With jutting limestone cliffs, lush green forests, and steep hillsides dotted with the medieval châteaux of the lords of Tayac, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac (layz-ay-zee-duh-tay-ak; pop. 900) is the picture-perfect base for travel to the Vézère River’s famous caves; many of them, with the exception of Lascaux, are less than 20min. from the centre-ville by foot. The nearby Vézère River provides an idyllic setting as it flows past Les Eyzies and into some of France’s most picturesque landscapes. The village exhausts the prehistoric theme when it comes to hotels and shops, but rustic restaurants serving duck specialties and Bergerac wines prove that the city is more than just a tourist destination.
Facing away from the train station, turn right and walk 500m down av. de la Préhistoire to reach the centre-ville (5min.).
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac hosts many tourists, so rooms are plentiful but expensive. The tourist office has a complete list of B&Bs in the area (€29-37 for 1-2 people), and avenue de la Préhistoire is lined with small hotels and chambres d’hote, many of which are moderately priced. Drivers will notice signs along the main roads advertising fermes (farms) with camping space (€3-8). Some village homes rent rooms for €25-48 during the summer; look for chambres signs, especially on the east end of town.
From April to October, a market runs the length of town. (Open M 9am-1pm.) The market at Halle des Eyzies, just past the centre-ville on route de Sarlat, houses stalls selling pricey but high-quality gâteau aux noix (walnut cake), foie gras, and Bergerac wine. (Open daily from mid-June to mid-Sept. 9:30am-1pm and 2:30-7pm.) These delicacies can also be found in specialty shops along avenue de la Préhistoire, the town’s main street. Get groceries at Relais de Mousquetaires, route de Sarlat. (Open M-Sa 8:30am-12:30pm and 3-7pm.)
Musée L’Abri Pataud. Sitting on the site of a prehistoric abri (shelter) where reindeer hunters lived for over 20,000 years, this museum provides an in-depth explanation of the region’s archaeological finds. A selection of the thousands of artifacts recovered from the adjacent excavation site is on display. The 18,600-year-old remains of a teenage girl cradling her infant found on the site is the highlight of the abri and may represent a link between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon man. (☎05 53 06 92 46; www.semitour.com. Open July-Aug. daily 10am-7pm; Sept.-Oct. and Apr. M-F and Su; Nov.-Mar. M-Th 10am-12:30pm and 2-5:30pm. Hours subject to change; call ahead for details. 1hr. tours in French; call for times; reservations required for groups. Tours in English by reservation. €5.80, ages 6-12 €3.80, under 6 free.)
Musée National De Préhistoire. In a château overlooking the village, this museum showcases a collection of prehistoric discoveries from the many caves around Les Eyzies. The permanent exhibit offers a high-tech presentation of prehistoric cultures. Displays include the remains of a Neanderthal infant and prehistoric etchings of bison. English explanations are available at the entrance of each room. (1 rue de Musée. ☎05 53 06 45 65; www.musee-prehistoire-eyzies.fr. Open July-Aug. daily 9:30am-6:30pm; Sept. and June M and W-Su 9:30am-6pm; Oct.-May M and W-Su 9:30am-12:30pm and 2-5:30pm. English tours by reservation. Wheelchair-accessible. €5, ages 18-25 €3.50, under 18 free; with 1hr. French tour €10/8.50/5.)
The Lascaux caves are 2km up the road from Montignac, 23km northeast of Les Eyzies on D706. The train station nearest to Montignac is 10km away at Condat-le-Lardin. Trains run from Les Eyzies to Condat-le-Lardin via Niversac (45min., 1 per day, €16). Taxis (☎05 53 50 86 61 or 51 80 46) will pick you up from the station. Trans-Périgord (☎05 53 59 01 48) runs 2 buses per day Sept.-June from Périgueux and 3 from Sarlat; call or check at the stations for times and prices. Making the trip by bike is possible for those who can handle the hilly countryside and the steep climb from Montignac to Lascaux.
