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Carnac
Famous for the immense megalithic monuments surrounding it but also a lively town with a beautiful historic town centre and the Baie de Quiberon and its lovely shores never far away. Tourism probably nowadays is its major economic contributor but there is still some fishing and oyster farming going on. There are a handful of larger supermarkets in its vicinity and plenty of shops and restaurants and some nice bars to be found in the centre.
The quarter bordering the bay called Carnac Plage is mostly accommodating summer holiday makers and hosts several sailing schools. Sailing and other water sports are big here with school classes having surfing on their timetable and many professional sailors training in the large Bay of Quiberon. That bay is mostly sheltered from open ocean swells but gets the often-strong winds without any hinderance which makes it a fine windsurfing and kiteboarding spot too, as long as the tide is high enough.
Cultural gems are found in abundance in the area but the immense prehistoric alignments in the area are by far the most outstanding. They start just outside the town centre with the Alignements de Ménec, which stone rows stretch for over a kilometre. There is a visitor centre right beside it with a during peak tourist season hopelessly under-dimensioned parking lot. The site is fenced off since some years due to too many visitors walking in between the stones and thus compacting the ground too much which resulted in the menhirs falling down. You can walk around the area which still gives you a good impression of the site and there are some guided tours which lead inside and through the alignment.
A few hundred meters further east the stone rows continue with the Alignements du Kermario, a site a bit less frequented but equally impressive.
For more visual impressions check the galleries of the Alignements de Ménec, the Alignements du Kermario and from the beaches.
Related stories: The End Of The World, episode 3 and Morbihan 8-8
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