CaliNurse

Rec'd email reservation for 13:00 tour , 31 May at Font de Gaume. Hurray!

We will be driving from Sarlat.

For those who've been, how long did the tour take at Font de Gaume? Is there time to also tour Lascaux 2 later that afternoon (I think it is open until 6 pm) ?
We would stop that morning at Montignac for tickets , before heading down to Font de Gaume.
Perhaps dinner after Lascaux 2 tour, at Table du Terroir (hoping they are open on the last Tues evening of May--have emailed to ask).

Also--light until approx what time pre-summer(end of May/early June) ? i'm guessing country roads are quite dark once the sun sets, and not sure i can handle pitch black roads (which i believe is the D 207 from Montignac back to Sarlat).

Thank you as always for the patience of the Dordogne-experienced Fodorites!

StCirq

There's more than enough time in a day to visit FdG and Lascaux. You could easily fit in La Roque St-Christophe as well.

It should stay light until about 9-9:30 that time of year.

CaliNurse

Thank you, St Cirq.

I've just found a site that says tours last about one hour at Font de Gaume.
Now I'm getting greedy --maybe time for Rouffignac too?--the one also near les Eyzies, with the train into it.
This will be our "cave -day."

StCirq

Yes, FdG tour takes about an hour (you need to be there a half-hour in advance, though, to gather and walk up to the site). Lascaux also takes about an hour, maybe less.

I'm not a fan of Rouffignac, but that's my own prejudice - I prefer the chromatic caves to the ones that are mainly etchings and engravings in stone and...maybe...were bear cult sites.

I would opt to add in La Roque-St-Christophe and a stop at St-Léon-sur-Vézère over Rouffignac (which really isn't all that convenient anyway as far as driving goes). If you want to see engravings and bear stuff, you could always add in Bara-Bahau just outside Le Bugue.

Also, are you aware that Les Combarelles is basically next door to Font-de-Gaume? I'd do that in a heartbeat rather than Rouffignac.

Michael

Rouffignac takes a good deal of time because it is somewhat out of the way and the major drawings are 1 km. into the cave. We take guests there almost every year because my wife finds it more interesting than other caves, and less crowded than Lascaux II. I find its geology more interesting. In all the years, I never heard anything about a bear cult. The guides have always emphasized that the bears and the humans did not live in the same era. The cave is known as the mammoth cave because it has the greatest number of these animals drawn or etched on the walls.

Lexma90

We also liked Les Combarelles, though when we visited, the tours were only in French, and my French wasn't really up to the task of both listening and translating for DH, who doesn't speak French. We preferred Font du Gaume.

La Roque-St-Christophe was much more interesting than I imagined it would be; it should get higher billing in the tourist information, IMHO.

StuDudley

Maybe Michael can comment too - sunset/daylight hours seem to be about 30-45 mins later than they are in the San Francisco Bay Area in May/June.

Stu Dudley

anitavuyyuru

Calinurse, a quick question for how: how long did it take for Font de gaume folks to get back to you with a confirmation email...?

Thanks.
Anita

CaliNurse

Thanks you St Cirq, Michale, Lexma. Stu, thanks for reference point re: daylight hours compared to Bay Area, since i live in Oakland.

What would i (and others) do without Fodors, and you all ??!!

Thanks for suggestions, will read more about Les Combarelles and La Rocque St Christophe. Idea of a picnic at St Leon during the day (after Lascaux 2 tix are picked up in Montignac, but before Font de Gaume at 1 pm) is delightful. Thank you!!
I am starting already to have "wish there were more time" regrets...without being there yet! Something to anticipate--Plan return trip if the area takes our fancy!

Anita, it took less than a day for the response from Font de Gaume. It came as an email message, with an attachment showing reserved time and date, and phone number to call to give the credit card number which guarantees the reservation. (011-33-0553068600) Will call tomorrow French time. If it works, i'll write on this thread to let you know how it went!!

Here is the received email, if it helps:

Veuillez trouver ci joint votre confirmation de réservation
Unique possibilité
Toute réservation non réglée 15 jours avant la date de visite sera automatiquement annulée
Le paiement peut être effectué par carte bancaire au 05 53 06 86 00 ou sur notre adresse mail ou chèques vacances
Merci de votre compréhension
Marie Hélène
Service de reservation

Carlux

A comment on sunlight hours here. We have VERY long evenings - by late May/June it can be still light at 10 p.m. and later. This is not completely a natural phenomenon.

The fact that we go on 'Summer Time' at the end of March means that we go forward one hour. In addition, geographically speaking, France should be on Greenwich Mean Time, like Britain. But in the 1970's the clock was put forward an extra hour to conserve energy. This has never changed.

