There are two Carnacs - the town itself, Carnac-Ville, and Carnac-Plage, beside a string of pleasant beaches. There are five beaches, the largest being known, naturally enough, as the Grande Plage. The most attractive beaches are probably those to the east (Plage Men Dû and Beaumer). Some of the beaches are backed either by sand-dunes or by lovely pine-scented woods. The French come here in their thousands in August, but they usually arrive after lunch!

Carnac-Ville is pleasant and tidy, but very touristy. There is a lovely church dedicated to St-Cornély, the patron saint of horned cattle. For centuries sick cattle were brought here in the hope that they would be cured. The interior of the church is well worth a visit, and you will be surprised by the veritable riot of colourful decoration.

Think of Carnac and you think of standing stones…

There are literally dozens of prehistoric sites around Carnac - menhirs, dolmen, tumuli, fallen stones and standing stones. There are , however, three great alignments of standing stones, those at Le Ménec (1169 stones in 11 rows), Kerlescan (555 menhirs in 13 rows) and Kermario (1029 stones in 10 rows).

Enthusiasts of 'The Time Team' might well enjoy a visit to the Musée de la Préhistoire where a huge and fascinating collection of finds can be seen. Carnac is easily the most important prehistoric site in Europe. In fact, experts claim that the area has been continuously inhabited for longer than anywhere else in the world. The site has been used since at least 5700 BC, easily pre-dating Stonehenge or the Pyramids in Egypt. Younger children might well enjoy a visit to Archéoscope, a somewhat tasteless attempt to explain the history of the stones. However, the special effects are quite exhilarating.