Pech Merle day of Tickets
 

We are not sure what exact day we will be at Pech Merle in mid September. Will we have difficulty getting tickets if we just go early in the morning on the day we arrive?

Who knows, really?

It's not a matter of getting there super-early or anything, because the place doesn't open up until 9:30, closes at noon, re-opens at 1:30, and stays open until 5:00. It's a matter of how many tickets they have aready sold for that day, and most people who really want to see it will have planned ahead. In mid-September you are not likely to have an issue, especially if you go on a weekend, when it is less crowded, but still, if it's important to see this amazing site, I would organize myself ahead of time and buy tickets on line and make sure to be there 15 minutes before your tour.

The Pech-Merle official website explains all this and more in detail.

We visited the Dordogne in mid-May in 2015. We didn't pre-purchase any tickets for the caves. We walked right into Peche Merle. No lines at all. The only cave we couldn't get into is Font Du Gaume (sp?). I would assume you won't have any trouble getting into Peche Merle in mid-September because children will be back in school, so there won't be families traveling at that time. Maybe someone else on this forum who has been there in September will chime in. One suggestion would be to purchase tickets online a few days before (when you might have a better idea of when you will be at Peche Merle) if you are nervous about not getting in.

Thanks, both. We will be on the Lot River on a boat cruise, the point of which is to not be too much on a schedule :) I think you have a good idea there Karenwoo. I did see that they are busier during the week, perhaps there are school tours, so it might be best to try to be there on there weekend. Hopefully we will be able to get a taxi or bus up to the cave. It sounds like it's a bit far from the river.

We had a car. I remember that the area where Peche Merle is located is a bit more wilder (less populated) than the Sarlat region.

We went to PM in mid-September 2016. I thought we'd have trouble, but our B&B host called up and reserved them for us.