Any success in getting tickets for Font de Gaume?

the font du gaume changes its procedures constantly. The last few times we have been in the area they had 60 tickets a day and they went to the first 60 people who showed up. People arrive VERY early although the office opens at 9 and sit in marked seats 1-60 until the office opens. Every person has to be there; one person can't come and hog seats for late arrivals. I suspect they shift to this in summer.

BUT I don't know -- I just know that sometimes you can reserve and sometimes you can't and have to use this show up and sit method. It is pretty special; hope you get to do it.

Karen, Don't panic! It's OK. I, too, have been monitoring the French national monuments website for Font de Gaume tickets for a May visit to France. For some time, the English language version of the Font de Gaume website has functioned erratically: sometimes not offering tickets at all, now showing blanked out calendars. Choose French language, and as of today (March 26, 2022) tickets are available up through May 15. When you click through to select time slots, it shows which tours are in English, which in French. If you need help using the French language site, another recent post described what to do step-by-step (but it is pretty self-explanatory, especially if you've been booking museum tickets, train tickets, etc. on French sites).

We also booked a day-long cave tour with Ophorus, leaving from Sarlat. The itinerary includes a visit to the national museum of prehistory in Les Eyzies, a visit to the reproduction Lascaux IV, and a visit to Rouffignac Cave, with a lunch stop in a local village. Handy for us since we won't have car.

For your reading list, I recommend "Stepping Stones: A Journey Through the Ice Age Caves of the Dordogne" by Christine Desdemaines-Hugon (who also does local cave guiding). The book can get bogged down in detail a bit, but has entire chapters on Font de Gaume, Combarelles, Rouffignac, Cap Blanc, and a lesser-known cave, Bernifal. There is also an appendix listing sites to visit, although it may be out of date because the book was published in 2010.

I just know that seeing a 14,000 year old painting of a mammoth is going to change me forever!

Thanks to you both.
Rick, I guess earlier today I went into The Cave of Font de Gaume instead of La Grotte de Font de Gaume. And yes, only the French site works well. But just to clarify....I do want the one that says La Grotte de Font de Gaume, correct??

Yes, La Grotte de Font-de-Gaume at this website:

https://tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr/fr-FR/familles?site=2117969240920404140%20

I expect that tickets for my preferred date near the end of May will go on sale in a couple of weeks. If I remember, I will post a description of my success or failure. BTW, my wife reports that the strange English language site behaves differently on an iPad than it does on my Windows PC.

Rick I will be looking forward to your update on obtaining your tics. I will be trying for June. Good luck

Hi Karen,
I’ve been looking at the website to get tickets for June and it’s also blank on my iPhone. I think maybe it’s too early to book for June. I’ve too noticed the French website works better than the English. Keep us posted!

Tickets for Font de Gaume just opened up through August 2022 on line. The English language site is still not working properly, not showing tickets available and instead showing all dates blocked out. If you use the French language site like we just did, it works perfectly.

Thank you Rick!! I was able to secure my reservation, so exciting!!

I can’t believe almost all English time slots are gone for June. If there is a demand for English when don’t they put more of them?
I booked the French time slot. Should it be ok even though our French is minimal?

elnchan2, I just booked my tickets and found the same thing. No English tours left, so booked French. My husband majored in French in college, but hasn't used it much since, but hopefully will understand enough. I'm going to read up on the site as much as possible beforehand so I can get as much as possible out of the visit. I'm really disappointed there's no English tours left for my dates though.

MaryC, we’re Canadians so we (and teens) studied French up to grade 12 but have forgotten most of it… yes hopefully everything will turn out. Funny thing is most English times are available for July and August just not June!

We have done both the English and French tours and if you can't get it in English, it is fine to book in French. You can read up about the cave -- it is seeing these things that is amazing not hearing guidebabble. I would think they would have more French tours because it is France and they want their patrimony available to their own citizens.