The world’s most famous prehistoric cave paintings line the ceilings of Lascaux (lahss-koh), nicknamed “the Sistine Chapel of prehistory.” In 1940, four teenagers chasing after their runaway dog discovered a small hole near some tree roots. When they came back the next day to explore further, they stumbled into this ancient cave of wonders. They decided to keep it a secret, but—fortunately for the rest of the world—they could only stay quiet about their amazing discovery for three days. After welcoming hordes of visitors, Lascaux closed to the public in 1963 because the humidity from the viewers’ breath bred algae and spurred the formation of microscopic mineral deposits on the paintings that nature had preserved for 17,000 years. Today, people line up to see Lascaux II, a duplicate of the original that offers one of the best guided English and French cave tours in the valley. This is no second-rate tourist trap; sculptors spent over a decade shaping the new caves’ walls to match the contours of the original precisely, and the new paintings were crafted with the same techniques as the originals. Lascaux also reveals the surprising sophistication of the prehistoric artwork. The ancient artists used perspective to give the paintings depth and often used one line to define the shape of two animals, giving the huge murals a fascinating unity. (☎05 53 51 95 03; www.semitour.com. Open July-Aug. daily 9am-7pm; Sept.-Oct. and Apr.-June daily 10am-noon and 2-6pm; Nov.-Mar. Tu-Su 9am-noon and 2-5pm. Ticket office at pl. Bertran-de-Born open July-Aug. daily 9am until tickets sell out; Sept.-June sold at cave entrance. 40min. tour in English, French, German, or Spanish. Reserve ahead for July-Aug. €8.20, ages 6-12 €6.20, under 6 free.)
In Thonac, Le Thot Espace Cro-Magnon, 6km from Lascaux on D706, serves as a great introduction to Lascaux and local prehistoric discoveries, painting a picture of ancient life, from hunting to cave painting. Le Thot also features the 10% of Lascaux’s art not reproduced in Lascaux II, and a small zoo full of prehistoric animal descendants. (☎05 53 50 70 44; www.semitour.com. Open July-Aug. daily 10am-7pm; Sept. and Apr.-June daily 10am-6pm; from Oct. to mid-Nov. 10am-noon and 2-6pm; from mid-Nov. to Feb. Tu-Su 10am-12:30pm and 2-5:30pm. €5.70, ages 6-12 €3.70; discount with Lascaux II ticket.)
Numerous campgrounds dot the Vézère Valley near Montignac. Five minutes from the centre-ville and within walking distance of Lascaux, Le Moulin du Bleufond offers 83 shady spots, a restaurant, a tennis court, a pool, and Internet access. (☎05 53 51 83 95; www.bleufond.com. Wheelchair-accessible. Open from Apr. to mid-Sept. €4-5.30 per person, children €2.40-€3.20. Electricity €3.20. AmEx/MC/V.) The Montignac tourist office, pl. Bertran-de-Born (☎05 53 51 82 60; www.perigordnoir.com), shares a building with the Lascaux II ticket office. Free tours in English and French of Montignac’s medieval section are offered on Thursdays at 8:30pm during July and August.
Grotte Du Grand Roc . A 1.5km walk northwest of Les Eyzies (15min.), the Grotte du Grand Roc is a geologic treasure chest. Halfway up the chalk cliffs, the cave commands a spectacular view of the valley. While the tour of the cave is short and only features a small portion of the cave, the millions of stalactites, stalagmites, and eccentriques —small calcite accretions that grow neither straight down nor straight up—make the visit a delight. The cave also features troglodyte dwellings that are still inhabited. (☎05 53 06 92 70; www.grandroc.com. Open daily July-Aug. 9:30am-7pm; Sept.-Oct. and Apr.-June 10am-6pm; early Nov. and Feb.-Mar. 10am-12:30pm and 2-5pm. 30min. tour in French every 30min., or in both French and English according to demand. Written guides available in English. €7.50, under 18 €3.50, under 5 free.)
