Font de Gaume-- what are our chances?
 

My kids are interested in seeing the caves but pre-sale tickets are of course sold out. We would be going mid-week the 2nd week of May...I'm wondering if anyone has experience trying to get tickets the day of the tour? My understanding is that we would need to get in line pretty early (party of 5). Thanks!

Another old gem is Rouffignac, a bit north of Font du Gaume. You board a little train and it is 'original' not refurbished like Lascaux-- perhaps you could try there. I'd say your chances and slim and none for tickets at FdeG. We got our FdeG tickets in January for September. People like Padirac alot, which is a bit south of Sarlat; we drove there in September, and it didnt seem very crowded. But Sarlat and its environs are so beautiful, you will not miss the caves should it not work out.

Your chances are basically zero unless you are willing to get in line at dawn, and a party of 5 has nothing going for it even then. There are 80 spaces allotted per day, about 60 of them reserved in advance. The rest are for the folks who are willing to stand outside for 3+ hours in early morning. I really, really doubt 5 would get in unless the flu had wiped out a large family with tickets.

I know the owners and stopped by last week to try to get tickets for friends, and no go....

There are lots of other prehistoric caves and sites in the Dordogne, you know. La Roque-St-Christophe, La Maison Forte de Reignet, Le Village Troglodytique de la Madeleine, Rouffignac, Bara-Bahau, Lascaux II (and now Lascaux IV).

Rouffignac is all about bears and scratchings (like Barah-Bahau). Padirac doesn't even begin to compare with a chromatic prehistoric cave - it's like Luray caverns, only even more hokey. An underground river with stalactites and stalagmites. It's in a category completely other than a prehistoric cave, particularly a chromatic one. And it's immensely touristy - doesn't inspire a whole lot of thought about how Magdalenian Man lived 25,000 years ago. It's more about whether you want to buy the picture the guides take of you going down the river or not.

Go to Lascaux II. It's a reproduction, but a really fine one, and you will at least get a sense of the wonder of the art of Magdalenian Man and how he crafted the art he left us in his caves.

Thanks for the replies. I have actually been, years ago, but the family has not. I love this part of France & can't wait to return.

Rouffignac looks interesting. I haven't been there before.

Rouffignac is really more than just the bear beds and scratchings. Even though they are not polychrome, there are many engravings of mammoths, bison and rhinoceros to see. When we were there, there were no tours in English. The guide narrated in French, but we were given an audio guide in English. Lascaux II was more impressive.

One site StCirq mentioned that I think would be fun and very interesting for children is La Roque-St.-Christophe.
http://www.roque-st-christophe.com/?lang=en