Are you going to visit Stonehenge, the most famous prehistoric monument in Great Britain since London? We tell you everything about this visit: prices, schedules, how to go!
Visiting Stonehenge is immersing himself for a journey in Time, which is almost 5000 years old. Listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1986, it is one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in Europe. Situated south of the road between London and Bristol, just 15 kilometers from Salisbury to the south-west of England, this is a must-see if you are on your way to London. The famous photos of Stonehenge make a direct reflection of the cartoon of Asterix and Obélix, whose menhirs are imagined to be disposed of with superhuman force, without even having ingested the magic potion concocted by a botanist druid that makes many of the Legionaries of the Roman Empire... Yet these blocks were erected between two thousand and a thousand years before the conquests of ancient Rome, between -2800 and -1100, between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. The exact history of this monumental site remains mysterious and obscure, both its oldness and the absence of traces leave the assumptions sometimes fancy. In this article, you are told everything about prices, schedules, travel and the site itself to visit Stonehenge from London. 
Photo credit: Flickr – michael_durden
Stonehenge, a site out of Time
Located on the hills of Wittshire County, Stonehenge's prehistoric site is a set of 460 stones arranged in four concentric circles, with a diameter of over a hundred meters. This amoncellement of stones slept in the beautiful star for nearly four millennia without being exploited by Man, subduing the star of the erosion and the passing Time. The largest mega-lithes are up to ten metres high, weighing nearly 20 tons, and are said to have been transported over 30 kilometers, while the smaller ones weigh 3 to 4 tons and have transported over 250 kilometers! This gives an indication of the ingenuity – or the hard work – of these primitive men, but who already knew how to invent techniques to build great monuments. Some stones are placed horizontally on others, more imposing, standing. Their actual function has not been established. 
Photo credit: Flickr – Grufnik
The first archaeological excavations date back to the beginning of the 19th century, but it was the invention of the Carbone 14 in 1950 that allowed to begin to erect significant hypotheses, other than legendary. A hypothesis holds that the 460 stones would have served as a funeral monument to honor the memory of 460 men, massacred by the Saxons. Then, the researchers began to align the stones corresponding to the solar azimuts. Some believe that this alignment with sunrise and sunset, and with the moon, shows that it was an astronomical observatory to calculate solstices, equinoxes and moon and solar eclipses. The archaeologists from the beginning of the 20th century thought that the alignment of stones with sunrise and sunset could have been used to measure time. Later, the Carbone 14 drew the thesis that the passage of the sun rays in the megallitehes served the Neolithic farmers to determine the seedling season and harvests. Astres Observatory, the Moon, primitive sundial, temple dedicated to sun worship, large funeral room, first agricultural calendar, place of healing? At that time, no certainty can be emitted.
Stonehenge's visit
To visit Stonehenge, we start with a museum retracing the elements known to date on the history of the site. The museum has 250 objects and tools of daily life that were used in the Neolithic, the reconstituted face of the skeleton of a man of the time (who would be 5000 years old!), as well as a huge stone block of sandstone – stone of sarsen, abundant in the United Kingdom – with explanations of the techniques used to pull and lift the blocks. A video projection and the reconstruction of a Neolithic village (cabanas, chimney, paillasse) allow you to discover the way of life of the people of the time. 
The crowd rushes to Stonehenge for the summer solstice – Photo credit: Flickr – Paul Townsend
Then, a shuttle – included in the ticket – will transfer you to the famous stone circle, to turn the menhirs and imagine a little jumping back 4,000 years. If you have the opportunity to visit Stonehenge on the day of the next winter or summer solstice, then the show will be grandiose because you will see the perfect alignment of the sun to its rising or to its sunset in the megalith axis. In addition, we give you good news: the days of the solstices, the site is available for free!
Practical information to visit Stonehenge
Visiting hours
Until March 29, 2018, the site is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., except December 26 and January 1 (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). The site is closed on December 24th and 25th.On June and December solstice days, schedules can be fluctuating: consult Stonehenge's official website for information.Warning: The last visit is two hours before the site is closed, i.e. at 3 p.m.
Rates
- Adults: £16.50 (18.58 €)
- Children (5-15 years old): £9,90 (11,15 €)
- Students (on justification) or seniors (over 60 years): £14.90 (16.78 €)
- Family rate (2 adults, 3 children maximum): £42,90 (48,32 €)
It is essential to book your tickets in advance, online because there is no ticketing on site.
How to get to Stonehenge from London?
From the capital tempacular of the United Kingdom, there are several options available to you to visit Stonehenge:
- By train: from London, South West Trains offers direct trains to Salisbury,
- By bus: take the Stonehenge Tour Bus to Salisbury Station,
- By car: take the M4 west towards Spring Gardens, then the M3 direction Hampshire, the A 303 and the A 360.
Main photo credit: Flickr – Ann Wuyts
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