Side trip after Lascaux--tomorrow!!

I highly recommend the Maison Forte de Reignac--http://www.maison-forte-reignac.com. It's right in the area you will be. It is not a chateau, but rather a fortress house built right into a very large cave. The link is in French.

It was my favorite thing besides the caves when we were there. I think the kids would love it for all the nooks and crannies and how high you can go to look out over the valley. I'm sure they will be surprised to see some of the bedrooms where the ceiling of the cave is the ceiling of the room.

I was there several years ago (in case things have changed), but I liked La Roque San Christophe. It's maybe both neat and a little cheesy in some of the displays. But they show some of the defense weapons (kids like that, right?) and the view is beautiful. There was also a cafe across the street where I had one of the best meals in France- cheese omelette and salad. Could have been the stream-side setting though.

Have you looked into seeing some of the original (not reproductions like Lascaux) caves? Font de Gaume has paintings, but might be a little effort to get tickets for in the summer. Abri de Cap-Blanc is a single large cave with giant horse carvings, and I was the only one there at the time. Grotte de Combarelles is etchings, and interesting because you get to walk a ways into the cave, and then find out how narrow the entire path was before they dug it out to allow us modern types in who don't want to crawl through a mountain.

Have fun! I loved that area, but I doubt the kids are very appreciative of the beautiful scenery. The river canoeing/kayaking is great!

At the moment, I'm not remembering the precise geography, but the two things in the area that pop into my mind are canoeing on the Dordogne and visiting the Gouffre de Padirac. You don't need any expertise for the canoeing. The water is shallow and slow-moving.
The gouffre is an unbelievably immense and gorgeous cave system. You are escorted on the 90 minute tour, partly in a boat. There's also a water park nearby.

About half an hour southwest of Montignac is Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac, on the Vezere river, home of the National Museum of Prehistory. It's above the town, built into the cliff face. It has dioramas and activities for kids as well as more traditional exhibits. A pretty drive there, and back via the Dordogne. Check out the website.

Font-de-Gaume is close to Les-Eyzies, but I wouldn't recommend for kids, especially on the same day as Lascaux II. They'll get more out of Lascaux II because of much better lighting and footing. It's a very well-done reproduction, using the same dyes and colors that the Magdalenian people used.

There may also be some boating available on the Vezere, I don't recall. Later in your visit, Domme and Beynac are well worth seeing and should appeal to the kids. But Castelnaud is the best for kid appeal, I think.

We just spent a week in Les Eyzies in May, so it's fresh in my mind. Lascaux sells a combo ticket that lets you visit Le Thot, as well. Le Thot, which is very close by, had indoor displays including dioramas of Cro-Magnon life, making it very accessible to children without a lot of reading. Outside was a large park with animals that are depicted in the cave art. This has more dioramas, is much smaller and simpler than the Musee de la Prehistoire mentioned above.

La Roque St. Christophe was extremely interesting. It's a very extensive troglodyte village, all carved into the side of the hill for defense, where people lived for hundreds of years. The troglodytes in the Loire are dug underground, so this is very different. It has a lot to see, including the chapel, a kitchen, recreations of medieval machines, stables, stairways, etc.

Finally, aside from all the prehistoric sites we visited, one of the best things we saw was the Chateau de Commarque. It's the ruins of a medieval castle built on top of troglodyte dwellings, which are in turn built on top of a Cro-Magnon rock shelter. The troglodyte is not nearly as large as La roque St. Chritope, but it's interesting to see. Note the kitchen. Overall the site is spectacular. Additionally, there's a big field where children can run around, a stand to buy simple food and drinks, and tables for a little picnic. This is a little harder to find on back roads, up near Sireuil. La roque St. Christophe is on the main road into Les Eyzies.

I would avoid more villages, especially if you are going to Beynac and Domme later in the week.

Sorry - a day late. St Christophe is both neat and cheesy. My kids seemed to like it good enough.

When you go to Padirac you should consider going to the Monkey Forrest. http://www.la-foret-des-singes.com/

Our day spent at the cave and with the monkey's was one of the kids' favorites.

-Matt

Thanks for all the suggestions! We ended up at la Roque St Christophe and it was good--cool site, lovely views, enough kid appeal, and didn't take up too much time at the end of the day. I appreciate all the responses.

Off to canoe the Dordogne river tomorrow!

Caves, castles, and canoes -- what could be more fun for kids? Have a wonderful trip!