We have our airline tickets for our France trip and places to stay reserved for next May! and I think we decided on renting through AutoEurope for when we leave Bordeaux to go to the Dordogne. My question is planning our days there. I have asked about caves before and done a lot of reading on them, so have narrowed down to the ones I am most interested in seeing(this is a major interest for me). I want to do a one day trip to see Pech merle and St cirq di La poppie--and maybe Cougnac cave? One day we want to do a canoe trip down the Dordogne river and maybe at least one of the castles--Beynac and/or Castlenaud. We will have 4 more days: Font de Gaume and Lascaux4, which I know I will need reservations for, are top of the list. I also am interested in Rouffignac, Combarelles, Abri du Cap Blanc, Roque St Christophe and Abri de le Madeleine. Also may want to spend a bit of time in the Muesum in les Eyzies(we will visit the Musee de Auquitine in Bordeaux so that may fulfill what we need for prehistory?). For those of you who have visited these places which would be the top of your list and which maybe skip? And which ones could be grouped together? i am looking at distances on google maps and they all seem close together except Lascuax. I was thinking Lascaux and rouffignac one day with one in the AM and one PM. Font de Gaume one day in the AM and another locationin the PM, and then two more on a third day? For the fourth day Chateux Milandes and whichever of the other Chateuxs we did not see. A bit of light hiking in between these would also be nice! Thanks so much!
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5387 posts
I've been to Lascaux, Rouffignac and Font de Gaume and all offer something unique. While some poo-poo Lascaux as a copy, I loved it. I can't be helpful with your questions about logistics between the caves, however if you plan so see the Musem in Ies Eyzies make sure you check when it's open. It was closed for a long lunch while we were there and we didn't have time to see it before our visit to Font de Gaume. Luckily we had visited the Museum of the Aquitine earlier in the week so we had a good head start for understanding what we were seeing.
It should be easy for you to see Beynac Castle and Castelnaud on the same day, that's what we did. The village of Beynac is beautiful and also deserves a wander.
Posted by
Somerville, MA
755 posts
Rock of st Christopher was fun but if I didn’t have young kids I would skip it. Your top choices align with my experience though I would go to Padirac over most of your 2nd tier options.
Niaux is my favorite. Not sure what the rest of your itinerary looks like but if you are heading to Barcelona it makes for an outstanding stop. Once we visited it with an overnight in Foix coming from the Dordogne en route to Collioure. The other time it was an overnight in Tarascon coming from Bordeaux en route to Barcelona.
Posted by
OP
31 posts
Matt, did you stop at Abri de le Madeleine? Thanks!
Posted by
Somerville, MA
755 posts
No, never heard of it.
Posted by
France Southwest
3237 posts
L'Abri de La Madeleine is a troglodyte village dug into the cliff. I went there a long time ago, back when there was no entrance fee.
If it's on your route at some point, you can make a stop, otherwise, forget it.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
2584 posts
We were there in 2023 for ten days. We saw both castles, Beynac and Castelnaud-la-Chapelle. I suggest doing them on different days to avoid castle overload. A castle in the morning and a cave in the afternoon, or vice-versa. We saw Font de Gaume and Lascaux IV, but on different days due to their locations. The museum in Les Eyzies is close to Font de Gaum, so a good combo with that. Just check for times the mueseum is open. We missed it because it was closed the day we wanted to go. Be sure to watch the website for getting tickets to Font de Gaum. Due to the fact the art is the original, the number of tours of Font de Gaum is limited, and group size maxes out at about 13 people. English language tours are one, maybe two per day. I started checking the website for buying tickets more than a month before our preferred day.
We had a great kayak trip on the river (7 people, 3 singles and 2 doubles for 5 adults and 2 kids). We spent about 4 hours on a leisurely trip, beaching just once for a break (not a meal) along the river bank. Well worth the cost. We used Canoes Loisirs, out of Vitrac. Depending on your reserved time of day, you can do something else that day....Say, one of the castles, or the market at Sarlat in the morning, the kayak/canoe after lunch. You may be a bit wet (your shoes, for sure) after the kayak/canoe, so I would do that in the afternoon. If not, be sure to have dry shoes and some towels in your car for after the river trip. Bring sunscreen and a hat that won't blow off (not windy, but the occasional breeze).
Re # of caves, I suggest no more than 4 to avoid cave overload as well. Do Peche Merle and St.Cirq la Popie the same day (they are near to each other). Font de Gaume and Lascaux IV would be my priorities, then Peche Merle. After these, I don't know where to begin, as each one offers something a bit different. We missed two we wanted to see due to lack of time. Plan for different days for Lascaux IV and Font-d-G.
