2 full days: Dordogne or French Basque Country?

The cave paintings of Lascaux that the public can access are reproductions— not the authentic ones painted thousands of years ago. They have been off limits for decades in an effort to preserve them. If you truly like a slower pace, then the French Basque Country makes more sense than doing a blitz to reach the Dordogne. You’ll already be in Basque Country while in Bilbao. St. Jean de Luz is just two hours away.
Alternatively, there are authentic Neolithic and Paleolithic cave paintings at the Cave of Altamira near Santillana Del Mar ( limited admission by lottery on Fridays). Hornos de la Pena ( open to the public) El Castillo ( open), and Limpias (open) in northern Spain—each of which is less than a 90-minute drive from Bilbao.
Have a great trip!

Dordogne. We visited the Grotte de Font-de-Gaume in 2018. These are genuine paintings that our guide shined light on briefly. The tour was in heavily accented English. There are other options. We also enjoyed the castle in Beynac (our favorite castle of our trip to 15 countries), La Roque San Christophe and the hilltop town of Beynac, which we visited on the advice of a friend. I especially enjoyed driving my little Fiat 500 around the area. We were there in late September, early October, so different colors in the hills. In May you'll get more greens. Enjoy!

gacllc1997,
I think, with having just two days, the Dordogned should be visited another time. The drive from Bordeaux to Les Eyzies (where Font de Gaume is) will take at least 3 hours, and same back to Bordeaux. There is so much there,besides the many, many prehistoric sites, that you would shortchange both yourselves and the region. Go to the Basque country. Amusez-vous bien!

I was not aware of the cave paintings in northern Spain...thanks so much for the tip! That, combined with the simpler trip down to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, settles it. Basque Country it is.

Thanks to all for the input!

Just a note...The caves in Altamira were discovered about 60 years before those at Lascaux. They are fabulous as well!

For anyone else interested, it appears there is no longer a lottery for access to the Cave of Altamira. From what I am reading, it is now completely closed to the public. We will likely still put the museum and replica on our itinerary (along with the open caves Kenko mentioned).

If I am mistaken about the closure, please let me know.

Thank you again for the help.

Lisa

For a review of caves open in Spain/France, the book: Paul Bahn
“Cave Art: A Guide to the Decorated Ice Age Caves of Europe” could be your best bet. The Alta Mira lottery system may be still on but as explained to me in 2024 it is/was for locals only as there is basically an annual drawing and you must be available to shortly enter. Also note that there are about 3 languages spoken in that part of Spain. Other than main venues ie hotels/museums, little English may be spoken. Many of the Spanish caves are excellent replicas . The Alta Mira replica does not fall in that category. If you have been to the Lascaux replica(s), do not expect the same experience at Alta Mira. Again, the smaller cave replicas in Northern Spain are excellent .

What are you more interested in? If you don't go to the Dordogne now, which I really think is worth it, will you go another time? What do you want to do?

A vote for Bayonne, charming little city. Splitting your three days between there and St Jean would be perfect.

Also, you may be near Grotte Niaux in the French Pyrenees. Arguably, it is the best original cave in Spain/France today.

Thanks to all for the additional information on the caves, and the book recommendation. Such a joyful surprise to hear about the caves
in northern Spain, which were not at all on my radar. It's this type of help that makes this forum so great.