The world's finest collection of Upper Palaeolithic artefacts lives in a cliff-side building above a village of 900 people. Pair it with Font-de-Gaume, Cap-Blanc and Les Combarelles and you have the most concentrated day of prehistoric art available anywhere on earth — or, better still, a full week.
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil is a small and unremarkable village by any standard except one: it sits at the confluence of the Vézère and Beune rivers, within a short drive of more prehistoric rock shelters and painted caves than anywhere else on earth. UNESCO recognised the whole valley in 1979. The Musée National de Préhistoire, rebuilt and reopened in 2004, holds the definitive collection of Palaeolithic tools, bones, sculpture and portable art excavated from sites across the valley over the past 150 years. It is worth a full day on its own. Combined with the painted and carved caves in the surrounding hills, it anchors one of the most intellectually rewarding trips you can make in Périgord Noir.
The Museum Collection in Full
The permanent collection spans more than 400,000 years of human prehistory in the region, from the earliest Acheulean hand-axes — heavy, teardrop-shaped tools chipped from flint by Homo heidelbergensis — through to the refined art objects of the Magdalenian period, the cultural moment that produced Lascaux some 17,000 years ago. The building itself is embedded into the limestone cliff face above the village, and the architecture does something quietly brilliant: it makes you aware, at every turn, that the rock you are inside was once the roof of a human home.
The star of the collection is the Venus of Laussel, a limestone bas-relief of a woman holding a bison horn, carved approximately 25,000 years ago and discovered at a nearby rock shelter in 1911. She is about 44 centimetres tall, traces of red ochre still visible on the stone. She is not the only female figure in the building: the museum holds several Venus figurines and carved fragments from multiple sites, and seeing them together — their shared vocabulary of form, their emphasis on fertility and abundance — is more affecting than any single object in isolation could be.
Beyond the figurines, look for the decorated bison bones and antler: spear-throwers carved with animals in motion, needles made from bone so fine they would not embarrass a modern tailor, and engraved stones that appear abstract until a guide shows you how to hold them to the light. The museum is well lit and thoughtfully sequenced. Bilingual panels throughout are clear without being condescending. Allow two to three hours for the permanent collection; longer if you join one of the guided visits, which run in French and English during the summer season.
Opening hours: open daily except Tuesday, July–August 09:30–18:30; September–June generally 09:30–17:30 (check the museum website for seasonal variations). Admission: approximately €9 for adults, reduced rates for under-26s and EU citizens under 26 enter free. Children under 18 free.
The Caves and Shelters Around Les Eyzies
Font-de-Gaume — Book Weeks in Advance
Font-de-Gaume is one of the last decorated prehistoric caves in the world still open to the general public, and it may not remain so indefinitely — visitor numbers are already tightly controlled to protect the paintings. The polychrome bison, mammoths and reindeer on its walls were painted around 17,000 years ago using manganese black and iron oxide red, and they retain a freshness that is genuinely startling. The cave is 800 metres from the museum, an easy walk along the main road.
Admission is by timed ticket only, and groups are limited to a maximum of twelve people. In high summer, tickets sell out weeks — sometimes months — in advance. Book directly through the official French government booking portal as soon as your travel dates are confirmed. Do not leave this until you arrive. Tickets cost approximately €13 for adults. The visit lasts around 45 minutes inside the cave and is not suitable for visitors with significant mobility limitations, as the passage narrows and the floor is uneven.
Abri du Cap-Blanc — A Sculptured Frieze Unlike Anything Else
About 6 kilometres east of Les Eyzies, the Abri du Cap-Blanc contains a Magdalenian sculptured frieze of horses, bison and deer carved in high relief directly into the rock of the shelter wall. The scale is unexpected — the central horse is over a metre long — and the quality of the carving is extraordinary. A small on-site museum provides context. Tickets cost around €10; visits are guided and run throughout the day in season. This one is easier to book at shorter notice than Font-de-Gaume.
Les Combarelles — Engraved Lines by the Hundred
Les Combarelles, also within walking distance of the museum, is an engraved cave rather than a painted one: over 600 animal figures incised into the walls of a long, narrow passage. The style is different again — less immediately dramatic than the polychrome work at Font-de-Gaume, but, once your eyes adjust, deeply compelling. Group sizes are again small and advance booking is recommended in high season. Adult tickets approximately €13.
A Prehistory Week from a Private Base in Périgord Noir
Many of our guests find that one day is not enough. The Vézère Valley has more than a dozen significant sites, and when you are based in a stone farmhouse or private villa in the countryside, you can approach them at your own pace — no checking out, no shuttling between hotels, no competition for restaurant tables at 12:30 sharp. Below is a loose itinerary that works well from a holiday rental in the Sarlat or Les Eyzies area, where most sites are within 15 to 30 minutes' drive.
- Day 1 — Les Eyzies: Arrive at the Musée National de Préhistoire when it opens. Spend the morning with the collection, then walk to Font-de-Gaume for a pre-booked afternoon slot. Return to your villa via the riverside road through Manaurie.
