Discovered in 1940 by four kids and their dog, the caves were closed to the public. Look at the descriptions on-line and the scheduling challenges and decide which one is right for you. The best-known cave paintings are at Lascaux, 14 miles north of Sarlat. We went to all 5 and I would not have missed any of them. There are also Rouffignac, Bara-Bahau, the Grotte de St-Cirq (also known as the Grotte du Sorcier), and a handful of others. That's a good idea for an English tour, but you could probably see them without advance reservations. Font-de-Gaume and Combarelles are in Les Eyzies, 25 kms from Sarlat. The advantage of Lascaux IV is the excellent museum where you can take pictures. These are very well done replicas, but they are replicas. ![]() At the end is a large room with many drawings on the ceiling.Īnother option is Lascaux IV (II is also available). Definitely worth a days excursion was the pilgrimage site of Rocamadour, situated a 1-1/2 hour drive from Sarlat on an upriver tributary of the Dordogne. Narration is only in French with an English translation on a tablet to read. Since the tour also features the National Prehistory Museum (Muse Nationale de Prhistoire), see some of the magnificent artifacts found in the caves of the Vzre Valley in addition to visiting the sites themselves. Map: Cro-Magnon Caves near Sarlat-la-Canda BEST OF THE REST: CARCASSONNE Map: Carcassonne's La Cit The Dordogne is famous for its. Because the train holds lots of people and it's a much larger cave, it can handle many more people and tends not to have lines. Visit prehistoric sites in the Dordogne on a full-day tour that includes the replica Lascaux IV Cave and UNESCO-listed Rouffignac Cave. If you don't want to get up early but want to see an original cave, you can go to Rouffignac, where you ride a train into the cave. September times are probably similar to May.Īt the same ticket office you can get tickets to Les Combarelles, which has engravings rather than paintings) and Abri du Cap Blanc, which has amazing sculptures of horses (but is an overhang rather than a cave). The campsite is near the caves of Lascaux, the most important site in the world of Prehistory in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac (listed site at UNESCO), the castles of Beynac, Castelnaud, cities and walled towns of La Roque Gageac, Domme, and Eyrignac and Marqueyssac gardens. We were there in May and arriving at 8 or even later would have been fine for a tour (we needed to be there by 8 to be sure of an English tour). You line up outside the ticket office just east of Les Eyzies to get tickets. Cougnac is another major cave, but in the opposite direction and we did not go there.įont de Gaume is the premier cave - the only original cave with colored paintings still open to the public. This discovery was a highly significant event in the history of. ![]() You have several choices - here are the major ones near Les Eyzies and Sarlat that we visited. The Lascaux cave is to be found at Montignac in the Prigord.
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