took as to the harbour, along the coast and pointed out various other tourist sites. Worth while doing. Commentary is in several languages, English included. Visiting the stones is free. Entry to the centre is also free. The tour bus, and also tourist train of course cost money. Importantly the centre is also open during the French Lunch break.

Andy KegelAndy Kegel

Truly curious and a wonder. Thousands of aligned stones in lines across the landscape, going for kilometers. We know about when they were put up, but not why. It bends the mind to walk along and among them while puzzling their origin, evaluating the various theories, and constructing your own. The modern (relative) towns nearby are interesting to wander - what did the inhabitants of two centuries ago they nk about the stones they built near? The museums have some interesting exhibits but, in the end, they share the bewilderment . Perhaps the answers lie just offshore, built when the dry land extended farther? Try to take a museum guided tour if the weather and schedules align.

Mike BishopMike Bishop

Car parking at the visitor centre is hugely underestimated, so spills out all over the surrounding roads. Go off season if you want to walk amongst the stones as in high season they are fenced off and only paying guided tours get in. Don't expect to get any vibe other than the French love of their cars (the Brits are just the same at Avebury or Stonehenge, to be fair). Visitor centre has a shopportunity English Heritage could be proud of (fish sauce, anyone?) but my favourite was a big, fat, full-colour druid herbal volume ... given that all we know about the druids can be written on the back of a postage stamp with room to spare. It is what it is.

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Saint-Michel tumulus

4.3Historical Place

Cor CaterCor Cater

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Saint-Michel Tumulus is a large Neolithic burial mound, built in the fifth millennium BC. At 125 meters long and 10 meters high, it’s one of the largest in Europe. Excavations in the 19th century revealed a central chamber containing funerary objects: axes, flint tools, pearls, and sillimanite. These suggest it was used for high-status burials and may have held ceremonial or symbolic significance. The site was also the location of a military engagement between French and British forces in 1795, adding a later historical layer. The walk up is fairly short, and the view from the top is open and expansive, with a clear sense of the surrounding landscape. It’s easy to see why this location was chosen. At the summit, however, the presence of a Catholic church built directly over the tumulus is jarring. It’s a familiar pattern, Christian structures placed over older spiritual sites. Whatever practices or beliefs the site originally supported have been overwritten. The church’s placement turns what might have been a rare opportunity to engage with a pre-Christian landscape into something more about continuity of institutional religion. Still, the site is worth a visit, especially for those interested in early European prehistory and how different layers of history interact and compete over time. ⸻ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Le tumulus Saint-Michel est un grand monument funéraire néolithique, construit au cinquième millénaire avant notre ère. Mesurant 125 mètres de long et 10 mètres de haut, il est l’un des plus grands d’Europe. Des fouilles menées au XIXe siècle ont révélé une chambre centrale contenant des objets funéraires : haches, outils en silex, perles et sillimanite. Ces découvertes indiquent qu’il s’agissait d’un lieu de sépulture réservé à des individus de haut rang, probablement utilisé dans un cadre rituel ou symbolique. Le site a également été le théâtre d’un affrontement militaire entre les forces françaises et britanniques en 1795, ajoutant une couche historique plus récente. L’ascension est relativement courte, et la vue depuis le sommet est dégagée, donnant une bonne lecture du paysage environnant. On comprend facilement pourquoi cet emplacement a été choisi. Cependant, la présence d’une église catholique construite directement au sommet du tumulus surprend. C’est un schéma bien connu, celui de structures chrétiennes édifiées sur des lieux spirituels plus anciens. Les croyances ou pratiques d’origine ont été recouvertes. L’église transforme ce qui aurait pu être une rare occasion de se connecter à un paysage préchrétien en une affirmation du pouvoir religieux établi. Malgré cela, le site mérite une visite, en particulier pour ceux qui s’intéressent à la préhistoire européenne et à la manière dont les différentes strates historiques coexistent, ou s’effacent, au fil du temps.

