An alternative for a picnic would be a visit to one of the restaurants but expect to pay tourist prices for a meal. To avoid the crowds, you should come early in the morning and prebook your ticket for the abbey to skip the line.įor your trip to Mont St Michel, you should pack a small picnic, enough water for the day as well as sturdy shoes. The abbey was a popular pilgrimage site but was turned into a prison by Louis XI and during the Ancien Regime. The entry to the island is completely free, except for the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel where until the 1960s the famous Benedictine monks lived. The island was used as a defensive position against invasion and it stood unconquered during the 100 Days War, and as a small garrison of soldiers was even able to see off a full attack by the English in the 15th Century. You can reach the island on foot via a modern bridge which will take around 45 minutes, or with the free shuttle bus which departs from the parking lot. It attracts more than two million tourists every year. Mont Saint-Michel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of cobbled streets and medieval architecture. In the Western part of French Normandy, you will find the famous Mont Saint-Michel, a rocky island located around 1 kilometer out from the coast. Other times closed except for guided tours. Opening Hours: Daily 10.00 am to 17:00 pm, October to March. The Visitors Center is called the Maison de Megaliths and has a terrace with a view over the Alignments. It’s also possible just to walk the perimeter of the enclosing fence and have a great view of the Alignments. Visiting the standing stones at Carnac, Brittany is free from October to March but from April to September the site is closed unless you book a one-hour guided tour. Like the standing stones found in other parts of Europe, the Carnac standing stones were erected by Neolithic peoples – in this case by pre-Celtic peoples – as a community focus for rituals that most likely involved astronomical events and calendars. This means that they were moved by hand, not by using heavy machinery. The stones were moved from their original location to Carnac during the Middle Neolithic period (around 4000 BC). These giant megalithic formations are one of the most significant remains of French ancient history and together with several lesser-known nearby stone circles, are major landmarks of Brittany. The tallest structure is just over 4 meters high. The menhirs are aligned in 12 converging rows. There are around 200 menhirs at Carnac, but only about 50 monoliths but over 3000 stones in total over. Monoliths are single stones, whereas menhirs are groups of three or more stones. The Alignments are made up of two types of stones: monoliths and menhirs. The largest stone measures approximately 30 meters (100 feet) long and 6 meters (20 feet) high. The Carnac Stones are composed of large granite blocks weighing several tons each. They were built between 3500 BC and 2000 BC according to radiocarbon dating.
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