Montignac and Lascaux IV

May 6, 2019

I’ve waited years for this!

Back in 1981 I came to Europe for 10 weeks with my backpack and Eurail Pass in hand. I'd never been to Europe before so I was very excited for the whole experience.

I came to Sarlat then because Let's Go highly recommended it and it was in the Dordogne, where the Lascaux cave was. I don't remember Let's Go mentioning that the cave had been closed to the public since 1963 and I was shocked and surprised to learn that it wasn't within easy reach of Sarlat (without a car) and that it wasn't possible to visit the cave anyway. I went to the museum in Sarlat instead and enjoyed it (and I remember it being more interesting than the museum in Les Eyzies we visited on this trip).

Thirty-eight years later and I'm back. I've skipped Lascaux II (opened in 1983) altogether and today we had tickets for Lascaux IV, opened only a couple of years ago. (Lascaux III is a travelling exhibit.)

We started the day with a lovely breakfast spread for just the two of us. I was still full from last night, so one pain au chocolate, some fruit (strawberries!) and some cheese was plenty for me.

It was a short ride from Les Gaps (our chambre d'hôte) to Lascaux IV. There's a bike parking area in the main parking lot and lockers in the building. We were each given a token for a locker and that was ideal--especially since we'd worn our puffy down jackets and windproof rain jackets on the short downhill ride. I note that there was frost this morning.

Lascaux IV was fantastic! We had tickets for the English tour at 11:06 (yes, that precise) that I'd purchased online back in February. It was 20€ (each) well spent. The guided tour through the replica cave (very well done) lasted about an hour and the subsequent displays and films kept us busy or another couple of hours. I'm glad we allowed the whole day for this; I wouldn't want to rush it! I should add that the 11:06 tour was the earliest one in English available when I booked.

Photos are not allowed in the "cave" part of the tour, but in the "workshop" part, you can take photos to your heart's content. That's where these were taken.

From the video display of the history of the cave

Near the end of the visit, you can curate your own exhibit of prehistoric and modern art. This is part of mine.

The landscaping in front of the building includes a field of wildflowers.

Lascaux IV is housed in a beautiful modern building.

Afterward, we had lunch in the museum restaurant. It was after 2 and we figured we'd be taking our chances if we tried to eat in town. Then we went for a ride.

We headed up Lascaux hill, past Lascaux II (we saw a sign for a national monument further up but there was a school group milling around so we don't know if that was the actual cave location). We carried on and did a very pleasant loop along the ridge and down to the Vézère valley, rejoining our route from yesterday a km or so before Chateau de Losse.

In the mediæval city of Montignac. (Al's photo)

We wandered around the village of Montignac, sat in a park for a while, and then ate a relatively light dinner before returning to Les Gaps. A nice day and a tick off on my bucket list.

This doesn't include the 2 km piece from Les Gaps to the museum.

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Scott AndersonThis sounds really wonderful. I wanted to see Lascaux ever since my Art History 101 class, but of course normal people can’t see the real thing any more. Lascaux II didn’t really interest me when we biked through the Dordogne the last time, but this sounds well worth it.
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5 years ago

Jacquie GaudetIt was. Visiting the Grottes de Font de Gaume and Combarelles (while it's still possible) were the other highlights so far.
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5 years ago

Today's ride: 29 km (18 miles)
Total: 283 km (176 miles)

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