We are getting excited for our trip to France in May! I was able to secure reservations for Font de Gaume (yea!!) but am wondering if I should pre booked any others. Is there typically a need to pre book Lascaux 4? If possible, I would rather wait and go when the weather is lousy.
Also, the Grotte de Padirac seems intriguing since you go through it by boat. But, what do you see in the cave? Are there drawings, etc or staglamites, etc? Do you recommend a pre booked reservation for that cave?
Thank you!
Posted by
Chicago
8560 posts
We have been to Lascaux twice and Roffignac twice, the last time being 4 years ago. both times we just walked up and had tickets for tours within an hour or so. For Roffignac we had tickets for the next train into the mountain. But things change -- so don't know what it is right now -- but in my experience those are not places where you need to plan ahead. COVID has changed up a lot of this so you might see if you can reserve the day before.
I just went to a small museum and garden in Paris that has literally never had a line in all my previous trips here and today I waited and waited while those who had bought tickets ahead waltzed right by. So COVID may have made it more complicated in the Dordogne as well.
Posted by
Franklin, TN, USA
920 posts
How is Paris now janettravels44? We leave in a week and i am so excited……notice any obvious post-covid things???
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14751 posts
“Grotte de Padirac seems intriguing since you go through it by boat.”
I visited Gouffre de Padirac last Oct. You go in via elevator or stairs to the level of the underground river. Then you are loaded into small boars that are poled thru a segment of the river to a disembarkation. You then walk a short distance to a large underground room overlooking a lighted pool. After that you reverse the route to exit.
Most of the people on my tour thought it spectacular. I occasionally have claustrophobia and thought I could not get out of there quick enough. 😬
There are no drawings to be seen there.
I was there the end of the season and they only had a handful of boats going. I think our boatman said they have 27 going during busy times. Each holds maybe 8 or 10 people. I suspect you need to book ahead.
I am basing that on my current experience in France which is similar to Janet’s experience and that is it’s BUSY with tourists. Just left Paris yesterday and over the Easter weekend the city seemed to be back to pre-Covid tourist levels. No idea if that’s the case in the Dordogne but am now in Colmar and it’s busy too. Not necessarily Americans as I’m hearing a lot of German.
I did Lascaux 4 as well as Rouffignac and Pech Merle. I connected the strongest with Pech Merle, I think because there are some petrified footprints from 20,000 years ago and they used a lot of negative hand images in their art. That may or may not capture you!
If you can work in the prehistory museum in Les Eyziers it is excellent.