Carnac - Circuit des alignements
Features of the route
Difficulty
Easy
Length
02:00:00
Distance
8km
Municipality of departure
Carnac
Place Saint Cornély
56340 Carnac
56340 Carnac
Level of difficulty: Easy
Yellow markings no. 2 - all year round
This itinerary will introduce you to part of the Alignements de Carnac, one of the most extraordinary megalithic sites in the world.
Departure point: Place Saint-Cornély, visit the 17th-century church. Walk with your back to the church to reach the Musée de la Préhistoire.
Step by step:
1) Behind the Musée de la Préhistoire, which boasts one of Europe's richest prehistoric collections (information at www.museedecarnac.com), join the Tumulus du Mont St-Michel via the Pouez Alen alleyway. This is an edifice of colossal proportions, over 125 m long, 60 m wide and 10 m high. It was built on a natural height in the 5th millennium BC. In addition to its spectacular dimensions (today, the term "grand tumulus carnacéens" is used to define large burial mounds), exceptional objects have been discovered in its vaults: polished jade axes and variscite and turquoise beads can be seen today in the Carnac Prehistory Museum. On the summit is the Chapelle St-Michel, rebuilt twice, in 1913 and 1925. Sailors' wives would sweep the chapel in the direction they wanted the wind to blow, then pray at the fountain. The pardon takes place in September. Discover a small calvary and an orientation table set on an engraved Iron Age stele. Enjoy the panoramic view: from the Quiberon peninsula to the Gulf of Morbihan, via Belle-Île-en-Mer and Houat.
2) Follow the path below to Cloucarnac. See the Kerluir Menhir in the middle of a field (private land) and a fountain at the edge of the village, restored by the Friends of Carnac. Discover the Alignements de Kermario. This field of menhirs is 1,200 m long and 100 m wide, with more than 1,214 menhirs in 10 rows. Follow them to the north to reach the Alignements du Ménec. This group of menhirs is over 1,165 m long and 100 m wide, with 1,236 menhirs in 11 rows. The tallest stones reach 4 meters. Guided tours and information are offered by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (go to the Maison des Mégalithes, information www.menhirs-carnac.fr).
3) Go around them to the south, through the village of Le Ménec (see the megalithic enclosure), then to the north. Reach the tourist office via the Croix Audran, passing by the wash-house and fountain, then the Tumulus via the St-Michel fountain, an 18th-century granite devotional fountain.
Yellow markings no. 2 - all year round
This itinerary will introduce you to part of the Alignements de Carnac, one of the most extraordinary megalithic sites in the world.
Departure point: Place Saint-Cornély, visit the 17th-century church. Walk with your back to the church to reach the Musée de la Préhistoire.
Step by step:
1) Behind the Musée de la Préhistoire, which boasts one of Europe's richest prehistoric collections (information at www.museedecarnac.com), join the Tumulus du Mont St-Michel via the Pouez Alen alleyway. This is an edifice of colossal proportions, over 125 m long, 60 m wide and 10 m high. It was built on a natural height in the 5th millennium BC. In addition to its spectacular dimensions (today, the term "grand tumulus carnacéens" is used to define large burial mounds), exceptional objects have been discovered in its vaults: polished jade axes and variscite and turquoise beads can be seen today in the Carnac Prehistory Museum. On the summit is the Chapelle St-Michel, rebuilt twice, in 1913 and 1925. Sailors' wives would sweep the chapel in the direction they wanted the wind to blow, then pray at the fountain. The pardon takes place in September. Discover a small calvary and an orientation table set on an engraved Iron Age stele. Enjoy the panoramic view: from the Quiberon peninsula to the Gulf of Morbihan, via Belle-Île-en-Mer and Houat.
2) Follow the path below to Cloucarnac. See the Kerluir Menhir in the middle of a field (private land) and a fountain at the edge of the village, restored by the Friends of Carnac. Discover the Alignements de Kermario. This field of menhirs is 1,200 m long and 100 m wide, with more than 1,214 menhirs in 10 rows. Follow them to the north to reach the Alignements du Ménec. This group of menhirs is over 1,165 m long and 100 m wide, with 1,236 menhirs in 11 rows. The tallest stones reach 4 meters. Guided tours and information are offered by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (go to the Maison des Mégalithes, information www.menhirs-carnac.fr).
3) Go around them to the south, through the village of Le Ménec (see the megalithic enclosure), then to the north. Reach the tourist office via the Croix Audran, passing by the wash-house and fountain, then the Tumulus via the St-Michel fountain, an 18th-century granite devotional fountain.