Carnac Property Insight

Carnac is a small commune of not more than 5,000 inhabitants. The town lies along the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany, and is a popular sea resort. Internationally, it is above all known for its alignments of stones, one of the largest Neolithic menhir collections in the world.

For the last decades, Carnac knows a boom in terms of tourism. Situated in the Quiberon bay, the temperature of the sea is a bit higher than in the rest of Brittany. The standing stones and other monuments in the area provide cultural attractions while the bars and clubs of Carnac’s seafront ensure that the younger people can entertain themselves at night.

Overview

Carnac is an incredible place, due to its megalithic sites around the village. It consists of alignments of 3,000 prehistoric standing stones (dolmens, tumuli and mostly single menhirs). It is the largest collection of menhirs in the world! The pre-Celtic people of Brittany erected the stones, hewn from local rock, during the Neolithic period around 3300 BC. Some of them may date from 4500 BC. This can be interpreted by the fact that the following generations could have visited Carnac to erect a menhir to pay tribute to their ancestors.

A legend exists locally which claims that the stones are standing in such a perfect alignment for the reason that it was a Roman legion turned to stones by Merlin (Brittany has it own version of the Arthurian legend).

The majority of the stones are located within the town of Carnac but the Megalithic site extends to the neighbour commune of La Trinite-sur-Mer.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a sea resort was created on old salt marshes and was extended through the 1950s. As a consequence, Carnac was divided in two different areas: Carnac-plage (seafront) and Carnac-ville (town centre).

Carnac Immobilier & Property Market Trends

Carnac is a town above all appreciated as being a beautiful sea resort. It has attracted many people for the past decades and it still continues. That is why 72% of properties are second houses. In other words, you can say that the winter should be more calm than the summer!

The prestige of the place alone makes that the prices of properties increase. In May 2008, they reached the peak of €4,800/s qm before decreasing to arrive now around €4,000/s qm. At the moment, the prices tend to stabilize.

There are some new constructions of buildings projected in Carnac, to answer the growing demand for properties. However, 80% of all properties remain houses for the moment, and are often large houses with four rooms or more.

To get updated info about housing prices in the Dordogne, please browse our French Property Market Reports published in the News Section every month.

3 Reasons to Buy a Property in Carnac

Brittany is a region of the north of France. While people normally tend to go and live in the south because of the better weather they have there, a large number of people prefer Brittany, and we have to admit that it is not only due to the microclimate you can find there. Carnac is a good example because it has a majority of second houses and is very popular. Have a look to the reasons that attract so many people in Carnac:

• Culture: of course, the standing stones are the best example of culture you can find in the area. It is the sign that the Celts were present in the region, and their former culture is the basis of today’s Breton culture which includes the language, gastronomy, dance, music, myths and legends.

• Gastronomy: Brittany has a delicious gastronomy. The most renowned specialities are of course buckwheat pancakes eaten with a bowl of cider, but also buttery pastries (Kouign Amann, Far breton or Quatre-quarts). They often eat fish or shellfish, thanks to the proximity with the sea.

• Sea resort: the Morbihan gulf has sandy beaches, and those in the area of Carnac and the Quiberon peninsula are known to be the most beautiful ones. The town developed its tourism activity, and now have a casino, a yacht club, a wellness centre and a golf course for the pleasure of its visitors. Many activities like water sports, hiking, horse riding and more others can be down in Carnac, and not only during summer!

Property Styles and Architecture in Carnac

As it is often the case for villages or towns which attract the interest of foreign people or tourists, the architecture has changed in Carnac since they came and built their own properties. The former style and older houses tend to disappear to be replaced by modern houses.

• Villas: during the 20th century, the tourism brought the building of many villas, mostly located on the seafront. Their architecture really reflects a seaside architecture, which is very pleasant.

• Stone houses: Many stone houses can be seen in Carnac. They often have a two-slopes roof in slate. Being built in lentgh and with outbuildings they sometimes give an impression of breadth. It is not rare to find many shed dormer windows in the roof of these houses, which are the windows of the last floor.

Click here for more info about the Architecture in Brittany.