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The megalithic sites of Brittany
The Carnac alignments, Locmariaquer, the Gavrinis and Barnenez cairns, the Roche-aux-Fées, giant menhirs: the most beautiful megalithic sites in Brittany.
6 min read
More than six thousand years ago, long before the pyramids, Brittany’s first farmers raised menhirs and built stone tombs. The region has thousands of them, and the finest sites have been World Heritage listed since 2025.
Carnac, the largest group in the world
The Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan alignments bring together nearly three thousand menhirs. They have been UNESCO listed since July 2025 along with the megaliths of the Morbihan shores. The prehistory museum, in the village, helps you understand them.
Carnac
Heritage siteCarnac StonesCarnac · 1 h 30 to half a dayNearly 3,000 standing stones over four kilometres, raised more than six thousand years ago, at Le Ménec, Kermario, Le Manio and Kerlescan. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 12 July 2025.
MuseumMuseum of Prehistory, CarnacCarnac · 1 h 30 to 2 hoursIn Carnac, a world-class archaeological collection for understanding 450,000 years of history, above all the Neolithic: polished axes, jewellery, pottery, tools and objects found around the megaliths.- WalkCarnac, circuit des alignementsCarnac · 1 h 45An easy 7.4 km loop from the church in Carnac: the Saint-Michel tumulus, the Museum of Prehistory and the Kermario and Ménec stone rows.
Locmariaquer, Gavrinis and the Petit Mont
In Locmariaquer, the great broken menhir, the largest ever raised in Europe, lies next to the Table des Marchand dolmen. Gavrinis, on its island, hides a fully engraved passage; it is visited by boat from Larmor-Baden. In Arzon, the Petit Mont cairn overlooks the entrance to the Gulf.
Around the Gulf
ViewpointCairn du Petit MontArzon · 45 minutes to 1 h 30, depending on the time spent on the monument and the view.A remarkable high point on the Rhuys peninsula, combining megaliths and a view over the ocean, the Gulf of Morbihan and the islands.- WalkLocmariaquer, entre golfe et océanLocmariaquer · 2 hoursAn easy 8.6 km loop in Locmariaquer between the gulf and the ocean: the Table des Marchands, the Pierres Plates dolmen and the Pointe de Kerpenhir.
- WalkErdeven, sentier des mégalithesErdeven · 2 h 45An easy 11 km loop in Erdeven, from megalith to megalith: Mané Braz, the Chaise de César, the Crucuno dolmen and quadrilateral, Kerzerho.
- RestaurantLe CoquillageSaint-Méloir-des-Ondes · 3 to 4 hoursAt Château Richeux, Hugo Roellinger creates a unique seafood cuisine without meat, where seaweed, spices, the fishermen’s catch and the garden’s produce make up a sensory journey facing the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. Le Coquillage holds three stars in 2026.
The Barnenez cairn
On the shores of the Bay of Morlaix, this long dry stone monument contains eleven passage graves. It is one of the oldest monuments in Europe.
In Finistère
Heritage siteGreat Cairn of BarnenezPlouezoc’h · 1 hourThe largest megalithic monument in Europe: eleven passage graves under a dry-stone cairn, older than the pyramids.
ViewpointPointe de Pen-HirCamaret-sur-Mer · 1 to 2 hours.One of the great sites of the Crozon peninsula, with high cliffs of Armorican sandstone, the vast ocean and the famous Tas de Pois rocks extending the headland.
Near the Pointe de Pen-Hir, the Lagatjar alignments raise their menhirs facing the sea.
The giants of the east and north
In Ille-et-Vilaine, the Roche-aux-Fées in Essé is one of the largest covered alleys in France. In Dol-de-Bretagne, the Champ-Dolent menhir is more than nine metres high, as is the Kerloas menhir in Plouarzel, the tallest menhir still standing in France.
Where to stay in Carnac
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