Lescaux Caverns

Lescaux II is one cave, and a replica of the natural cave, and IMO worth a visit. There is at least one English tour a day. There are several other caves in the Dordogne, but as far as I know there is no ticket allowing visits to mutiple caves. I suggest you get Rick's Dordogne guidebook and a regional map to plan your visit. Some caves require advance reservations and some have limited hours. The guidebook will spell this out for you - and Rick lists arguably the best of the caves. It is a pity you have only one day as I think it would be difficult to see more than two caves in a day given the driving distances and open times - and there is so much more to see in the area. Good luck.

Lascaux Cave itself is closed to prevent further damage from visiting, but an exact replica, Lascaux II, is well worth seeing. This website describes it more fully, including location, and includes a link to information about how to buy tickets. You buy them in nearby Montignac. There's a 2-for-1 deal with another site called Le Thot, which I know nothing about.

Some of the Lascaux II tours are in English, and you'll get more out of an English-language tour unless you're fluent in French. But even a French-language tour is well worthwhile. The cave paintings were copied using the same materials as the originals -- dyes made from local plants and other materials. The lighting and footing are much better than they could be in the original cave.

Another worthwhile site nearby is the National Prehistoric Museum at Les Eyzies de Tayac. The Font-de-Gaume cave is just outside of town -- an original cave with a few English tours and restricted visitation.

There's much more to see and do in the Dordogne than a day allows --- more caves, castles, Sarlat and other towns, boating on the river, etc. If you want to provide more info about your plans in another thread, you'll get more comprehensive responses from more people.

Just as I was looking up some information, you received answers from the two other posters. If you are interested in other caverns, the newest one opened to visitors is the Caverne du Pont d'Arc along the Ardeche river. You can get information about the caverne and make the arrangements to visit it if you are willing to leave the Dordogne area.

Four or five years ago, my husband and I drove the road along the Ardeche gorge and took pictures of the pont. Little did we know there was a cave there. Visiting that cave is high on my list of things to do on our next trip...either this spring or fall.

Wherever you go...have fun!

One site you might potentially add to a Lascaux visit is l'Abri du Cap Blanc. It's a 42 ' frieze of almost life-sized horses, carved into the limestone cliff. You can only visit with a guided tour, which I'm remembering took around 1/2 hour.

I highly recommend Font du Gaume. It is one of the few caves where the public is still allowed to enter. There is a daily quota. In October I arrived at about 8am and was #5 in line for the 9.30am opening. In the summer you must be there earlier. Lascaux II is very much worth the visit even if it is a simulation. It feels so real once you are inside.