Landscapes & Seascapes From Carnac to Stonehenge

(B)= Breakfast, (L)= Lunch, (R)= Reception, (D)= Dinner

Sunday, May 24, 2026: Depart home

Monday, May 25: Arrive Nantes, FRANCE | Transfer to Vannes | Vannes walking tour | Welcome reception and dinner
Arrive at Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), where you will be met and transferred as a group (time TBD) to our hotel in the center of the coastal, medieval town of Vannes. After an orientation walking tour of the town, we gather for a welcome drink and dinner at a local restaurant. Four nights at the 4-star Best Western Plus Vannes Centre Ville. (R,D)

Tuesday, May 26: Locmariaquer | Cairn de Petit Mont | Vannes

Today, a local expert will accompany us on our site visits. After breakfast, we drive to the megalithic site of Locmariaquer, where we see the fully restored Table des Marchands and the fragmented Grand Menhir Brisé, unique for what would have been its original height of 59 feet. After an independent lunch at the port, we drive to the Cairn de Petit Mont and view the Neolithic tomb built between 4500 and 2500 B.C. We return to Vannes and gather for dinner at our hotel’s restaurant. (B,D)

Wednesday, May 27: Gavrinis | Carnac: Museum of Prehistory | Vannes

Meet our local expert again for today’s site visits. Drive to Larmor-Baden, from where we take a boat to visit the impressive tumulus of Gavrinis, a cairn of large stones in a stepped pattern that resembles a squat pyramid. Return by boat, sailing past the islet of Er Lannic, site of two megalithic enclosures that can only be viewed from the water, and then drive to Carnac, where we stop for lunch. Carnac is home to some of the world’s most famous megalithic sites, dating to the Neolithic period (ca. 4500–2000 B.C.). We visit Carnac’s Museum of Prehistory before we return to Vannes and gather this evening for dinner. (B,L,D)

Thursday, May 28: Carnac: Le Menec, Kermario, Kerlescan, Giant of Manio | Vannes

This morning, we meet our local expert and return to Carnac, this time to visit its famous alignments of Le Menec and Kermario, a huge field with dolmens (megalithic tombs) and more than 1,000 menhirs in ten lines; as well as Kerlescan, the smallest but best preserved of these sites. After an independent lunch, we take a short walk through the forest to visit the Giant of Manio, the tallest standing menhir in the area. Impressive views of the alignments are also available from the nearby viewing tower. We return to Vannes, where dinner and the balance of the day are on your own. (B)

Friday, May 29: Mont-Saint-Michel | Saint-Malo

Check out of our hotel this morning and drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mont-Saint-Michel. After a guided visit of this imposing, Gothic-style Benedictine abbey, followed by an independent lunch, continue on to the port of St.-Malo where we check-in to our hotel. Gather this evening for dinner. Overnight at the 5-star Le Grand Hôtel des Thermes. (B,D)

Saturday, May 30: Ferry from Saint-Malo to England | Arrive Portsmouth, ENGLAND | Salisbury

Check out of our hotel this morning and board a ferry to Portsmouth, England. The crossing takes approximately eight hours, and cabins have been reserved for those who wish to rest during the voyage. Gather for lunch in the ferry restaurant. We disembark in Portsmouth and drive to our hotel in the historic city of Salisbury. The hotel’s main building is a 13^th-century riverside coaching inn, and it is a short, pleasant walk across the meadows to Salisbury Cathedral. We gather for a light dinner at the hotel restaurant. Four nights at the 4-star Legacy Rose and Crown Hotel. (B,L,D)

Sunday, May 31: Devizes: Wiltshire Museum | Avebury | West Kennet Long Barrow | Salisbury

Take a morning drive to Devizes, where we take a guided tour of the Wiltshire Museum with its Director. The museum is officially closed on Sundays, however it will be opened today exclusively for us. The museum’s archaeological collections span the Neolithic through medieval periods, and include finds from Avebury and Stonehenge (which we visit on June 2^nd). After an independent lunch in Devizes, we drive to the village of Avebury, where we meet up with our local expert to visit Avebury’s unique Neolithic henge (a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Stonehenge and associated sites), comprising three circles around the village, including the largest prehistoric stone circle in Europe. Time permitting, we visit the site’s Alexander Keiller Museum, with its impressive prehistoric archaeological collections, including many artifacts from Avebury. Continue on to the West Kennet Long Barrow, one of Britain’s largest and most accessible Neolithic chambered tombs. From the top one can see Silbury Hill, Europe’s tallest, manmade, prehistoric mound. Return to our hotel in Salisbury, where we gather for dinner. (B,D)

Monday, June 1: Salisbury: Walking tour, Salisbury Museum | Wessex Archaeology | Salisbury
This morning, take a guided walking tour of Salisbury, including a tour of the Salisbury Museum with its Director. We view the museum’s Wessex Gallery, which includes artifacts from Stonehenge. After an independent lunch, we drive to the offices of Wessex Archaeology, where we are given a behind-the-scenes look into the mechanics of archaeological discovery, from digging to dating, especially in relation to Stonehenge, where they have been excavating for the past 40 years. Dinner is on your own this evening. (B)

Tuesday, June 2: Durrington Walls | Woodhenge | Walk to Stonehenge | Salisbury

This morning we drive to Durrington Walls, site of a henge (circular structure) and the largest Neolithic settlement in northern Europe, where our local expert will join us for the rest of the day. After visiting the adjacent Neolithic site of Woodhenge, we embark on a walk through the Stonehenge landscape, including a view of the burial mounds of King Barrow Ridge. Our journey culminates at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre, where the exhibition includes almost 300 artifacts and human remains from the site. From there we will be driven to Stonehenge itself, a ring of standing stones dating from 3000–2500 B.C., a UNESCO World Heritage Site (together with Avebury and associated sites), and one of the most iconic of all archaeological monuments. Permission for special access has been requested and, if granted, we will enter the inner circle itself after the Centre has closed. Return to Salisbury, having a light supper en route to our hotel. (B,D)

Wednesday, June 3: Salisbury Cathedral | Rotherwick | Farewell dinner

Check out of our hotel this morning and take a guided visit of the 13^th-century Salisbury Cathedral which contains, among other treasures, an original copy of the Magna Carta. A special tour of the Cathedral’s stonemasons’ yard has also been arranged for us. After an independent lunch, we meet at our hotel and drive to Rotherwick. Our last night is spent at the Tylney Hall Hotel, a luxury country house hotel located less than an hour from Heathrow Airport for our transfer tomorrow morning. Gather for a farewell dinner in a private room in the hotel. Overnight at the 4-star Tylney Hall Hotel. (B,D)

Thursday, June 4: Fly home
Transfer this morning to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) for flights homeward. (B)