Hotel recommendation for Carnac (Brittany)?
 

Our family (my husband and myself, and our adult daughter) will be in Carnac for three nights, from 1 to 3 June (that's Tues through Fri). Anybody out there have a hotel recommendation? (We're interested in the megaliths, not the beach.) We'll be making side trips to Locmariaquer and Gavrinis. There's a Logis de France called Hostellerie les Ajoncs d'Or about a mile outside Carnac (in Plouharnel)--it looks delightful from the website; anybody have any experience with it or know anything about their food? I'd like a place with good food and/or recommendations for where to eat in the area. Thanks.
Carolyn

When we visited Carnac (which is an amazing sight) we stayed a little north in Moëlan-sur-Mer (which isn't actually on the sea) at a delightful country inn called Les Moulins des Ducs. It's set in a forested area around a large pond and is very picturesque, besides having comfortable rooms and a good restaurant. There's a swimming pool, too. We were upgraded to a suite for some reason, but the regular rooms that we saw were equally nice and spacious.

Have you read The Oysters of Locmariaquer? The author won a Pulitzer prize for her book; see if you can find a used copy.

BTW, in the Carnac area is a very fine tumulus that you can visit. Can you tell we are also interested in pre-history?

Is it Tumulus de St-Michel? I can't figure out whether it's still open to the public (if not, presumably you can look from nearby). I'm not happy about the fact that the major alignments are fenced off, but behind a fence is better than nothing (guide books also differ on whether some kind of guided tour of the alignments is available, but they seem to agree that you can't walk among them except in winter). Do you have any idea whether the minor megaliths near Carnac are worth searching out? Oysters is on my pre-trip reading list. Thanks for the recommendation!
Carolyn

Yes, the St. Michael tumulus is the large one, but there's another, at the Kercado site. When we were there you could just go right in.

The fact that the lines are fenced off is no problem; you can see quite well from the perimeter, although my husband remembers that we could go inside.

The minor megaliths are also worth visiting. Do you have the green Michelin guide for Brittany? It has very good coverage of the Carnac area as well as the other major sites in Brittany. We picked up a small guide to the megalithic sites in Brittany; if I can find it, I can search out additional information and will post it for you. There are also several web sites from which I got information before our own trip.

Happy hunting!

Underhill, thanks for the reassurance that you can see quite well through the fence--I was bracing myself for disappointment. I do have the Michelin Green Guide, and we'll try to track down as many of the minor megaliths as we can in the time we have. I'd really appreciate your posting any other information you can find. Are there minor megaliths in the Michelin list that shouldn't be missed? I found the web site for Les Moulins Des Ducs and it looks delightful. How long does it take to drive from there to Carnac? I'm very unsure about estimating driving times. Thanks again--you're being incredibly helpful!
Carolyn

I can't really remember how long it took us to get from Carnac to les Moulin des Ducs, but it was something like half an hour on pretty roads.

A good way to get route information is to use the mappy.com site, on which you can search for various routes, elapsed miles, even how much gasoline you might use. Michelin has a similar site.

I'm still looking for the booklet on the megaliths and dolmens. We didn't have a chance to hunt up the minor sites, but I'm sure they would be worth a visit too.

Will you be up near Fougères? There's a a famous single stone in the general area, if I remember correctly (quite phallic!).

Let me know where else you'll be in Brittany and I can suggest some hotels.
You can e-mail me at [email protected] and I'll send you additional info, including my articles on Brittany if you want them. In fact, here's where you can read them:

http://www.bonjourparis.com/pages/se...Jean+Underhill

Jean--thanks so much for the link to your articles. I read (and printed) the pieces on Brittany and Mont St-Michel, and also read several of the others. They're a fund of useful information.
I checked out the mappy website, which says that Moelan-sur-mer is 42 miles (I asked for miles, not kilometers) and an hour's drive from Carnac (and I'm guessing that the driving websites err on the side of shortening the driving time). I think that because we want to spend several days exploring Carnac and Locmariaquer, as well as see the Cairn de Gavrinis en route to Dinard, we really need something a bit closer to Carnac.
I've now posted our full Normandy/Brittany itinerary rather than e-mailing you privately because I thought other Fodorites might have some useful input. I'd be so grateful for any additional advice, particularly restaurant recommendations--I can tell from your articles that you share my delight in French food. As you'll see, I've already made some of the hotel reservations, but I'm happy to change them if I'm missing something special. (In general, I try to restrain myself on hotel expenses and splurge on food, although some of my happiest travel memories are hotel splurges!) Thanks for everything.
Carolyn

If you're going over to the St.-Malo/Dinard area, just keep going and have a meal at Jean-Pierre Crouzil in Plancoët, now a 2* restaurant. The food is beyond fabulous, and the town is pretty--lots and lots of flowers.

Where did you post your itinerary?

In the Forest of Paimpont (Brociliande), there is a little town, Neant sur Yvel, where we found a very good little restaurant beside the church. It was a happy accident as we were lost in the forest and hungry. The restaurant is Aux Ajoncs d?Or and we had a wonderful meal served by a young lady who seemed delighted to be serving us. The place was full of locals so I suspect the quality is consistent. It was very reasonable too.

Neant sur Yvel is just north of Ploermel off the D766.

The fence at Carnac is just wire and you can easily see through and take pictures through it. We weren't expecting it and were disappointed, but I understand why they fenced it. It was a zoo the day we were there . . . people all over the place. If that happens often, there wouldn't be any megaliths left for future generations. There is a little museum at the site also.