Xavier Burgos PadillaXavier Burgos Padilla

Luftaufnahme des Tumulus Saint-Michel i der Alignements von Menéć von Suden El túmul de Saint-Michel, situat al punt més alt de Carnac, és un exemple emblemàtic de la monumentalitat funerària neolítica a l'Europa occidental. Va ser classificat com a monument històric l'any 1889. Aquest monument megalític fa 125 m de llarg, 60 m d'amplada i 10 m d'alçada. Al seu cim es va reconstruir l'any 1926, una capella dedicada a Sant Miquel. Aquest túmul artificial, construït cap a mitjans del V mil·lenni aC, cobreix una complexa estructura funerària revelada per les diferents exploracions arqueològiques realitzades als segles XIX i XX. Dirigida per René Galles l'any 1862, les primeres investigacions van portar al descobriment, després d'excavar un pou vertical, d'una volta que contenia nombrosos objectes. De 1900 a 1907, Zacharie Le Rouzic va emprendre excavacions més sistemàtiques. Va crear una sèrie de galeries de mines que revelen diverses voltes satèl·lits així com un dolmen de corredor a l'est del túmul. Els objectes descoberts durant les diferents campanyes (fulles de destral en pedra polida, objectes d'adorn, eines de sílex i fragments d'ossos) es conserven als museus de Carnac i Vannes.

Elizabeth BakerElizabeth Baker

Being interested in this period of history and having visited many UK sites, I really found this site unique and the scale of the tumulus is impressive. You cannot enter the chapel at the top but you do get fantastic views of the surrounding area. When planning which sites to visit at Carnac, add this one to your shortlist. Free to enter.

Kan Lamat (Vans & Villains)Kan Lamat (Vans & Villains)

Absolutely THE best view from which to take in the city, skyline, and beaches of Carnac! The grounds are always open, and the parking across from the nearby hotel is completely free. We loved the architecture and the many nearby trails that lead off into the forest. Beautiful!

M VM V

Breathtaking view of the surroundings. I recommend to make this the final destination of a short hike, starting from the Menhirs and dolmen of Kermario and Kerlouir. Only unfulfilled wish, to be able to enter and visit the small chapelle, or the keirn below.

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Plage de Saint-Colomban

4.5Beach

Véronique DVéronique D

Très jolie plage , mais MALHEUREUSEMENT TOTALEMENT INTERDITE AUX CHIENS. C'est DÉPLORABLE de ne pas nous réserver une partie délimitée.... il y a des gens bien pire que les animaux.... qui laissent derrière eux leurs déchets alimentaires et cendriers .... ! MERCI de MÉDITER, RÉFLÉCHIR et DE PENSER À NOUS en METTANT EN PLACE DES PARCELLES ou l'on peut profiter pleinement et EN TOTALE COHABITATION de vos plages, mais aussi pour vos commerces, votre commune 🤔 A bientôt.... sur la plage 🤩.... ou jamais😱

DanieleDaniele

Plage familiale sur laquelle vous arrivez en crapahutant sur le sentier côtier (départ des grandes plages de Carnac). Vue sur la presqu'île de Quiberon et son fort militaire. En sortant de la plage, n'hésitez pas à aller visiter le petit village de St Colomban et, en remontant vers la Croix des émigrés, à voir sur votre passage la fontaine de St Colomban. A pied, il ne vous reste qu'à boucler le circuit pour rejoindre les plages qui se succèdent le long du bd de l'océan (photos prises sur le circuit)

Andreas HAndreas H

Landschaftlich sehr schön und einen Abstecher wert.... allerdings für uns Hundebesitzer nur ohne Hund erlaubt... selbst die steinigen Abschnitte, an die keiner hin will, sind für Hunde ganzjährig verboten... daher leider nur 2 Sterne... Parkplätze im Frühherbst reichlich, im Sommer wird es wahrscheinlich anders aussehen... allerdings alle kostenlos... schöne Strandpromenade...da es insgesamt sehr schön ist, muss ich objektiv bleiben und in Summe 4 Sterne geben

Erwan DesErwan Des

Belle plage de Carnac au sable blanc et fin, attention aux coups de soleils. Rendez-vous des pratiquants de windsurf et windfoil par vents de Sud-Ouest a ouest, dans ces cas là le côté ouest de la plage est saturé. Lorsque le soleil est là l'eau prend des couleurs de lagon. Très abritée des vents de nord, nord-est et est.

YvesYves

Il y a le sable les nuages et la pluie....... Si tu as de la chance le matin marée basse avec du soleil a midi marée montante........tu pourras prendre un bain tiède .....puis met de la crème on sait jamais.....ha oui de l'indice 10 suffira sinon va au bar font le thé et la tisane

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Carnac, Brittany — Travel Guide & Things to Do

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Carnac

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Things to Do in Carnac, Brittany, France - Carnac Attractions & Activities