Giorgio Galeotti, CC BYVisiting the Carnac Alignments: access, guided tours and what to see
The megalith trail around the Carnac alignments is free with no closing times. The paid one-hour guided tour is what takes you to one of the main sites.
In short
- The megalith trail around the alignments is free, open all year, with no closing times.
- The paid guided tour, about an hour long, is the way to reach one of the main fenced sites.
- Children under 7 go free on family visits. 7 to 17 year olds have their own line in the price grid.
- From October to the end of March, some sites open to the public without a guide.
- Do not miss the Giant of Manio, 6.50 meters tall, five minutes through the woods from Kerlescan.
- Guided tour ticket holders park at the Maison des Mégalithes. Self-guided visitors use the municipal car park 900 meters away.
- 3,000monoliths counted by the official site
- 4 kmover which the groups of stones spread
- 6.50 mheight of the Giant of Manio
- 1991the year the main rows were fenced off (Wikipedia)
Don't miss
The Ménec alignments
Some 1,100 stones in 11 columns, with the largest, around 4 meters, at the wider western end.
The Kerlescan stone circle
At the western end of the 13 lines, a circle of 39 stones, where the stones are tallest.
The Giant of Manio
The highest menhir standing in the commune of Carnac, beside the Quadrilateral of Manio, a rectangle of granite blocks 37 meters long.
The Tumulus Saint-Michel
The summit of this artificial hill, topped by a chapel, gives a panoramic view of Carnac and the Bay of Quiberon.
Carnac Alignments tickets: how to get them
Sold by tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr, at the official price.
| Ticket | Adult |
|---|---|
| Guided tour at the heart of an AlignmentGuided tour | €13Young person €6 |
Free entry (2026)
- Under 18s
Which ticket is right for you?
You want to walk inside a fenced alignment
Guided tour at the heart of an Alignment
One of the main sites, with a guide-lecturer: the only paid option, about one hour long.
You want to see the rows at your own pace
Megalith trail (no ticket)
The alignments from the outside, along the rows, with no closing times.
You want context before you walk
Maison des Mégalithes (no ticket)
Video presentation, digital mediation, exhibitions, with free and open access.
Your visit, step by step
Maison des Mégalithes
Start at the reception
The starting point of the self-guided route, with its free exhibitions.
Ménec
The Ménec loop
Eleven converging rows. Look for the largest stones at the wider western end.
Kermario
Walk on to Kermario
The “House of the Dead”, with ten columns in the same fan-like layout.
Kerlescan
Continue to Kerlescan
Thirteen lines that end in a stone circle of 39 stones.
Forest paths from Kerlescan
Detour to the Giant of Manio
The 6.50 m menhir, with the Quadrilateral of Manio beside it.
Guided tour or free trail
The main groups of stone rows are fenced, so you choose between the ways of seeing them set out in the ticket chooser above. There is no entrance fee for the Alignments of Carnac: only the guided tour is paid.
Avoid this mistake
Dogs on leads are welcome on the paths around the alignments, but not on guided tours or in the reception building. With a dog, plan on the trail rather than the tour.
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On the tour, a guide-lecturer takes you to one of the main sites and explains the latest archaeological hypotheses. It lasts approximately one hour. You book it online through the official Centre des monuments nationaux ticketing or buy it at the Maison des Mégalithes ticket office, which is also where the tour timetable is given. Depending on the calendar, tours run all year round, and every day during school holidays. In high season the official site announces many timetables in French and foreign languages.
Who pays less, who pays nothing
The official price grid has a line for 7 to 17 year olds, and the same line lists architecture students, jobseekers with a certificate less than six months old, recipients of minimum social benefits, disabled civilians and war veterans with one companion each, and Passion monuments card holders. Children under 7 go free on family visits, as do holders of the Culture card or the CMN card, and CMN lecturers and guide-lecturers.
Walking the megalith trail
In 2016 the Centre des monuments nationaux, the Morbihan département and the town of Carnac agreed to create a walking route along the Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan alignments and the Tumulus Saint-Michel.
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The path from Ménec to Kerlescan is open to pedestrians all year round, with free access and no closing times.
- Ménec loop: 700 meters from the Maison des Mégalithes, accessible to people with reduced mobility.
- Ménec to Kermario: 1.5 km one way, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Ménec to Kerlescan: 3.5 km one way, about 2 hours.
The Maison des Mégalithes is the reception and the starting point of the self-guided route. It keeps its own opening hours, listed below, and closes on January 1, May 1 and December 25. Along the Ménec loop, the long low drystone wall that marks the boundary between the sites dates from the modern era. It was restored between 2018 and 2020.
On pushchairs the official pages differ, as the checklist below shows: the family page allows them on the footpaths but warns that they are hard to roll. Picnics are permitted around the alignments.
From October to the end of March
The official practical page says some sites are open to the public from October to the end of March, and the French version describes this as a self-guided visit. Wikipedia says the same of the fenced rows: they are open during winter.
Even then, climbing on the stones is forbidden. The menhirs have only a tenth of their height buried, wedged in a pit: for a stone of about 3 meters, only 30 cm are in the ground. In November 2021 one fell naturally beside the pedestrian path.