This means that all year we are an hour ahead of where we 'should' be, and in summer we are two hours ahead. Early mornings are slightly darker, but the evenings are great.

dugi_otok

Hi CaliNurse

A couple of translations from my Windows 7 desktop

Please find enclosed your confirmation booking
One possibility unresolved 15 days before the visit date will be automatically canceled
Payment can be made by credit card at 05 53 06 86 00 or our email address or holiday checks
Thank you for your understanding
Marie Helene
Booking Service

Please find here attached your confirmation of reservation
Unique opportunity
Any reservation not resolved 15 days prior to tour date will be automatically cancelled
The payment can be made by credit card at 05 53 06 86 00 or on our address mail or cheques vacances
Thank you for your understanding
Marie Hélène
Reservation service

CaliNurse

Booking success! Vive la France!
i just phoned the given telephone number, made the payment by credit card, and taking St Cirq's and Lexma's recommendation, also booked Les Combarelles for mid morning of the same day.
The delightful lady who took the information was polite and patient, and let me stumble on in French before gently confirming something i said, translating it into English.
Anita, the complete number to call (from USA) is 01133 553 068600. Until 10 am french time, you'll get a voicemail--after 10:00 a "real person" answers.

Carlux, those still-light late nights, and slightly dark mornings, sound perfect for the night-owl in me.

Dugi, thank you for the translations. I interpreted it as:

Here is the confirmation of your reservation. (I don't get the "joint" part)
This is the only time you have reserved.
If not paid by 15 days before the reservation date, the reservation will be automatically cancelled. Payment can be made by credit card over the phone; by mail; or by travelers cheques.
Thanks for your understanding.

Michael

<i>ci-joint</i> = attached

StCirq

<<also booked Les Combarelles for mid morning of the same day.>>

Wait a minute....your itinerary for that day is beginning to sound weird. Are you still planning on coming through Montignac from Sarlat in the morning, hoping to pick up tickets for a Lascaux tour late in the day? That would mean doubling back to Montignac on the way back to Sarlat.

Now that you're got a commitment at Combarelles mid-morning and FdG scheduled for 1 pm, why not just go straight to Les Eyzies from Sarlat (the short way, not via Montignac) and then keep going after the FdG tour to St-Léon-sur-Vézère and La Roque St-Christophe, and make Lascaux your last stop. Surely you can call or fax Lascaux for tickets...that way you can drive in a loop instead of coming through Montignac in the morning and going back through it later in the day.

anitavuyyuru

Thanks Calinurse!! I just received my confirmation email too...I'm so excited!!

mingwei1

I had success booking at Lascaux thru email for early mail. They said I don't have to pick up tickets Montignac and can straight to Lascaux II. I emailed [email protected], and heard back from Pascal.

CaliNurse

Mingwei, thank you for confirming that you got the tix via email.
Anita, if you dont speak French, when you phone the number they give,they do speak English.
(Do you have a phone cards from the drugstore or wherever, where the cost to call France is only 5 cents/minute?)

St Cirq, more and more thank you's. I had been "stressing" wondering how to get tix for Lascaux at 9 am in Montignac, then make it in time to Font de Gaumes ( to pick up the tix for Les Combarelles. )

Since i now know I can email for tix to Lascaux, we'll do your suggested route. Knowing the area as you do--what you have suggested doesn't seem too much? Also, I am awaiting info from Table du Terroir (highly recommended on this forum) if they are open on Tues eves in May, for dinner after we visit Lascaux..

StCirq

If you have a 1 pm reservation at FdG, you can be at St-Léon-sur-Vézère by 2:30. Since I assume you'll have had lunch already, all you really need to do is walk around the town and see the chapel that was on the route de Compostelle. It will take about 15 minutes to get to La Roque-Gageac and park, so assume you can get there by 3:15. Grab the English guide and walk through - it's not that big. It'll take maybe a half-hour. You should easily be able to make a 4:30 Lascaux tour or even earlier. (I don't know what time they stop giving tours, so this plan is not failsafe).

I do hope the Table du Terroir is open for dinner that day!

CaliNurse

Thank you for the experienced local perspective on realistic times, St Cirq.

Daughter and i have decided to call this our St Cirq Day, in honor of a very helpful and sharing Fodors Patron Saint!!

Lascaux 2 is open until 6:30 pm, so a 4:30 pm tour should be feasible. I'm emailing the address used by Mingwei and others, hoping for" toute suite" reply.

ps. Did you know the term "Hey, Toots" came from soldiers awaiting drinks, when the waitress would respond, "Toute suite"?

CaliNurse

An update: Phoned office for Lascaux reservations, and the kind lady, who patiently listened to my French, explained that at the time of yr we are visiting, it is not necessary to arrive at 9 am at the ticket office in Montignac, to see Lascaux later that day, because according it her, there arent as many people as in July and August.
Since we are going at the end of the day, it works for us to follow St Cirq's loop, making Montignac and Lascaux the lat stop, and buy the tickets before entry, instead of backtracking from Montignac first thing in the morning.

Since i was on a roll with my French (palms sweating!) I called Table du Terroir, and found out they will be open Tues eves by then (late May).

Thanks to all for your help. Perhaps this little bit of info can help someone else.