megaliths of carnac

The seemingly endless rows of standing stones are quite simply overwhelming. Although fenced and the gates are shut, you can book guided tours (one day a week also in English). We did, and it was well worth it. We stayed at the campsite literallly within 50 yards of the stones, and had hired bycicles for the duration of our stay, which made getting around the many prehistoric sites much easier. The whole area is littered with megaliths, standing stones, burial sites... All very mysterious and amazing.

An impressive display of megaliths which, previous to my visit, I had heard very little about. I was very happy with the amount and quality of information on offer. Possibly difficult to stretch this out for more than an hour or two (especially with children).

Don't miss the Museum and Welcome Center in Carnac for maps and history of the discovery and digs. Then set out on foot to explore the fascinating landscape with rows of standing stones as far as the eye can see. Walk among the stones. Touch and feel the historic markers of a civilization that raises more questions than answers.

On a grey day, we were surprised at how evocative these fields of rocks really are. The landscape is unexpected and thrilling.

the attraction is well preserved good information centre easy parking Easily accessible by car bike or beach train Worth spending an hour i or so

The sheer number and scale of the megaliths in the Carnac alignment is truly astounding. The dolmen are equally impressive. The stones raise a number of unanswered questions : Why were they built? Who by? How were they built? The stones continue to mystify and intrigue long after your visit is over.

This is an absolutely amazing display of megaliths. How did they get there and why are they there??? We were able to walk among them. Thought of Carnac the Magnificient (Johnny Carson).

Go on day du Patremony, that is open historic Sites, tours and real access to the site. Good shoes are recommended, give up on trying to get this site onto a camera, buy a book, as all these stones are 3000 together, no angle will fit.

Very old blocks and wonderful colors of trees in the fall. Everything was very close to our hotel. Very pleasant walking and hiking. Very few cars on the back roads.

You cannot walk around the stones and guided tours were thin on the ground in September. As a result we never fully appreciated the sites as we had only gleaned our knowledge off the internet. One word of advice... climb the old windmill viewpoint. It's the only place you get to appreciate the alignments.

Quite overwhelming. When you first see the stones it actually takes a while to take in just how many there are and how big an area they cover.Oct to March you can get close to them but in high season the gates to the fenced off area are kept firmly shut.

The site of the neolithic stones known as the Carnac alignments are located in Carnac, Britttany, France on the coast, just outside the village. The site consists mainly of kilometers of seven or eight rows of stones placed at intervals before and after each other and about 20 feet from the next row. The stones vary in size and height at different points of the total alignment. There is one section where the stones are the largest. The whole area is fenced in so that only people with permission can walk among the stones. You don't need to pay anything to just drive around and stop and look at the alignments and walk along the fence.The Carnac alignments are the largest and most impressive of the neolithic structures in the area but other dolmens, cairns, etc are found in the area, especially in the gulf of Morbihan. Nothing is as large as Stonehenge.There is also a stone called the Geant or Giant, which is a upright single standing stone located a small distance away from the alignments in a wooded area. Look for the riding school on the road beyond the largest stone area. When we followed the path and reached the Geant there were some tourists there from around the world and one, a Frenchwoman, went to the stone and hugged it tightly for some time. A nearby Frenchman told us she was praying to become pregnant with a boy. We did not know what to think of this. Was he joking? Was this some kind of belief in the area? Anyway, I hope she gets the boy she wants.Archeologists have no idea why the neolithic residents of the area went to all the trouble to find, move and site the stones. The sheer amount of the stones and length of the alignments is surprising and one can only wonder what motivated all this work.A note about the gift shop. In the area opposite the one with the larger stones and across a main road there is a parking area with restrooms, a gift shop and a place to buy tour tickets. The gift shop has a lot of books about the alignments, etc and a good number of French childrens' books relevant to Celtic and some neolithic topics. I found a wonderful little book for my grandsons about a little boy who goes back in time and meets a neolithic little girl. Fortunately, my son speaks French and can translate.The site is famous and is well worth a visit. There are probably good hotels in Carnac and nearby cities like Vannes and Auray.

Brittany was a treasure trove of little known sights and delights. Carnac is the biggest and best known, but there are many beautiful and ancient things to see

these are some of the strangest historic monuments I have ever seen . they make little or no sense as there are rows upon rows of these stone large and small standing vertically in fields all over this area . but they are must see if visiting even if its just for the photos

This was my second visit to the Carnac megaliths but the previous visit was 15 years ago and I found that my memory of the place as dramatic and fascinating differed somewhat from reality. I don't know whether it's me that has changed - presumably the ancient stones haven't....Don't get me wrong - it is definitely worth a visit, especially if you haven't seen it before. The scale of the site is impressive as is the sheer number of stones. The impact of encountering something ancient from the past of humanity is definitely not to be missed. However, once you have looked at a couple of large fields, strewn with obelisks, your enthusiasm for viewing further stony fields tends to wane, somewhat. Perhaps my pitiful, 21st century attention span but I was happy with a five minute wander and a few photos amongst the stones. I tend to agree with some other reviewers who have asserted that the British sites of a similar nature are rather more interesting although I would find it hard to pinpoint the reason for that. Perhaps it is to do with the setting.So in summary, it's worth a brief visit but don't expect too much and combine it with, perhaps, a walk around the town of Carnac, which is pretty and has a great market on two days of the week.