Tour of the Lascaux 4 cave
The Lascaux cave is to be found at Montignac in the Périgord. It was first discovered in 1940. This discovery was a highly significant event in the history of prehistoric art. The skilfully-rendered hunting scenes feature around a hundred different animal figures which have been observed with remarkable accuracy. Equally notable are the vivid colours employed and the life-like character of the depictions. At the start of the 1970s, a life-size reproduction of the Lascaux cave was created in the Centre International d’Art pariétal de Montignac (the Montignac International Cave Art Centre), also known as “Lascaux IV”. This has become the number one site in the world for those interested in cave art. A tour of Lascaux 4 lasts around 2 hours 30 minutes (the guided part of the tour lasts for about an hour, then the rest of the tour is self-guided with the help of a tablet).
Tour of the Proumeyssac pit cave
The Proumeyssac pit cave was discovered in 1907 and christened “the crystal cathedral”. Today it’s the largest pit cave that’s open to the public in Périgord and is located deep in a mixed oak-sweet chestnut forest in the municipality of Audrix. A tunnel provides easy access to this immense underground space, the walls of which are adorned with an incredibly dense array of exceptionally beautiful cave formations. This cathedral of stalactites and stalagmites is rendered all the more stunning by the sound and light effects that sweep across the cave walls. Visitors explore the cave either by being lowered down in a basket or accessing it via a tunnel, viewing such formations as ‘La méduse’ (the jellyfish) ‘La sirène’ (the siren) and ‘La cascade’ (the waterfall). The tour lasts 45 minutes and is led by experienced guides. It’s a day out you’ll never forget!
