Which Dordogne caves can be easily seen without advance reservations?
 

I am well aware that the sought-after choices like Peche Merle will be booked long in advance. But what about ones like Lascaux 2, and any others (on our first trip to the region). We're thinking about mid-September weekdays as being light days, but with no experience, I don't know how to judge. Recommendations much appreciated. Thanks.

Lascaux and Rouffignac

Lascaux, Rouffignac, Bara-Barau, Le Grand Roc...lots of second-tier sites.You won't get into the really good ones likeFont de Gaume unless you get up really early and getin line.

We got a reservation in June by calling Peche Merle the night before.

I prefer Rouffignac to Font-de-Gaume, in part because it is so different from the other caves.

If you get onto the Pech Merle website you can still book tickets for tours in late Sept. They may be in French, but are still worth doing, as the guide is usually very good at ensuring you understand what you're looking at, and they handout English info cards before you enter the cave.

In Les Eyzies, I also think Abri du Cap Blanc is also worth visiting - it's different again to the others and really interesting, and they allow larger groups through more times each day.

You'll always be able to get into Lascaux II within a day, usually the same day. Get to the ticket office in the morning. Your tour if it must be in English will be mid-afternoon usually. Spend the time in between in Montignac, a delightful town.

Our b&b host called Pech Merle about 10 AM for us in a mid-september, and got us a 3 PM reservation

Saving. Thanks to all for the good information.

BTW, as a general comment, mid-September weekdays here are not at all light on tourism. Maybe this year a bit less than usual, but things are thrumming here well through the end of September.

Just went online this afternoon and got two tickets for Peche Merle on Friday. Give it a try.

You can almost always get tickets to Pech-Merle easily. It's not in the Dordogne, and tourism patterns are totally different "down there."

Lascaux 4 opens on December 15th. That will take pressure off Lascaux 2. (In case you're wondering "what about Lascaux 3?" that is a mobile exhibition.)

Goy tickets for the 2 pm Lascaux II tour in English last week on site, at about noon. We took advantage of the waiting time to wander up the small road to a charming outdoor cafe for beers and cheese sandwiches. Fun, and we were super impressed with the cave art.

Had advance tickets to Pech Merle for this afternoon but by mistake we showed up yesterday (Sunday) instead. We had to wait 30 minutes for the next tour but they allowed us to exchange our tickets, no problem. Others were getting in off a short waiting list as well (3:45 pm tour). Tours are in French but the guides do speak English and were helpful, along with the printed English commentay (in large type so you can easily read it in the dim light).