You should seek out some lesser known megaliths because they are not fenced off and they don't have hoards of tourists so it's a more pleasant experience although Carnac was overwhelming (even with tourists by the dozen).

We usually stay at the Logis de France and most of them have very nice restaurants. Some are more than nice because the parent organization has a cooking contest every year.

Enjoy your trip.

Wow! I remember visiting years ago when it wasn't fenced off and there were maybe two or three other people around! It was really neat to have it basically to yourself. Obviously, those days are gone.

Carolynk,

I finally found the book; it's "Prehistory in Brittany: Menhirs and Dolmens," by P. R. Giot. You could try getting a copy at the amazon.uk website; amazon.fr says it's out of stock. If all else fails, send me an e-mail and I can mail my copy off to you.

My husband found a very good web site:

http://www.offrench.net/photos/photo...p;exhibition=3

AND, here's a nice-sounding B&B near St.-Tréphine; seems to be owned by an Englishman. It's called La Maison Rose and is near St.-Malo and Roscoff and is near monoliths and Roman ruins. The web site is

http://www.brittany-guide.com/acom/gites/pg026.htm

B&B with continental breakfast is 27.50€, and you can have an evening meal if you wish for 27.50€ for adults.

Maybe it's none of my bussiness, but personnally, I would do the contrary : stay in Locmariaquer and make a side trip to Carnac. I just don't like Carnac, which is heavily touristed (though there won't be many people coming for the beach in June) and not a particularily pleasant town, IMHO.

SalB: thanks for the restaurant recommendation--depending on how the time breaks, it might be a great place for lunch on the way to Dinard (do they do lunch?)
Jean: The restaurant in Plancoet sounds fabulous--I think we should really try to do that. I did a search for Giot's book on AmazonUK and they don't have it. You're amazingly kind to offer to mail it--I hate to put you to the trouble but I just may take you up on your offer because it sounds like something I really should read before the trip. (I will definitely return it).
Clairobscur (wonderful name!): I was worried about Carnac, and you're confirming my fears. I've e-mailed a place in Trinite-sur-Mer called Le Petit Hotel des Hortensias, which the Red Guide gives a red symbol, but I haven't heard back (possibly they're closed). I see that the Green Guide likes Hotel les Trois Fontaines in Locmariaquer and I think I'll e-mail them as well. I had earlier tried Hostellerie les Ajoncs d'Or in Plouharnel just outside Carnac (it's a small Logis de France) but they're closed until April. I did hear back from Le Ratalier in Carnac and don't know if I should reserve there just in case none of the others has room once they finally open. What do you think? Do you know anything about any of the alternatives?
Thanks to all,
Carolyn

Yes, we were at the restaurant for lunch. They stop serving at 2:00 PM though, so don't be late! This is not unusual.

I'll second the poster who said Carnac, the town, is not particularly appealing. You would be much happier staying outside of Carnac. The area is lovely, but the actual town is not.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

Underhill,

Repeating a post I made on another string -- because it gives me a chance to repair my typos, and because rare good things are worth knowing. "The Oysters of Locmariaquer" by Eleanor Clark (the wife of Robert Penn Warren) won the National Book Award circa 1959. This is stunning non-fiction! No "aren't the French quaint and funny" stuff here, but a stark, loving portrait of a Brittany town, with loads of information about oysters, oystering and regional lore -- and amazing, intimate sketches of the people who live there. Peter Mayle, eat your heart out.

As for Brittany lodging, the Hotel de Carantec, in the town of the same name, has rooms with semi-private terraces overlooking the bay and a Michekin two-star restaurant with a panoramic view of the water. This is arguably the best eatery in Brittany. The demi-pension price for two was 350 euros, with virtually no restrictions on menu choices. I'm a frugal traveler, and I consider this as a great a bargain as my 55 euro a night hotel on rue Jean Pierre Timbaud, in the glorious 11th arrondissement of Paris, the Hotel Cosmos!

Now I didn't think Carnac was that great, sorry.(IMHO) We much preferred the Roches Sculptées of Rothéneuf. A hermit priest spent 25 years from the 1870s onwards carving these boulders into the fiorms of dragons, giants, sea monsters perched on a rocky promontory high above the waterline so that we could walk down over the rocks to look at this amazing body of works. Unfortunaely they are getting weathered away as not distinctuiive as they once were. There's also a café thewre and a potteryshop. I'll google to see if I can find a picture.

We stayed in Vannes, at the Villa Kérasy. It was a wonderfully maintained place, great service and host, good location. Three kinds of electricity were provided in the rooms, as well as internet connections. Quiet self closing doors, comfortable beds. The location gave us access to the Quiberon Peninsula, Carnac, and Belle Isle, as well as journeys inland. I would stay there again in a second, and it is not often that I would recommend something like that. It was a surprise to us that the place was so lovingly created.

And...also good air conditioning in the summer as well as protected parking.

This isnt exactly next to Carnac but its within an hours drive. We stayed at the Villa Tri Men which was IMHO one of the best places I have ever stayed. The hotel is beautiful and is right on the coast with amazing views. I am dying to go back and spend 4 or 5 nights. Here's the link : http://www.trimen.fr/

I personally thought the Villa Kerasy was nice in Vannes but I was disappointed by the location. You might want to check out my trip report from a trip a while back.

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