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