- Day 2 — Cap-Blanc and Combarelles: Both sites in one morning is achievable; the afternoon is free for the river or the market at Le Bugue (Tuesday and Saturday).
- Day 3 — Lascaux IV, Montignac: The replica cave at Lascaux IV near Montignac is 25 minutes north of Les Eyzies and requires a good two to three hours. The reproduction is so technically accomplished that most visitors leave more moved than they expected. Montignac has excellent lunch options.
- Day 4 — Grotte de Rouffignac: The so-called Cave of a Hundred Mammoths, reached by a small electric train that runs 8 kilometres into the hillside. About 20 minutes from Les Eyzies. Extraordinary and very different in atmosphere from the narrow passages of Font-de-Gaume.
- Day 5 — Rest and the Beune Valley: Walk or cycle the Beune Valley between Les Eyzies and Marquay. The landscape itself — chalk cliffs, walnut orchards, the river barely moving — is part of understanding why people lived here for so long. The advantage of a full kitchen in a private villa is that you can pack a proper lunch and stay out all day without thinking about restaurant hours.
Sarlat, the most practical base for this circuit, is 20 minutes east of Les Eyzies by car. Périgueux, the departmental capital with its excellent Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie du Périgord — another outstanding prehistory collection, and less visited than Les Eyzies — is 45 minutes north. Staying in a private villa rather than a hotel gives you the flexibility to restructure the itinerary around booking availability, weather, and how long your children — or you — actually want to spend underground.
Age Suitability
The museum is well suited to children from around eight upwards; younger children will find the scale and pace difficult. Font-de-Gaume and Les Combarelles involve narrow passages and low ceilings and may be uncomfortable or unsuitable for very young children, those with claustrophobia, or anyone with restricted mobility. Cap-Blanc is more accessible. Lascaux IV is purpose-built for families and handles all ages well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to book Font-de-Gaume in advance?
Yes — emphatically. In July and August, tickets can sell out four to six weeks ahead. Book through the official French government cultural sites portal (billetterie.monument-national.fr) as soon as your travel dates are fixed. If you arrive without a booking, there is a small daily allocation of walk-up tickets released at the cave entrance at 09:30, but these are gone within minutes in high season.
How long should I allow for the Musée National de Préhistoire?
Allow a minimum of two hours for the permanent collection at a comfortable pace. If you plan to join a guided visit or spend time in the temporary exhibition spaces, three hours is more realistic. The museum café and shop are worth factoring in.
Is Les Eyzies suitable for a family holiday in the Dordogne with young children?
The museum is engaging for children from around eight, and the surrounding landscape — river, cliffs, walking paths — is naturally appealing. For younger children, Lascaux IV in Montignac is the best entry point into prehistoric art: it is purpose-built for family visits with interactive elements and good facilities. The caves themselves (Font-de-Gaume, Combarelles) involve narrow passages that can unsettle very young children.
What is the difference between the original Lascaux cave and Lascaux IV?
The original Lascaux cave has been closed to the public since 1963 because human breath was causing irreversible damage to the paintings. Lascaux IV, which opened in 2016 near Montignac, is a full-scale faithful reproduction of the original cave created using digital scanning and pigments that replicate the originals precisely. Most visitors are genuinely moved by it, despite knowing it is a replica.
How far is Les Eyzies from Sarlat?
Approximately 20 kilometres, or around 20 to 25 minutes by car on the D47 through the Beune Valley. The drive itself is beautiful and passes close to several prehistoric sites.
Can I visit multiple caves in a single day?
Yes, though you will want to pace yourselves. Font-de-Gaume and the museum make a natural full-day pairing. Cap-Blanc and Les Combarelles can comfortably be combined in a morning. Trying to visit more than two cave sites in a day tends to produce sensory overload — the sites deserve more attention than a hurried schedule allows.
Is there good food near Les Eyzies?
The village has several restaurants serving classic Périgord cooking — duck confit, foie gras, walnut salads, cèpe mushrooms in season. Le Bugue, 10 minutes west, has more choice and a good twice-weekly market. Many guests who stay in a self-catering villa with a full kitchen find that shopping at local markets and cooking in the evenings is one of the genuine pleasures of a Dordogne holiday — particularly after a long day underground.
When is the best time of year to visit?
May, June and September offer the best balance: sites are open, cave bookings are less fraught, temperatures are comfortable, and the valley is not overwhelmed with visitors. July and August are busy but manageable if you book well ahead. The museum is open year-round (closed Tuesdays); some smaller sites close from November to March.
The Vézère Valley rewards slow, unhurried exploration — and that is precisely what a holiday rental in the Dordogne makes possible. At Dordogne Collection, our properties in Périgord Noir are selected with this kind of itinerary in mind: close enough to Les Eyzies and the great prehistoric sites to make early-morning arrivals easy, private enough to decompress after a day spent in the deep past. If you are planning a luxury holiday in Périgord built around the caves and the museum, we are glad to help you find the right base — and to share what we know about making the most of the valley.