Grotte De Font-De-Gaume. The last cave in the Aquitaine basin with multicolored paintings still open to the public, Grotte de Font-de-Gaume is 1km east of Les Eyzies on D47 (dir.: Sarlat). Though the spectacular 15,000-year-old friezes—completed over the course of hundreds of years—have faded slightly, they are still visible and display the innovative artistic technique of the ancient painters, who incorporated the natural contours of the cave for depth. Locals discovered the paintings in the 1700s but did not realize their importance until two centuries later, by which time several murals had decayed or been defaced by graffiti. Consequently, the most brilliant colors have been preserved only in the cavern’s deeper recesses. The scene of a black reindeer licking the nose of its kneeling red cousin demonstrates expressive use of detail, but the voûte (vault) where 12 bison stampede across the ceiling is the undisputed highlight. The cave can be chilly, so bring an extra layer. Cave access is limited to 180 visitors per day; reserve four weeks ahead for visits in July or August and two weeks ahead for September through June. Meanwhile, 50 same-day tickets go on sale at 9:30am; arrive early in summer. (☎05 53 06 86 00; fax 35 26 18. Open from mid-May to mid-Sept. M-F and Su 9:30am-5:30pm; from mid-Sept. to mid-May M-F and Su 9:30am-12:30pm and 2-5:30pm. Visit only by 1hr. tour; tours in French, in English based on demand. €6.50, ages 18-25 €4.50, under 18 free.)
Roque Saint-Christophe. Northeast of Les Eyzies on D706 (8km), the Roque St-Christophe is the most extensive cave dwelling ever discovered. Five floors of limestone terraces house 100 cave shelters 80m high and over 400m long. From 40,000 BC until AD 1580, when it was destroyed by a Catholic army attacking the Protestants who sought refuge here, this sanctuary served as a defensive fort and housed over 3000 people. Detailed pamphlets (available in English) guide visitors on a 45min. loop through the complex. Spectacular re-creations of the 11th-century kitchen, armory, and quarry, give visitors an idea of what life was like during the Middle Ages. (☎05 53 50 70 45; www.roque-st-christophe.com. Open daily July-Aug. 10am-8pm; Sept. and Apr.-June 10am-6:30pm; from Oct. to mid-Nov and Feb.-Mar. 10am-6pm; from mid-Nov. to Jan. 2-5pm. Last entry 45min. before close. €7, students €6, ages 12-16 €4, ages 5-11 €3.)
Abri Du Cap-Blanc. Only 12 figures, less detailed than those in Font-de-Gaume, are visible on the sculptured frieze of Abri du Cap-Blanc, northeast of Les Eyzies on D48 (7km). Hunters etched horses, bison, and reindeer onto the thick limestone walls 15,000 years ago. The centerpiece is a 2m long herd of animals. (☎05 53 59 60 30 or 06 86 00; www.leseyzies.com/cap-blanc. Open from mid-May to mid-Sept. M-F and Su 9:30am-5:30pm; from mid-Sept. to mid-May M-F and Su 9:30am-12:30pm and 2-5:30pm. Visit only by 45min. French tour with English translations. €6.50, under 18 free.)
Grotte De Rouffignac. Fifteen kilometers northwest of Les Eyzies in Rouffignac on the road to Périgueux, La Grotte de Rouffignac, also called the Grotte aux Cent Mammouths, houses 250 pieces of prehistoric artwork. Etchings of rhinos and horses are interspersed with striking paintings of shaggy mammoths. The tour (via train) lasts an hour. (☎05 53 05 41 71; www.grottederouffignac.fr. Open daily July-Aug. 9-11:30am and 2-6pm; Sept.-Oct. and Apr.-June 10-11:30am and 2-5pm. Tours in French only. Tickets sold same day from 9am for morning visits, from noon for afternoon visits. Wheelchair-accessible. €6.20, under 18 €3.90.)
Grotte Des Combarelles. Two kilometers from Grotte de Font-de-Gaume, this cave has lost its paintings to humidity, but the etchings in the “Lascaux of engravings” are spectacular even without color. Over 600 realistic carvings depict lions, donkeys, rhinos, and early humans. The six-person tours are wonderfully personalized; reserve well in advance for the summer. (☎05 53 06 86 00. Reservations required. Hours, prices, website, and tour information same as Font-de-Gaume.)
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