Good to know
In strong heat or a heatwave, depending on the alert level, some tours may be changed, moved to shadier sites or cancelled at certain times, according to the official French practical page.
What the rows hold
The official site counts 3,000 monoliths in several groups over 4 km, dated to the Neolithic, a period it places between 6,000 and 2,300 B.C.
| Group | Stones | What to look for (Wikipedia) |
|---|---|---|
| Ménec | Some 1,100 in 11 columns | Eleven converging rows, 1,165 by 100 meters. The largest stones, around 4 meters high, stand at the wider western end |
| Kermario (“House of the Dead”) | 1,029 in ten columns | The same fan-like layout, further east |
| Kerlescan | 555 in 13 lines | About 800 meters long, with a stone circle of 39 stones at the western end, where the stones are tallest |
- 1860s In the 1860s the Scottish antiquary James Miln found fewer than 700 of the 3,000 stones still standing.
- 1930s and 1980s According to Wikipedia, work in the 1930s and 1980s rearranged the stones and re-erected some.
- 1991 Wikipedia reports that the main groups of stone rows have been fenced since 1991.
Wikipedia describes three major groups, which may once have formed a single one before stones were removed for other purposes. Together they trace a contour line around 20 meters above sea level.
What you see is not untouched:
The rows sit in nearly 70 hectares of moorland, meadows and pine forests. The official site puts the flock at about fifty animals, growing with each year’s births, and Landes de Bretagne sheep graze the site to control the vegetation, and the moor of gorse, heather and broom flowers according to the seasons.
Manio and Saint-Michel, beyond the rows
- The Giant of Manio: at 6.50 meters, the highest menhir standing in the commune of Carnac, raised again at the beginning of the 20th century by Zacharie Le Rouzic. Forest paths reach it in 5 minutes on foot from the Kerlescan alignment. Next to it, the Quadrilateral of Manio, a rectangle of granite blocks 37 meters long, probably outlined a tumulus that has disappeared. Both were classified as historical monuments in 1900.
- The Tumulus Saint-Michel: nearly 35,000 m3 of materials arranged from the beginning of the 5th millennium B.C. form the artificial hill topped by a chapel dedicated to Saint Michael. The official page says the tumulus is closed for security reasons, without giving a reopening date, but the exterior and the summit remain accessible, with a panoramic view of Carnac and the Bay of Quiberon. Head for downtown Carnac, towards La Trinité-sur-Mer, and park at the Parking du marché.
The Megaliths Pass links five partner sites (the Carnac alignments, the Locmariaquer megaliths, the Carnac Museum of Prehistory, the Cairn de Gavrinis and the Cairn de Petit-Mont), with a preferential rate from the second monument visited.
Getting there and parking
- By car: from Auray, take the D768 towards Carnac and Quiberon to the Purgatoire roundabout, then the D119 towards Carnac. For the Maison des Mégalithes, follow Alignements du Ménec.
- By train: Auray station, then a bus to Carnac. A Glazgo bus service runs in high season.
- Traffic: since the end of June 2025, the Route des Alignements from Toul Chignan to Le Ménec has been one-way, with a lane shared by vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles.
The car park at the Maison des Mégalithes is reserved for visitors and is the one to use with a guided tour ticket. For a self-guided visit, use the municipal car park at the alignments, 900 meters away, entered via Allée des Alouettes to the north of the Ménec alignments. Campervans go to the Kerabus car park.
Since July 12, 2025, the megaliths of Carnac and the shores of Morbihan have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Opening hours
| Period | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October to 31 December | Every day | 10 am to 1 pm |
| 1 October to 31 December | Every day | 2 pm to 5 pm |
Before you go
- During school holidays, a one-hour family tour for children aged 6 and over takes place outdoors: bring closed shoes and seasonal clothing.
- Closed shoes are recommended. The practical page does not recommend pushchairs on the sites because the ground is not passable.
- A mobility inclusion card marked “priority” only, or a parking card, does not give free entry.
- Smoking is banned on the entire site, inside and outside.
Map and nearby sights
Frequently asked questions
Can you walk among the Carnac stones?
Wikipedia reports that the main rows have been fenced since 1991. You walk among them on the guided tour, and from October to the end of March some sites open to the public. Climbing on the stones is forbidden.
Is it free to see the Carnac stones?
Yes, from the outside: the footpath around the sites is free, and so are the exhibitions of the Maison des Mégalithes. Only the guided tour is paid.
How long is the walk along the alignments?
From Ménec to Kerlescan it is 3.5 km one way, about 2 hours. Ménec to Kermario is 1.5 km one way, and a 700-meter loop around Ménec is accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Is there a guided tour in English?
The official site announces many timetables in French and foreign languages in high season. Check the languages when you book online or at the Maison des Mégalithes ticket office.
Can I bring my dog?
Dogs on leads are allowed on the paths around the alignments, but not on guided tours or in the reception building.
Sources
- menhirs-carnac.fr official 9 pages
- tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr official
- Wikimedia Commons
- Wikipedia
- wikidata.org
Facts last checked on 26 October 2026. Prices and opening hours change, often in January: confirm on the official website before you go.