Kevin, I understand what you mean about not being that interested in Lascaux II as it's a reproduction. I kind of felt the same way, and unfortunately couldn't get that out of my mind when touring. I booked an English tour, but ended up with a large Japanese group whose guide was speaking Japanese loudly. I think I was the only English-speaking person on the tour! It wasn't the greatest experience for me - but maybe would have been better under different circumstances.

Font de Gaume, on the other hand, was a wonderful, awe-inspiring experience. That was inspite of being with a small group of too-talkative American women. They were talking to each other about other things while the wonderful tourguide was trying to explain the paintings. Embarrassing (me being an American!).
Anyway, Font de Gaume is well worth it.

I think my favorite, though, was Pech Merle, which has a little of everything, and is not overrun with tourists. Actually, it was definitely my favorite. Padirac was interesting, but definitely a "tourist attraction". I was there in May. I imagine in the summer there must be really long lines to get in. However, it can accommodate a lot of people at once.

We went to Pech Merle in May. We enjoyed it but even though it wasn't busy it did feel rushed - and we overstayed our 50 minutes and had over an hour in there.
I hate to think what it is like in summer.

We also visited Grotte de Presque, in Lot, since it was close to where we stayed. It is a standard stalagmite/stalactite cave, but very good. Not large and only found when the road was built - and even then not explored for another 100 years. the guide spoke English, we were allowed to take as many photos as we wanted and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
http://www.grottesdepresque.com/en/index.php

Fortunately, we will be going during the off-off season, so I understand we won't have to fight the crowds. On the downside, it seems as if many caves (as well as castles) have much restricted opening days and times. We'll just have to work around that.

And expecting pretty much lousy weather - in fact, a bit of rain sounds really nice right about now !

Really appreciate all the insight. I'm amazed at how much there is to see and do in the area and since I am sure we won't get to even half of it in 10 days, it's nice to have the input to try to narrow things down.

Will definitely give Lascaux a miss. Seems as if a number of the other caves have very good guided tours and figure we will start with the museum in Les Eyzies to get a good overall grounding.

-Kevin

Well the great thing about caves is that bad weather doesn't matter too much. Caves are cool and damp anyway.

Well, we just came back from Lascaux, which I have now seen 5 or 6 times, and every time I am blown away by how beautiful it is. Even today, when they were taking tours through every 10 minutes, (staggered) and I had no great expectations. But since our visitor could only come this week, off we went.

I still find the Salle des Taureaux incredibly moving. I've never seen a reproduction that does it justice in any way. So obviously I recommend Lascaux.

My hair stands on end every time I visit Lascaux. I'm sorry you've chosen not to go there. I don't understand the "it's only a reproduction" mentality, because in order for there to BE a reproduction, amazing artists and craftsmen had to figure out, in laborious detail, exactly how those paintings were created and recreate them exactly the same way. So not only do you get to see exactly what you would see in the original, you get the benefit of a thorough explanation of the techniques used to create it - something you don't get in any of the other caves.

Hear hear!

My thoughts also.

We put off Lascaux II on the first few visitis to the Dordogne because it was not "the real thing". We finally went there on a later trip and it is amazing. Took my father in law there several years later after visiting Font de Gaume & Pech Merle - and this was his favorite cave also. He thought Font de Gaume was not that interesting.

Stu Dudley

Hmmm... 3 people I truly respect pushing a visit ? I'll have to give it some more thought.

I am sure if no one told me it was a reproduction, I'd happily go and be amazed and think it was well worth the price of admission.

And it's clear that the technique involved in reproducing so exactly something so ancient is pretty impressive.

And yet, I kind of like the fact that there is this truly marvelous, incredibly significant piece of the world's patrimony that is being protected from the ravaging hordes and so I won't get to see it and can only read about it or watch a documentary about it and imagine what it must be like in person.

For those who have been, is the Museum in Eyziès worthwhile ? I was thinking of starting there to get the background and understanding before venturing out into the caves.

-Kevin

Here's another thing about Lascaux: obviously, with all the years of foot traffic, the paintings in the original caves have faded. At Lascaux, you can see just how vivid and brilliant they were when first painted.

And I'm not sure you're going to get much education about cave art techniques, or even caves, at the museum in Les Eyzies. It's pretty much just stones and bones. I haven't been since they totally renovated it a few years ago since I have plenty of stones and bones in my own front yard, so maybe someone else can chime in.

The maison de la presse in Les Eyzies has an impressive collection of books, many in English, about cave art and all things prehistoric. The tourist office has a few good ones, too.

The renewed museum at Les Eyzies is far more than stones and bones, although I do not recall much on cave paintings. See pictures 19-21 in this set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623164797649/

'Here's another thing about Lascaux: obviously, with all the years of foot traffic, the paintings in the original caves have faded. At Lascaux, you can see just how vivid and brilliant they were when first painted.'

Well, that's my feeling exactly about Font de Gaume. It's amazing to see the original - but you can't see it the same way you can see Lascaux. In Font de Gaume, the guide has to really show you where the various lines begin and end. The cave has been open for a long time, and has suffered.

At Lascaux, however, the colours are as they were originally - both in the cave and in the reproduction. You walk in, and 'wow' it's right there. What I'd suggest, though not possible for very many people, is to go on a cold Februrary day just after they reopen, following the January holiday. We did that, and were the ONLY TWO people in the cave. No one else waiting to come in, a guide all our own. But even today, with hordes of people, it's still magic.