Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
www.semitour.com , call 05 53 51 96 23 for ticket availability and estimated English tour
times,reservationsstronglysuggestedinJuly-Augandacceptedonly2-5daysinadvance).
You can reserve tickets via the website further ahead for other months; pay at least 15
minutes prior to entry time. Unless you're visiting in winter (Oct-March), you must buy
your ticket before coming to Lascaux; the ticket office is next to the TI in Montignac, five
minutes away by car. Deep-blue signs direct drivers to La Billetterie in Montignac (follow
signs for Centre-Ville, then look for La Billetterie —don't double-park); Lascaux is well-
signed from there.
Sleeping near Lascaux: $$$ Château de la Fleunie*** offers 15th-century château
accommodations surrounded by pastures and mountain goats, the biggest private pool
I've seen in France, tennis courts, and a restaurant with beaucoup d'ambience (€29-45
menus ). Rooms are either in the château or in the modern annex—book ahead to snag
a château room (Db-€80-120, bigger Db-€130-150, most around €125, tower room for
two-€170-190, extra person-€20, half-pension required July-Aug, 10-minute drive north
of Montignac on road to Brive-la-Gaillarde, in Condat-sur-Vézère, tel. 05 53 51 32 74,
www.lafleunie.com , lafleunie@free.fr ) .
▲▲▲ Grotte de Roufignac
Rouffignac provides a different experience from other prehistoric caves in this area. Here
you'll ride a clunky little train down a giant subterranean riverbed, exploring about half a
mile of this six-mile-long gallery. The cave itself was known to locals for decades—hence
the graffiti (with dates going back to the 18th century) littering the ceiling—but the
13,000-year-oldpaintingswerediscoveredonlyin1956.Withalittleplanning,you'llhave
no trouble getting a ticket.
Cost and Hours: €6.50, audioguide-€1.50, daily July-Aug 9:00-11:30 &
14:00-18:00, April-June and Sept-Nov 10:00-11:30 & 14:00-17:00, closed Dec-March,
one-hour guided tours run 2/hour, no reservations, tel. 05 53 05 41 71,
www.grottederouffignac.fr .Dresswarmly.It'sreallycrowdedonlymid-July-Aug—during
these months the ticket office opens at 9:00 and closes when tickets are sold out for the
day—usually by noon. Arrive by 8:00 and you'll be fine. Weekends tend to be quietest,
particularly Sat.
Getting There: Grotte de Rouffignac is well-signed from the route between Les
Eyzies-de-Tayac and Périgueux; allow 25 minutes from Les Eyzies-de-Tayac.
Visiting the Cave: Your tour likely will be in French (guides may answer questions
in English), but the worthwhile audioguide explains it all. Here's the gist of what they're
saying on the stops of your train ride:
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