Some of our time was spent visiting other towns (Domme, La Roque Gageac, Sarlat-la-Caneda e.g.) We also went to a chocolaterie, an art space for locals, a savonerie, l'Abri de Madeleine, the grotte of La Roque Gageac. We were not on the go all day, every day. All of our drives were short (the longest was about a half hour). The drives in the area take you through some of "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France". I wouldn't try to fill up each day, as you may decide to spend a half hour at Beynac Castle just taking in the magnificent views of the river from there. And there are markets every day at different towns. You could visit some of them and find a charming place for lunch. We never had time to visit any of the places with beautiful gardens, either. I hope you can. (By the way, Beynac and Castelnaud are castles; chateaux are something a bit different, not built for defensive purposes.
There are so many things to see and do. Farm and orchard visits, markets, winery tastings for the local Monbazillac wine ( a bit sweet for my taste,but well-known for the area). During the summer the night markets are held in some towns, which are kind of like an outdoor celebration with music, dancing, communal dinner table out of doors and booths selling all kinds of food. Alas, we were there too soon (in June). Maybe next time! We were only in the western half of the region, but I would put Dordogne in the above search bar, filter for travel forum and 2 years or less to read about all the treasures to be found there. Check my trip report from June 26, 2023 called "Just Returned from Four Weeks in France...Continued"
I would return in a minute. One of my favorite all time France trips! Amusez-vous ien!
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1991 posts
We stayed four nights in Sarlat, June, 2025. Some random suggestions: Chateau Commarque is near Font de Gaume - the two make a good combination for one of your days......... Saint Cirq Lapopie (use parking lot 4 unless you want a long steep walk) and Pech Merle are plenty for one day. We enjoyed Pech Merle more than Font de Gaume - the lighting was better managed and the tour guide (we did a French tour because the timing worked better for us) was willing to answer questions in English AFTER the French tour ended........ If you have time for another day trip, we really enjoyed Martel and Autoire - you could also add Collognes des Rouges. We were underwhelmed by the Les Ezyies prehistory museum - the building itself is lovely and has a great view deck, but the exhibits had very little to do with the prehistoric cave art if that is your interest - lots more prehistoric animal skeletons......We also liked Brantome as a mid-day stop heading towards La Rochelle. Hope this is useful for you.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
640 posts
We covered this ground - largely by e-bike - in 2023 and loved it. I don’t know enough to tell you which caves to see, but we quite enjoyed Font de Gaume and Lascaux. I respect what they have done at Lascaux and we greatly enjoyed that visit.
And we very much enjoyed the Prehistory Museum in Les Eyzies - don’t miss it if you go to Font de Gaume. If the museum is closed for lunch, go have lunch and then go to the museum after lunch or after your early afternoon tour at Font de Gaume if you end up with an early afternoon tour, there.
Our trip was:
- 3 nights in Bordeaux to adapt to the time change and see the city including Musee d’Aquitaine. Then train to Bergerac.
- 8 nights for “self-guided” e-bike tour. (Nights in Bergerac, Le Bugue, Montignac (2), Sarlat (2), Belves, Bergerac). Tour was through Le Velo Voyageur; we modified their tour so we could add a second night in Montignac, which gave us time for Lascaux. BTW, our hotel at Montignac (La Rosarie) was great and it has lovely garden and a nice pool. When we were there in mid May it wasn’t warm enough for us to swim, but you certainly could have warm enough weather in May to enjoy a swim. Check it out.
- Top Sights for us: Font de Gaume and Musee Prehistoire in Les Eyzies, Lascaux IV, Jardins de Manoir d’ Eyrignac (on the ride from Montignac to Sarlat), loop ride from Sarlat to La Rocque Gageac and back, Beynac, Chateau Milandes, as well as wandering around galleries in Sarlat and Belves.
- What we missed: canoeing along the Dordogne, biking up the hill to Domme, hiking all the way up the hill to the chateau at Beynac (since we had a long ride ahead to Chateau Milandes and then Belves), stopping in at La Rocque Christophe which we cycled by (and photographed) on our way from Font de Gaume to Montignac. Probably should have stopped in, but we had done a lot that day already and we were traveling by bike, not car.
Lascaux is not far from Les Eyzies/Musee d’Histoire/Font de Gaume. I think we biked from Font de Gaume to Montignac in just about 1-1/2 hours. Google Maps says it’s about 15 miles.
Whatever you choose, enjoy and have a great trip.
PS. Since you’re active enough to enjoy hiking, you may wish to consider a cycle or e-cycle trip. You’ve got lots of time to plan.