Pech Merle Caves

Head to the Pech Merle caves if you want to see real prehistoric cave paintings, 29,000 years old. While the International Center for Cave Art at Lascaux is a wonderful replication of the the original Lascaux, all the paintings you’ll see are replicas. If you want to see the real thing this is a great option and arguably the art rivals the better-known almost impossible to get into cave art at Grotte de Font-de-Gaume. You’ll be lead through the caves, seeing art of horses, mammoths, deer, bison, and some really cool hand prints. There is also a Cro-Magnon footprint that’s preserved. Most of the tours are in French, but every so often on random days there is an English tour. For the French tours you’ll get a pamphlet that’s in English. The tour lasted about an hour and you’re advised to arrive 30 minutes before the tour. Book ahead via their website, especially in summer.

Hours:
Open daily from Saturday, March 24 to November 4

  • March 24 – Jul 10: 09:30 – 12:00, 13:30 – 17:00
  • Jul 11- Aug 31: 09:15 – 17:00
  • Sep 1 – Nov 4: 09:30 – 12:00, 13:30 – 17:00

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